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05-16-1991 time *of CITY OF EDGEWATER BUILDING TRADES REGULATORY AND APPEALS BOARD MAY 16, 1991 SUMMARY OF MINUTES The Regular Meeting of The Building Trades Regulatory and Appeals Board was called to Order on May 16, 1991 at 7:00 P.M. in the Conference Room of City Hall. Roll Call was taken, and minutes were approved. Motion to approve proposed Ordinance 90-0-11 and 90-0-15 changes as written' Motion carried' Motion to appoint Doug Cole, Les Ogram and Gary Butt as a standby committee to help with Workers' Competency. Motion approved. Discussion was heard on the following topics: Ordinance 90-0-11 and 90-0-15 proposed changes. Financial Disclosure Forms Workers' Compensation Meeting adjourned at 7:58 P.M. lm vow CITY OF E0GEWATER BUILDING TRADES REGULATORY AND APPEALS BOARD REGULAR MEETING THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1991 CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL 7:00 P.M. Chairman Bob Howard ca/led to order the regular meeting of the Building Trades Regulatory and Appeals Board Thursday, May 16, 1991 at 7:00 P.M. in the Conference Room of City Hall. ROLL CALL: Members present were: Lester Yarnell, Douglas Cole, Gary Butt, Les Dgram, Michael Nelson, John Ciaffoni and Bob Howard. Also present were William Vola, Fire Chief, and Lisa Miller, Recording Secretary. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Minutes of the March 21, 1991 Meeting of the Building Trades Regulatory and Appeals Board were submitted for approval. Mr. Ciaffoni moved to accept the minutes as provided' Mr. Cole seconded. Motion carried 7-0. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Proposed Ordinance Changes Re: Competency Card and Registration Card Renewals (Ord. 90-0-11 and 90 The Board reviewed the proposed changes to Ordinance 90-0-11 that were presented for their approval' Those changes are: 1. Charging the people who get Registration Cards $7.00' 2. Delete the section of Ordinance 90-0-15 that states that after October 30th applicants have to appear before the Board. The section of Ordinance 90-0-15' that says twice the fee will be charged through October changed to read "after this time twice the fee will be charged." See attached sheets for more details of changes. Mr. Butt moved the changes be accepted as written. Mr. Cole seconded. Motion carried 7-0. NEW BUSINESS: Financial Disclosure Forms: Chairman Howard brought up the importance of filling out the Financial Forms and returning them to the County Department of Elections within the specified time limit' All Board members were advised of the July 1, 1991 deadline and given the correct form to file. Workers' Compensation: Chairman Howard suggested as he was not present at the last meeting he would like Chief Vola to give him some information regarding what has been going on with Worker's Compensation' Chief Vola related to the Board in the last 10 months, the Workers' Compensation rules had changed 5 times' Each time the rules have changed, we get a letter stating the Building Department shall require the following and if the contractors do not comply then we cannot issue them permits' %of \me We received the letter from the State on May 6, 1991. The letter stated the changes should be in force as of May 7, 1991. Chief Vola stated the letter that was presented for the Board's review, was his response to the State's letter' Each time the Building Department received changes from the State, our office called the State to straighten out the confusion as to what we and the contractors are expected to do; how we can work between us so that we follow the lam and the contractors can still pull permits. What we end up with is more confusion than if we had not called at all' We cannot understand the directions the State is sending us and when we call and ask for clarification, they cannot explain them. Chief Vola stated we are trying to find out the intent of the rules so that when we provide information to contractors and the subcontractors, we can be a resource and not another thorn. Mr' Ogram questioned if an insurance agent would be better able to understand the requirements. Chief Vola said he talked to Nancy Swiney, an insurance representative, and she is basically of the same opinion' They get conflicting answers also. They fill out a form and send it to a "pool". The insurance pool that underwrites the policies for the Workers' Comp Coverage in Tallahassee takes anywhere from a week to ten days, and they assign a company on a rotation basis' The agents don't know any more about it than we do' Th just take the money and send off the application. Copies of the letter from Chief Vola will be sent to Rep. Jack Ascherl- It was suggested that a copy also be sent to the State Insurance Commissioner. Chief Vola stated the main problem we have to deal with the new Worker's Comp policy now is in order for a contractor to pick up a permit we have to notify the contractors about the change of exemption form, they have to get the form and mail it in to the State, the State has to accept it and mail it back to the contractor, and the contractor has to bring it in to our office so that we can accept it and run a copy for their file' No one is supposed to be allowed to pull a permit unless they have followed this procedure. Ms. Miller stated this would be a major project. No separate record was kept on the individuals who filed the affidavits. To find those individuals, it would be necessary to go through every file in the file cabinet to look for the ones who filled out an affidavit. The only other option is to send a mailing to all contractors. Until that time, no sole proprietorship is supposed to be able to pull a permit without showing a copy of current Workers' Comp or the accepted exemption form from the State. Mr. Cole stated he had sent in his exemption form to the State and had received it back accepted' He said he would bring it and show it to Ms. Miller' Ms. Miller stated she would like to know what the turn around time was for processing from the State. Mr. Cole stated he thought it *was about six weeks. Chief Vola stated whatever happened with the Workers' Comp, the Board would be kept informed' Mr. Ogram stated he carried Workers' Comp on his employees but not on himself' Mr. Butt questioned if we issued a permit to someone who did not have Workers' Comp and had not filled out the exemption and they got hurt on the job would the City be held responsible' Chief Vola stated he assumed as long as we were acting in good faith there is an umbrella there. Ms. Miller stated the letter from the State reads "for permit