City of Lawrence

Board of Electrical Appeals, Regular Meeting

March 7, 2007, minutes

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

 Daniel Beebe, Russell Brickell, Jeff Hardie,Tim Kaufman, and BJ LaBounty

 

MEMBERS ABSENT:

 

 

 Larry Frost and Jeff Oliver

 

 

 

 

STAFF PRESENT:

 

Phil Burke

 

PUBLIC PRESENT:

 

 

None present

 

 

 

 

Co-Chairman Brickell called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm.

 

Minutes

The minutes of the November 1, 2006 meeting had been emailed to all members.  All members present had viewed the minutes prior to the meeting. Beebe made a motion to accept the minutes and LaBounty seconded the motion, the motion passed unanimously.

 

Correspondence

There was no correspondence.

 

Unfinished Business

There was no unfinished business to discuss.

 

Staff took this time to ask whether or not Kaufman and Brickell wished to be reappointed to the Board for another 3 year term.  They both expressed a desire to continue their service.  Staff will send a memo to the City Managers office so the Board roster can be updated. 

 

Brickell made mention of the upcoming meeting where the ICC representative will be answering questions. 

 

Staff stated members had received email notifications as well as mailings.  Staff stated attendance was encouraged but not mandatory, the meeting is being held as requested by the Plumbing and Mechanical Boards.  The meeting does provide an opportunity to have questions regarding the ICC Codes addressed.

 

Brickell stated that the Fire Code is currently at the Commission level.

 

 

 

 

New Business

Staff commented that there was not really any new business that he was aware of on the horizon, other than the possibility of someone requesting an appeal. 

 

Hardie questioned if anything was in the Legal Department at this time that might require our attention.

 

Staff didn’t think anything to concern our group was in their hands.  The Building Board is nearing its completion of the IRC review, but the Electrical Board has submitted their recommended amendments and those should not require any further action.

 

LaBounty asked if any of those would come back from Legal with changes for us to make.

 

Staff thought all amendments should be a done deal.  He felt some discussions could unfold with the adoption of the IRC but most would not deal with the Electrical Board.  We might be involved with some talks regarding the illumination of stairs which in the IRC extends to those on the exterior as well as the interior.  The change would be something Building Contractors and Electrical Contractors would have to address on projects under the IRC. 

 

Beebe asked if outside stairs are much of an issue.

 

Staff stated that the main situation would come from the stairs leading from exterior decks or possibly landings in some cases.  Staff mentioned the illumination level is minimal but the stairs may need to be located closer to the house in order for an exterior fixture to provide the proper illumination. 

 

LaBounty asked what level of illumination is suggested in the IRC.

 

Staff responded that the interior level is one foot-candle, but the exterior stairways make mention of having a light source in the immediate vicinity of the top landing of the stairway.

 

The Board consensus was that this level shouldn’t be difficult to obtain.

 

Beebe and Hardie submitted some address changes that Staff will forward to the front office. 

 

LaBounty asked since the residential code is almost finished are they looking at any commercial codes.

 

Staff stated the IBC would be their next hurdle, but it does not contain any electrical only by reference to the NEC. 

 

Brickell said that with the upcoming adoption of the IFC their office would most likely be requiring permits for any fire alarm work.  Brickell didn’t foresee any charges for these permits, but the permits would allow contact and approval by the Fire Department.

 

LaBounty asked if Brickell would be the individual responsible for approving the layouts of the fire alarm systems.

 

Brickell stated that he would be reviewing and approving all fire alarm systems as well as sprinkler layouts.  The design would need to be based on NFPA standards.

 

Beebe questioned what the requirements of an individual might need to be for them to work on a fire alarm system.

 

Brickell stated that in the early stages of this program it would probably be minimal, but if difficulties are encountered with a particular company or person doing the work, they may have to exclude them from the approved list.  This program is definitely in the early stages and more details would be forthcoming.  Since the alarm wiring is covered under the Electrical Code Brickell thought it was something the Board should be aware of.

 

The Board consensus was that this would be a good idea.  Members that have worked on these systems have seen some things that should have been prevented.

 

Adjournment

Brickell made a motion to adjourn, seconded by LaBounty, motion passed unanimously and meeting was adjourned at 6:20 pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Phil Burke

Secretary