Education
POC Minutes
October 2007
POC Members Present: Dick Browdy (Chair), Jon Hamrick, Herminio Gonzalez, Steve Bassett
POC Member(s) Absent: Pete Tagliarini
Meeting
Attendees:
Mark Reddinger Dwight Wilkes
Joe Belcher Larry Schneider
Michael Clark
Meeting called to order at
1. Review
and Approval of October 2007 Agenda
Motion: Jon Hamrick
2nd: Steve Bassett
Approved Unanimously As Published
2.
Review and Approval of August
2007 Minutes
Commissioner Bassett stated that the word
“outdated” was missing from the motion attached to Agenda Item #5. After it is
correctly inserted, the motion should read,
“To
give away, free of charge, all outdated DCA developed courses that are
currently being sold to private providers”.
Motion: To correctly insert the word “outdated” to
August POC Agenda Item #5
Motion: Steve Bassett
2nd: Jon Hamrick
Approved Unanimously As Amended
3. Discuss and identify which current DCA
courses will be available for free downloading and which courses will be
continued to be sold.
The addition of the word “outdated” to the motion attached to Agenda Item #5 in the August 2007 POC Minutes makes clear what courses would be available for free downloading and what courses would be continued to be sold.
No further
action was taken.
4.
Discuss examples of misleading public advertisements and or misrepresentations
of building products and technology and the role of the Education Program
Oversight Committee and the
The Chair read an excerpt from a
· The home was
raised 2 feet as a result of a stem wall,
to protect from flooding
· The windows in the
home were equipped with 3M Security Coating, which will keep the glass from
shattering.
The Chair stated that the bothersome issue regarding ads like these was
that many people would think that these products were both state of the art for
home hurricane protection and that they also comply with the Florida Building
Code, which in both cases is not true.
The Chair asked Commissioner Gonzalez if he had seen ads like this one in
the
Cam Fentriss stated that as the result of the Legislature passing Hurricane
Mitigation standards, their exists conflicting information regarding this area
from various sources. She said that there is no formal coordination of this
information. She further stated the BASF has been receiving phone calls from
people asking how they can protect themselves from hurricane damage. Another
confusing aspect of this situation is that for example, some building products
meet hurricane mitigation standards, but don’t meet fire code standards----and
vice versa.
The Chair asked, “What role does the Education POC and/or the Commission
have regarding this issue?” He further asked, do we take what we think is
misleading information to a Consumer Advocacy Group or to our Local Building
Officials?
Larry Schneider and others stated that in reality, the only thing that
the Commission could do is to take this information to the appropriate local
entities.
The Chair asked if there is anything the Commission can do from a
positive, proactive perspective warning the public that certain advertisements
could be misleading.
Cam Fentriss stated that it would be difficult to draft a coherent
message because there are currently many messages out in the public domain. She
further asked---do we base the message on Building Code standards, My Safe
Florida standards, or Insurance Industry standards?
The Chair stated that the Commission shouldn’t have the responsibility as
a consumer watchdog, but also shouldn’t have to stand idly by and allow
industry abuse through misleading advertisements.
Cam Fentriss stated that the public needs the ability to find current and
relevant information about building products and technology, like from the BASF
fact sheets that have been developed.
The Chair asked if
No
motion or further action was taken or needed.
5. Education Administrator Activity Report
The Education
Administrator reported to the POC what activities he performed between
No comments were made or offered about the
reports contents.
6. Identify future POC member discussion items.
No future items
were identified.
7. General Public Comment
Commissioner Norkunas asked if a contact name
could be added to the provider and accreditor entity names on the agenda. The
Chair stated that a name could be added, as a contact person.
Commissioner Norkunas also asked if it was ok
if he was able to review the course information and materials of any
Accessibility Course that was placed on the agenda. The Chair stated the
Commissioner could review Accessibility courses.
Larry Schneider stated that there was some
confusion regarding the starting date and ensuing 120 day timeline for
providers to update their courses with the new version of the Building Code.
Some discussion ensued with the statement that the 120 days should begin when
the code is filed in the Secretary of State’s Office. Another suggestion was
that it should start when the publisher of the code says that it (the code) is
available for viewing and downloading. Both Larry Schneider and Joe Belcher
said that their job as an accreditor is much easier if they had a downloadable
copy of the course to use when accrediting courses.
The Chair asked the Administrator to contact
the General Counsel and/or the DCA staff to address this issue.
Joe Belcher stated that he noticed that
online, some issues that were part of the 2007 Revisions to the 2004 Building Code
were not there now---they were gone. He stated that two examples had to do with
internal pressure and mitigation. Joe’s statements lead to more discussion about
a final draft of the code being made available at the earliest date possible.
8.
Summary and Review of Meeting Work Products/Action Items, Assignments, and Next
Steps
The Chair asked the Administrator to set up an Accreditor’s and
Provider’s Workshop at the December Commission Meeting to address some of the
issues discussed in this POC meeting. He asked that BCIS technical staff also
be invited.
Adjourn
Motion:
To adjourn at
Motion: Steve Bassett
2nd: Jon
Hamrick
Approved
Unanimously
Approve Accreditor Application: Oak Rivers Builders LLC (Michael Rimoldi)
Categories: Accessibility, Administration, Building-Commercial, Building-Residential,
Building-Special Occupancy, Commercial Pool/Spa, Electrical Commercial, Electric Residential, Existing Building Code, Mechanical, Residential Pool/Spa, Fire, Roofing, Pollutant Storage System, Fuel/Gas, Plumbing, Other
Motion: To defer any approval action until more information is collected about the candidate.
Motion: Jon Hamrick
2nd: Steve Bassett
Approved Unanimously
The
following course, under the ‘Accredited, Pending FBC Approval” status, were
approved by the POC.
Course: Advanced-2004 Accessibility With Fair Housing Guidelines
Provider: JC Code & Construction Consultants, Inc.
Accreditor: BCIC LLC
BCIS #: 252
Motion:
Course approved based on the
FBC accreditation process that only verifies the accuracy of the Florida
Building Code related content
Motion: Jon Hamrick
2nd: Herminio Gonzalez
Approved Unanimously
Updated Course Approvals
The courses listed below have been updated with the 2006 Code Supplement. The chair listed all of the courses and asked for a Consent Agenda approval for all of the courses.
Motion: To approve as submitted
Motion: Jon Hamrick
2nd: Steve Bassett
Approved Unanimously
Course and # Provider Accreditor Date of Approval
2004
Structural Summary Consultant
Advanced
(#133.1)
2004
Code, Advanced Inc.
Building
(#160.1)
Online Advanced HG
& Associates, BCIC LLC
Building Structural Inc.
Summary (#250.0)
Advanced McGee
Group BCIC LLC
Accessibility Code
For Building
Construction (#249.0)
Note: This document is available in alternate
formats upon request to the Department of Community Affairs, Codes and
Standards,