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Former Louisiana
state legislator and Secretary of Commerce Ron Faucheux named Chief of
Staff for U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA.).
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Faucheux most recently
served as Vice President of Government Affairs for the American Institute
of Architects (AIA), where he managed federal, state and local government
activities for the organization. Faucheux led AIA's presentation at the
Louisiana Recovery and Rebuilding Conference in New Orleans, and edited
Starting Point, an insightful report resulting from the public discussion
of rebuilding needs and priorities.
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Hurricane
Wilma crosses South Florida on Oct. 24, 2005. (NOAA)
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Florida officials
express shock over Hurricane Wilma's damage. As the Florida Building
Commission studies the impact of Hurricane Wilma, building officials in
southern Florida say they are surprised by the storm's damage. In downtown
Miami, Wilma blew windows out of major high-rise buildings, sending debris
more than 900 feet away, and wind speeds reached 105 mph there, far less
than the 130 to 150 mph estimate that the windows should have withstood
under the Florida Building Code. Palm Beach and Broward counties saw similar
damage, as well as problems with roofs and screened enclosures. However,
officials say the evidence still shows that construction under the newer,
stricter building codes performed much better than older construction.
Judge sets one
trial date in nightclub fire case. One of three men charged in the
2003 Station nightclub fire has a May 1, 2006, trial date. Daniel Biechele,
former tour manager for the rock band Great White, faces 200 counts of
involuntary manslaughter. He lit the pyrotechnics display that started
the Rhode Island blaze. Biechele is being tried separately from the club
owners, brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, who also each face 200
counts of manslaughter.
Japanese government
will buy and rebuild problem condos. The Japanese government plans
to help residents of earthquake susceptible condos by buying, demolishing
and rebuilding them, with the rebuilt condos to be sold to any interested
former residents. The government has filed a criminal complaint against
the buildings' architect for allegedly documenting quake-proof calculations
for a number of buildings based on fake data, allowing the buildings to
be constructed with substandard quake resistance.
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Tylka installed
as FHBA President. ICC Deputy COO Dominic Sims (pictured right) was
a special guest of newly-elected Florida Home Builders Association President
Len Tylka (pictured left) during the recent FHBA Installation Banquet
held in Orlando. Tylka, a West Palm Beach builder and engineer, will lead
the 19,500-corporate-member trade association for the next year. Tylka
and Sims developed a close working relationship during Sims' tenure as
director of the Palm Beach County Planning and Zoning Department and they
served together on a task force that ultimately produced Florida's new
unified building code.
City official says
violations of building codes go unfixed. As many as a quarter of all
building code violations go unrepaired and unenforced even after repeated
fines, a top official told Chicago leaders recently. Code violations are
routinely ignored by some building owners and property managers, reported
James Reilly, director of the Department of Administrative Hearings, during
2006 budget hearings. "You do have that 20 to 25 percent of building owners
that aren't going to pay any attention to a hearing officer or administrative
hearing," he explained. "That's where the Building Department and the
Law Department need to ratchet up the enforcement." In all, city fines
and penalties are expected to bring in $210 million next year.
STRUCTURAL STEEL
DESIGNER'S HANDBOOK– 4th Edition 
#9245S4$150.00$120.00
Authored by R. L. Brockenbrough,
P.E. and Fredirick S. Merrit, this is a McGraw Hill co-publication with
ICC. Mirroring the latest developments in materials, methods, codes, and
standards in building and bridge design, this is a one-of-a-kind, definitive
reference for engineers. Hardbound, 800 pages.
2005 CONNECTICUT BUILDING CODE
#3000S05CT$104.00$83.00
Fully integrated,
perfect bound, custom code. 644 pages. The actual title is the "2003 International
Building Code Portion of the 2005 State Building Code: State of Connecticut"
2005 CONNECTICUT RESIDENTIAL CODE
# 3100S05CT$80.00$64.00
Fully integrated, perfect-bound, custom code. 612 pages. The actual title
is the "2003 International Residential Code Portion of the 2005 State
Building Code: State of Connecticut"
2005 CONNECTICUT FIRE CODE
#9441S05$175.00$157.50
Fully integrated in a binder.