issuance purposes the form BCM 204 or proof of Workers` Compensation coverage must be presented..." Chief Vola stated if you don't have one or the other we're not supposed to let you have permits' 2 %or Chairman Howard questioned if there was anything the Board could do to help the Building Department- Chief Vola stated this was why we brought the letter before the Board, for their input' It is the trades that are impacted. If we follow the State's requirements to the absolute strict letter of what they have here, there are going to be a lot of people not doing work in Edgewater' Chief Vola felt the way that it was done, personally, was unreasonable. To get forms on the 6th that go into effect on the 7th and you have 30 days to contact every contractor and subcontractor in Edgewater and have them fill out this form if they want an exemption from Workers' Comp is unreasonable' Chairman Howard questioned if it would help if the Board was to form a committee meet with Chief Vola and Ms. Miller. This would be members who are particularly involved in Workers' Comp if we don't get any success with this letter' Chairman Howard appointed a standby committee" so that if it is needed it can help the Chief in this particular matter' That committee would consist of Doug Co]e, Les Ogram, and Gary Butt' Mr. Ogram moved that this be done. Mr. Nelson seconded. Chief Vol a suggested that if we do have a meeting to get hold of Rep. Jack Ascherl to let him know what was going on. Motion carried 7-0' Chairman Howard suggested that the Building Department draw up a "Hold Harmless" agreement that the contractors will sign to allow them to do work in the meantime' That would take the liability off the City. Chief Vola stated that allowing someone to continue to work when they have already filed the appropriate paperwork with the City in good faith, the City in turn recognizes that good faith and is allowing them to work under the idea that there should be no reason for them to be turned down. Chairman Howard stated that the Chief was sticking his neck out and if the everyone on the Board agrees that letting these people work with good intentions under the cover of good and honorable intentions he would like the Board to go on record as supporting the Chief in this process until he gets some viable answers from the State. Mr. Cole questioned that everyone who was pulling a license had to carry Worker's Comp' Chief Vola stated if they were a Sole Proprietorship they didn't have to carry it. Ms. Miller stated when she gets a copy of the Certificate of Worker's Comp from the insurance company it only gives a policy number, an amount and an expiration date. By looking at Mr. Ogram's certificate she would not know if he carried Worker's Comp on himself or not. That information is not given on the certificate. She stated there is no way for her to know if the person is supposed to be filing an exemption form or not. Chief Vola stated there is no way we can tell and there is no way we could check it. For every single permit that is pulled we would have to make a half a dozen phone calls' He stated we don't have the staff to do it. Chief Vola stated you have to take people to some degree at face value. Chairman Howard said to it this go for two weeks and see what happens. This was as far as the Board can go until they get some more information from the State. Chairman Howard questioned if anyone had anything more discuss. As there was no more new business to discuss, Mr. Butt moved to adjourn the meeting' Mr. Yarnell seconded. Meeting adjourned 7:58' Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: • Lisa R. Miller Board Secretary 3 CITY OF EDGEIWRTER DEPARTMENT OF FIRE FIND RESCUE SERVICES MEMORRMRR To: Members of the City Council, through Acting City Manager Fred Munoz 7/ From: William Bola, Chief Re: Workman's Compensation Exemption Hold Harmless On 02 July, 1 received a question from Councilperson Gillespie regarding discussion at the Building Trades and Appeals Board on 16 May, 1991. The discussion revolved around the new Workman's Compensation Exemption form and submittal process. I f the City followed the strictest interpretation of the new rules, many new Contractors that are eligible for Exemptions would not be illowed to work for the approximately one month that it takes the State to process the Exemption Application. When I contacted the State Workmans Comp office la Orlando, the young woman I spoke to in Mr. Greens office advised ine that it was up to the Contractors and the City's to find out about the changes to Statutes and to comply with them. It is my feeling that to deny a new sole proprietor [:ontractor or subcontrator the ability to work due to the literal interpretation of a Statute that we were notified of 5 days prior to its effective date is unreasonable, and certainly couterproductiue in a community where construction is a major industry. The BTRAB agreed, but suggested that some form of libility protection was in order. I drafted a Hold Harmless Contract to limit the legal exposure that the City would face in the issuance of Permits prior to the receipt of the qualified exemption. The final format is attached to this explanation. If I may be of any assistance, please let me know. HOLD HARMLESS A,E EIEMEKT , indemnify and hold harmless the City of Edgewater and its Employees and agents from any actions arising out of the issuance: of Registration or Competency Cards, Building Permits, or any other construction related action or activity. In return for this Hold Harmless Agreement, the City of Edgewater will accept the attached form as proof of Workers Compensation EHemption Application until the BCM 204 is returned "ACCEPTED" from the State of Florida. I further represent that 1 am, to the best of my knowledge, eligible for that EHemption and that the issuance of the Competency Card and /or Registration Card is based upon this knowledge. I understand that it is my responsibility to submit the BCM -204 form to the State of Florida for processing, and upon approval by the State of Florida, furnish this office with a Certified Copy of the approved Form. Finally, I understand that the Competency Card and/or Registration Card issued under this Hold Harmless Agreement will Empire 60 days from issuance unless the proof of EHemption is provided in accordance with the above directions. Before me this day appeared , who being duly sworn, deposes and says that the above information is true and correct. APPLICANT SIGNATURE SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED BEFORE ME THIS DAY OF AD 19 MY COMMISSION EXPIRES: NOTARY PUBLIC STATE OF FLORIDA AT LARGE