PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Winter is almost upon us but things are heating up in the Code
Enforcement world. After months of little or no action our world is
about to make a giant leap into the 21st century. Are you ready? In this
article I will discuss some of the things you should anticipate in the
coming months.ACT 45:
Is on the move!! Last word indicates that the regulations, so long in
coming, have been reintroduced and already passed the review of the
Independent Regulatory Review Committee (IRRC) and are in the Attorney
Generals office for legal review. Publication in the Pennsylvania
Bulletin is anticipated in January. This sets the stage for local
adoption between April and June of 2004. Your municipality should be
preparing the necessary ordinances in anticipation of this time window.
Failure to act within this time frame will create a much more cumbersome
process to enact Act 45 after this window passes.
Registration & Certification: The
important part here is registration. Every member who is an
active municipal inspector should go to L&I’s web site (www.dli.state.pa.us),
click on Building Code in the quick links in the right hand column and
then click on code training and certification. At the bottom of this
page you will find and click on certbooklet.pdf. This new booklet
contains all the information needed to certify and register.
Certification and registration are separate processes be sure to select
the correct forms for registration (not certification) and
complete all information requested. Be thorough and be sure to include
the latest edition of the code you enforce and a complete description of
the duties you perform. Enclose the fee of $50.00 and mail forms to the
address shown. The urgency here is, if you do not register by
April 1, 2004 you will no longer be eligible for grandfathering.
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You will no longer be able to register. Certification is a
separate process with separate forms and fees. Once you have registered
you may want to wait to certify, especially if you are still in the
process of testing. It costs the same amount to get state certification
for one test as it does for multiple tests. Once you are registered you
have 3 years for residential and 5 years for commercial to certify, and
it makes fiscal sense to certify for multiple areas at the same time.
Training: Lots of training is going
to be available this spring from a variety of sources. Lets start with
the Pennsylvania Construction Code Academy offerings in Exton at what
used to be the Best Western. January 15 & 16th will highlight a two day
residential plumbing course (2003), January 29 & 30th will feature a two
day residential mechanical presentation (2003), and March 4th & 5th is a
two day International Residential Code 2003. These PCCA programs will be
taught by the PHRC and have been designed for Code Officials to assist
in your preparation for the certification exams. Next up we have our
annual Spring Forum sponsored by PACO. The Tentative dates for this
years forum are April 26th thru the 28th. This year we hope to include
the Act 45 required Building Code Official program and certification
testing as part of our program. In addition, we will continue to provide
other more conventional tracks of programming in the International
Codes.
Well, I think that is enough for you to
ponder in this newsletter and I would like to take this opportunity to
wish you and yours a HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON. Watch your mailbox
for registration information on upcoming training programs. Be sure to
keep an eye on our web site for updated information.
www.PACO-71.org
Lee Milligan, PACO President |
BOOK ORDERS
The UCC is around the corner and PACO is getting your code books
at the best prices around. The UCC will adopt the 2003 ICC Codes and
PACO is getting ready to place its next bulk order to ICC for all your
codebooks, and CD’s. As a current PACO member, you can receive a 10%
discount on all books and CD’s purchased through PACO. We have extended
the deadline to order for the next bulk order. The new deadline is
December 12th. If you need to be billed for this order before the end of
the year, please indicate this on your order form. Anyone who is
interested in placing an order please fax your book order form to Bob
Duncan at 610-649-9598 or contact Bob at 610-645-6162.
PACO ELECTIONS
The PACO nomination Committee has reported that there will be
two Board of Director positions available at the Annual Election meeting
in March 2004. As always the Officers (President, Vice-President,
Treasurer, Secretary) one year terms are expired. To be eligible for an
officer position the member shall have served on the Board of Directors
for a minimum of one full term.
The following members are to serve the remaining two year term as a
Board of Director;
Dan Kerr - Towamencin Twp.
Robert Loeper - Radnor Twp.
Robert Neely- Lower Merion Twp.
The current officers are as follows;
Lee Milligan – President
Jeff Gentile – Vice President
Brian Gallagher – Secretary
Calvin Bonenberger, Jr – Treasurer
If you are interested or if you know of any PACO member who is
qualified, please contact the Nomination Committee Chair Mr. Robert
Duncan at 610-645-6162 for more details.
ICC CONFERENCE
Don’t forget to mark you calendar for the 2004 ICC Conference which will
be in Salt Lake City, Utah. The dates for the Conference will be
September 26-29, so start thinking about budgets. The ICC conference is
an educational experience for the code professional wishing to enhance
and develop their skills. The PACO Officers urge more PACO members to
attend the ICC conference, even if you can only attend for a few days.
The attendance at the ICC conference by Code Professionals will continue
to increase as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania moves towards the
adoption of the Uniform Construction Code.
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PACO COMPUTER & PRINTER
As reported at our September quarterly meeting, PACO's new "Non-Profit
Corporation" status dictates a more formal means of maintaining our
accounting records because revenues exceed $25,000 annually. In order to
meet our accounting obligations, our legal and accounting advisors have
recommended that we purchase a computer and current accounting software.
PACO has purchased a new lap top computer
authorized by the membership at our September meeting. The computer is a
Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop. The printer is an Epson Stylus Photo 900. The
equipment will be primary used by the treasurer to keep tract of PACO
finances. Quik-books Pro 2003 accounting software was also purchased and
placed on the new computer. The new system will maintain a standard
accounting system that can be easily transferred from one treasurer to
another.
PACO SERVICE AWARD
The PACO nomination committee wants to remind you that this is the
fourth year for the PACO service award. This award is designed to
recognize and reward a qualified active member of PACO for their
outstanding service to the Association or their community. The recipient
will receive either a complimentary registration fee for attendance at
the annual ICC Conference or a registration fee for attendance to one
ICC or any other building code related accredited seminar (registration
fee only). The amount of the seminar fee cannot exceed the total amount
of the ICC Conference registration fee. Applications are available on
the PACO web site, so hurry and log onto PACO-71.org and submit an
application today. If you do not have access to the web please contact
Robert Duncan at 610-645-6162 to obtain an application.
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