The following are
upcoming events at which ICC staff will attend and/or host an exhibition
booth:
Jan. 12-14, International Builders Show, Orlando, FL
Jan. 12-14, Inspection World, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Jan. 13-14, Massachusetts Municipal Association, Boston, MA
Jan. 25-29, Fire-Rescue EAST, Jacksonville, FL
Feb. 14-16, International Roofing Expo, Las Vegas, NV
Feb. 24-25, New Hampshire Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Annual
Convention, Concord, NH
ICC
ePARTNERS
Volume II, Issue 1
January, 2006
ICC
Vision and Mission Statements
Vision
Protecting the health, safety, and welfare of people by creating better
buildings and safer communities.
Mission
Providing the highest quality codes, standards, products, and services
for all concerned with the safety and performance of the built environment.
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New
York City moves toward I-Codes
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Mayor
Michael Bloomberg signs the bill that enacts the New York City Plumbing
Code, which is based on the IPC. Pictured standing are: (L-R) Commissioner
Patricia Lancaster; Councilman David Weprin, co-sponsor of the bill;
Council-woman Madeline Provenzano; Councilman Peter Vallone, co-sponsor
of the bill; and Executive Director of the Office for People with
Disabilities Matthew Sapolin.
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New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg signed legislation to enact the New York City Plumbing Code based
on the International Plumbing Code® (IPC®). The bill also includes
several administrative provisions and highlights the intent to adopt 2003
editions of the International Building Code® (IBC®), International
Residential Code® (IRC®), International Fuel Gas Code® (IFGC®)
and the International Mechanical Code® (IMC®). The next piece of
legislation, expected to be introduced next year, will formally adopt the
International Codes® (I-Codes®) with the New York City modifications.
It is anticipated that all codes will have an effective date of July 2007.
Thousands
will see the ICC name when they log on to ProtectingAmerica.org
A coalition, co-chaired by ICC CEO James Lee Witt, recently announced
its California affiliate, which has been organized to support efforts
to better prepare and protect Americans for the consequences of a catastrophic
earthquake, storm or other event. ProtectingCalifornia.org
will push to establish rebuilding funds to be used in the event of major
catastrophes, lobby for better building codes, provide education for homeowners
and improve existing plans for dealing with emergencies.
NIST
will use code development process for WTC recommendations
The The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has hired
the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) to turn its World Trade
Center (WTC) recommendations into code change proposals for ICC. NIST
is urging the building and fire safety communities give "immediate and
serious" consideration to implementing the recommendations.
ICC
helps members build local media relations
New materials on ICC's Web site will aid building and fire officials in
working with their local media. Members can download fill-in-the-blank
news releases to explain code requirements and promote their departments'
dedication to public safety. The page also includes an "ICC to the Point"
publication entitled, "Building a Media Relationship," to help members
work with their local media, prepare for interviews and survive a media
crisis. For more information, click
here.
Witt
speaks at prestigious City Club of Cleveland
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ICC
CEO James Lee Witt speaks at the City Club of Cleveland.
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Founded in 1912, the
City Club is the oldest continuous speakers' series in the nation and was
recently designated as one of the top two speaking forums in the country
by Public Affairs Group. Past speakers include Presidents George Bush, Bill
Clinton and Ronald Reagan; former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger;
and Senators John Glenn and John McCain. ICC CEO James Lee Witt's
topic was on response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Katrina.
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Witt a member of panel discussion
ICC CEO James Lee Witt was a panelist for a discussion on "Disaster
Preparedness & Relief: Hurricanes Don't Respect Borders" during the CCAA
28th Miami Conference on the Caribbean Basin. Joining Witt on the panel
was Foundation President Paul Myers. The discussion focused on
disaster relief and mitigation, hazard analysis, and relief efforts that
must go beyond emergency aid once disasters strike. A second panel, “Importance
of Building Codes and Standards,” was moderated by Myers and ICC President
Henry Green.
ICC
participates in federal study on hurricane damage
ICC is among 16 organizations taking part in the NIST assessment of physical
structures damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The partnership will
document data on damage to major buildings, infrastructure facilities
and residential structures due to wind, wind-borne debris, storm surge,
surge-borne debris and flooding.
Carpenters
donate to ICC Foundation
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(L-R)
ICC CEO and ICCF Chairman James Lee Witt receives a $15,000 donation
from Gary H. Warren, Political Director, Louisiana Carpenters Regional
Council; Gov. Kathleen Blanco; Charlie Manning, Director of Organizing,
Louisiana Carpenters Regional Council; and Jason Engels, Executive
Secretary Treasurer, Louisiana Carpenters Regional Council.
