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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-23-2020 CB MinutesCITY OF SEBASTIAN SEBASTIAN CONSTRUCTION BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 23, 2020 Call to Order — Chairman Fortier called the meeting to order at 6:14 p.m. It. Pledae of Allegiance -- was recited by all III. Roll Call: Present Mr.Scheskowsky Mr. Crockett Ms. Carbano Mr. Fortier Not Present Mr. Witcher — Excused Also Present Wayne Eseltine, Building Director/Fire Marshal Barbara Brooke -Reese, MIS Manager Janet Graham, Technical Writer IV. ADDroval of Minutes Chairman Fortier called for additions, deletions, or corrections to the Minutes of January 21, 2020. Hearing none, Mr. Fortier called for a motion. A motion to approve the Minutes of the January 21, 2020 meeting as presented was made by Mr. Crockett, seconded by Ms. Carbano, and approved unanimously via voice vote. V. Announcements Mr. Fortier announced that Mr. Witcher is excused from tonight's meeting. Mr. Fortier announced that Mr. Scheskowsky is a new member of the Board and asked him to introduce himself. Mr. Scheskowsky did so and stated he has lived in Sebastian for 14 years. He was an electrical contractor in New Jersey prior to coming to Florida. VI. Old Business — None VII. New Business SEBASTIAN CONSTRUCTION BOARD PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 23, 2020 A. CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY: IN THE MATTER OF MR. ROBERT R. FITZGERALD Mr. Fitzgerald is seeking Board approval to reinstate his license which expired on 4-5-2007 without having to reapply and retake the exam. APPLICABLE CODE SECTION FROM THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES: SECTION 26-168 (Cli • A certificate which is inoperative because of failure to renew shall be restored on payment of the proper renewal fee. ...If the application for restoration is not made before the beginning of the next fiscal year of the City, the fee for restoration shall be double the original renewal fee and in addition the Board may require reexamination of the applicant. A certificate which is not renewed within three full years after expiration may not be renewed, restored, or reinstated thereafter except by reapplication and reexamination. Mr. Eseltine stated that Mr. Fitzgerald's City of Sebastian Certificate of Competency is No. 1407, and the Department of Business Professional Regulations number is ER- 0015375. He read the entire applicable section of the Code into the record. Mr. Fitzgerald is seeking Board approval to reinstate his license which expired on 4-5-2007 without having to reapply and retake the exam. That will be based on the evidence that is attached to the agenda packets and whatever evidence he presents tonight. Ms. Carbano corrected the record by stating that Mr. Fitzgerald's license actually expired on 8-31-2008. Mr. Eseltine agreed that the correct date is 8-31-2008. Mr. Fortier called attention to the last sentence of the relevant section of the Cade of Ordinances, and he is questioning whether this Board has the authority to act on Mr. Fitzgerald's petition. Mr. Eseltine explained that in many cases these renewals were forgotten by contractors or the contractors did not realize they had to renew their licenses every year. Also, some of the contractors just went out of business and did not keep their licenses up. He further reviewed that there have been a number of these cases come before this Board in the past, and many times the evidence that the applicants present shows that they have been actively working in construction, just maybe not under this license. He opined that this is more of an appeal process, and he thinks it is appropriate to allow the Board to decide whether these applicants should be reinstated or not. SEBASTIAN CONSTRUCTION BOARD PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 23, 2020 Mr. Fortier asked Mr. Eseltine to briefly describe what would be entailed if the Board does require the applicant to reapply and retake the exam. Mr. Eseltine stated that the City of Sebastian does not sponsor the local license. In this instance, Mr. Fitzgerald would have had to register his license with the State, and that is different from being certified. The license is a Class 1 type of license. However, if the applicant got their license at the local level, that license is only good for that municipality, although Sebastian has reciprocity agreements with other municipalities. So Mr. Fitzgerald would have to apply with another municipality. He would have to go before their board, they would look at his qualifications and approve him to sit for the exam. Then he would have to go to where the exam is given. He would also have to take continuing education. Mr. Eseltine called on Mr. Fitzgerald to speak. Mr. Fitzgerald identified himself and explained that he has provided all the documentation that the State has asked for. He has paid all the fines and fees that were required. He has also provided evidence of continuing education. There will be additional continuing education as soon as he presents the State with a valid competency card. He has been running an electrical company as a manager, similar to what he did when he owned his own business. He then went back to work for someone else. He left there and now wants to start up again on his own. Mr. Crockett asked Mr. Fitzgerald if he has kept up with his continuing education. Mr. Fitzgerald stated he has. Mr. Crockett asked how long Mr. Fitzgerald worked for Complete Electric. Mr. Fitzgerald stated that his recent position with Complete Electric lasted approximately eight years. Mr. Crockett stated Mr. Fitzgerald obtained a very positive letter of recommendation from Complete Electric, which speaks highly for him. Ms. Carbano asked regarding the fines, whether they were just paid recently. Mr. Fitzgerald stated it was sometime this year. There was a lot of paperwork back and forth. So all the payments were not made at the same time. Mr. Crocket asked, if the Board were to approve this based on the information it has, how much would it cost Mr. Fitzgerald to renew his license. Mr. Eseltine stated the fine is $75.00 per year for every year that was not paid. That would be from 2009 until 2019, which would be 11 years at $75.00, which equals $825.00. The current year would be $36.00. So for him to be paid until August of 2021 it would be $861.00. Mr. Fitzgerald stated he is in a position to pay that amount. Ms. Carbano asked regarding Mr. Fitzgerald's continuing education. Mr. Fitzgerald stated SEBASTIAN CONSTRUCTION BOARD PAGE 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 23, 2020 he is only allowed to take one course at a time. It will now be up to the State to tell him if they require more. He has already taken 14 hours. Mr. Scheskowsky asked what the fines are for. Mr. Fortier stated they are because of Mr. Fitzgerald not renewing his license yearly. If the Board allows Mr. Fitzgerald to get his license renewed, then the City is due the amount that he is in arrears. Hearing no more discussion, Mr. Fortier called for a motion. A motion approving Mr. Fitzgerald's application to get his license renewed, providing that he pays the City the $861.00 that is owed, was made by Mr. Crockett and seconded by Mr. Scheskowsky. Roll Call Mr. Scheskowsky — Yes Mr. Crockett — Yes Ms. Carbano -- No Mr. Fortier — Yes Vote is 3-1 in favor. Motion carries. Vill. Buildina Official Matters A. Building Department Update Mr. Eseltine described how this department has implemented new procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to provide the necessary services required by the community. There was a drop box created that was kept at the front door. This allowed document exchange and payments to be made in a locked deposit box. There was an email address created for permits. There was also a new computer system that was installed in 2019 that has proven to be a very valuable tool that enables documents to be scanned and added to the permitting process and uploaded into the system. There is an email notification system to the customer which keeps them informed of their permitting progress. Once the building permits are approved, they can be issued via email along with the accompanying documents such as the Certificate of Occupancy. There was also a video inspection process created for the types of inspections that required inspectors to go inside homes or businesses. The State has approved this video inspection process. After the video inspection is uploaded into the system, it then becomes part of the permanent record. IX. Board Matters — None SEBASTIAN CONSTRUCTION BOARD PAGE 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 23, 2020 X. Attornev Matters — None XI. 15 Minutes to the Public There was no one in Chambers who wished to speak and no one on Zoom. XII. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:42 p.m. jg