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The Louisiana Regional
Council of Carpenters donated $15,000 to the ICC Foundation (ICCF) to be
used to fund code books and training materials for building officials in
the areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina. ICC CEO James Lee Witt
was on-hand to accept the donation and recognize the efforts of the Canadian
Carpenters Union, which sent 19 members to assist with hurricane recovery
efforts and have donated a total of $150,000 to the Louisiana Regional Council
of Carpenters.
Witt
participates in discussion on Hurricane Katrina response
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ICC
CEO James Lee Witt (right) discusses roles for emergency response
and management during a recent C-SPAN broadcast.
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ICC CEO James Lee
Witt was a panelist for the Center for Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS) discussion regarding the roles and respective authorities of government
officials for emergency response and consequence management. The panel discussion,
broadcast on C-SPAN, examined how the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina exposed
shortcomings in the response to the disaster at all levels of government.
The CSIS is an independent, non-partisan, public policy organization.
Witt
conducts Q & A with leading Washington publication
Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Homeland Security recently ran an interview
with ICC CEO James Lee Witt. In the article, he discusses the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and its role under the Department of Homeland
Security as well as the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Technical committee
holds first face-to-face meeting. The Ad-Hoc Committee on Terrorism
Resistant Buildings (TRB) met Dec. 1-2 in Las Vegas. The TRB evaluated
eight of the 30 recommendations from the NIST World Trade Center report
to determine the need for code change proposals. At the next meeting,
the TRB will review the proposed code changes. The Code Technology Committee
will also be given an opportunity to review the proposals. The next meeting
is planned for Feb. 2-3 in Orlando, Florida.
ICC participates in rebuilding council. Doug Connell, Senior Staff
Engineer, attended the Infrastructure Committee meeting of the Mississippi
Governor's Council on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal. A consulting firm
has submitted a report recommending building code adoption in the state.
Among the issues Doug discussed was the importance of adding the word
"enforce" to the recommendation to adopt strong model building codes.
Another rebuilding conference moves forward. John Battles, Vice
President of Architectural and Engineering Services, participated in the
second planning meeting for "Rebuilding the South in the Aftermath of
Hurricanes Ivan through Katrina/Rita: Technology, Energy Efficiency and
Affordability," a conference at Tuskegee University. The event will include
national leaders, regional experts and academic researchers. Battles will
make a presentation to help set the focus of the conference and ICC will
also be an exhibitor at the event that begins this week.
Government Relations
Advisory Committee sets 2006 ICC legislative priorities. The Committee
met in Washington, D.C., to develop ICC's 2006 legislative agenda. Committee
members debated at length over the nine suggestions for legislative priorities
they received. ICC would take a leadership role for six of the recommendations
and provide ongoing support for the other three issues. In December, Sara
Yerkes, Senior Vice President of Government Relations, will present
the legislative agenda to the Board of Directors for consideration and
approval.
The evaluators
get evaluated. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
has commissioned the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) to
evaluate ICC Evaluation Services (ICC-ES) and its promotion of housing
innovation. The consulting firm will meet with ICC-ES management on Jan.
17 in Whittier, California, to discuss how the study will proceed. The
project was prompted by HUD's position that the building regulatory system
in general, and ICC-ES in particular, are perceived as barriers to housing
innovation. At a recent HUD-sponsored conference about housing innovation,
it was very apparent that proven construction techniques with well-established
costs and public opinion that favors traditional materials as dependable
are major factors that affect the introduction of new ideas.
ICC-ES establishes a new committee. During a recent ICC-ES Board
of Directors teleconference, members approved rules of operation for a
new Industry Advisory Committee (ESAC). The Board will appoint no more
than 20 industry representatives who regularly participate in ICC-ES activities
to the ESAC. The call for candidates will be announced soon and posted
on the ICC-ES website.
ICC-ES seeks candidates for Evaluation Committee. A call for candidates
wishing to serve on the ICC-ES Evaluation Committee will be posted on
the ICC-ES website in 2006. The Board will make committee appointments
at its March meeting. Committee members serve 18-month terms beginning
July 1, 2006. ICC-ES bylaws call for nine voting members on the committee
with a non-voting Chairman/Moderator. The bylaws also call for the replacement
and appointment of at least three new members each term to provide continuity
to the ES program. At its recent teleconference, the Board appointed Scott
Marsell of Sandy City, Utah, to fill the committee position vacated by
Tom Meyers of Central, Colorado. Because of the few months remaining in
the current term, Marsell's tenure will not be counted as a full term
when reappointments are considered.
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HURRICANE
UPDATE
For
more information on ICC’s Strategic Partners, Supporting Organizations and
Participating Organizations, click
here.
