Oct. 26 Conference News

Brothers, Dupler, Piester Elected  Officers

James L. Brothers, Building Director for the city of Decatur, Ala., was elected President of the International Code Council Board of Directors during the Annual Business Meeting of the 2010 ICC Annual Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Brothers, who previously served as Vice President of the Code Council Board, serves on the Legislative and Codes Advisory Council for the American Society of Interior Design and is Past President of the North Alabama Code Officials Association and the Code Officials Association of Alabama.

In 1997, Brothers was the recipient of the Alabama Code Official of the Year Award, and was presented the COAA Distinguished Service Award in 1999. Under his leadership, the city of Decatur was the first in the United States to adopt the ICC Performance Code for Buildings and Facilities. In 2005, Brothers was first appointed to the ICC Board of Directors.

Director of the Department of Building Inspections for Chesterfield County, Va., William (Bill) Dupler was elected Vice President of the ICC Board of Directors. Dupler is responsible for all aspects of the application of building and maintenance codes and conducts extensive educational programs for code users in Chesterfield County. He has worked in Virginia as a plans examiner, engineering supervisor, deputy building official and building official since 1978. Dupler previously served as Secretary/Treasurer of the Code Council Board.

Ronald E. Piester, Director of the New York Department of State Division of Code Enforcement and Administration, was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the ICC Board. A Certified Code Enforcement Official and Professional Code Administrator, Piester manages a 60-person division that administers and enforces New York’s Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and State Energy Conservation Construction Code. Piester previously served as a Director on the ICC Board.

Six Elected as Board Directors

Grand County, Utah, Building Official Jeff Whitney was elected to serve as the Section C representative on the Code Council Board. Section C includes the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah, and the nation of Mexico. Whitney holds 12 certifications from the Code Council and is Past President of the Utah Chapter of the International Code Council. It’shis second term as a Board of Director, but first as a Sectional Director.

Stephen D. Jones, Construction Official for Millburn Township and the Borough of Florham Park, New Jersey, was re-elected to an at-large position on the ICC Board. A Certified Building Official, Jones is responsible for the daily operations of the Millburn Township and Florham Park Borough Building Departments and supervises the department’s zoning official and code enforcement officer.

Guy Tomberlin, Code Specialist for the Fairfax County, Virginia, Commercial Inspections Division, also was re-elected to an at-large position on the Code Council Board. A Certified Building Official who has been active in code enforcement since 1985, Tomberlin also has served as a member of the ICC subsidiary International Accreditation Service Board of Directors.

Georgia Assistant State Fire Marshal M. Dwayne Garriss was elected to represent Section F on the ICC Board. Section F includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and the Caribbean region. For the past 19 years, Garriss has served as Chairman of the Georgia Fire Safety Symposium and has served as the Safety Fire Commissioner’s designee on the State Codes Advisory Committee for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for the past 15 years.

Alex “Cash” Olszowy, Building Inspection Supervisor for the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government in Kentucky, was elected to an at-large position on the ICC Board. Olszowy is President of the Code Administrators Association of Kentucky (CAAK) and has served for ten years on the chapter’s Board of Directors.

Rhode Island State Building Code Commissioner John “Jack” Leyden was elected to a two-year term on the Code Council Board, filling the seat vacated by Piester when he was elected Secretary/Treasurer. Leyden is a Certified Building Official with the Code Council and the State of Rhode Island, and serves as Executive Secretary of the Rhode Island Building Codes Standards Committee.

Weiland: Moving the Ball Forward

Despite the difficult economic climate, CEO Rick Weiland said the Code Council was able to overcome challenges of the past year while maintaining the organization’s mission and its role in supporting members.

“In many ways we have moved the ball forward,” Weiland told delegates during the Annual Business Meeting, “even in the face of a difficult economy that has especially impacted local and state governments and the entire construction industry.

“We restored member benefits in a more cost-effective and sustainable fashion including chapter training benefits and the redesigned electronic version of the Building Safety Journal,” Weiland continued. “As we bring the year to a close, we remain cautious regarding projected revenues and accordingly are keeping a close watch on spending.”

Weiland pointed to recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile as ongoing evidence of the importance of code adoptions and enforcement worldwide.

“We only need to compare the 230,000 deaths in Haiti last January to 500 deaths a few weeks later in Chile to see that good codes and good code enforcement save lives,” Weiland said. “As I travel across the country, and as our staff interacts with you, we continue to be inspired and humbled by your contributions to the safety of our communities, your dedication to professionalism and customer service, and the belief in your mission regardless of public recognition.”

Looking ahead, Weiland said the Code Council will be responsible for equipping its members with the best products and services in an ever-changing world:
• A code development process that will remain dynamic with the best approach to provide a transparent, public/private collaboration that is driven by those who are charged with enforcement.
• Professional development opportunities that will evolve into a more diverse menu of options for new and old members alike, along with new audiences.
• New products that will be increasingly available electronically to expedite decisions in the field and at the counter.
• Best efforts at the federal, state and local levels that will focus on the promotion of the Code Council’s process and the protection of the International Codes.
• And, ICC’s staff that will continue to develop new efficiencies in delivery and service to keep pace with the changing times.

“The truth is, we are moving forward,” said Weiland. “With the development of International Green Construction Code, we’ve set new records in how we are engaging with professionals, advocates and ordinary citizens; with thousands of downloads of the code, hundreds of individuals and organizations pledging their support, and record numbers tuning in to our webcasts and participating in social media.

“We are finalizing the overhaul of our IT and financial systems to bring our internal operations up to the levels we expect and you deserve,” Weiland continued. “Federal funding for states to promote training and enforcement around the International Energy Conservation Code has increased the opportunity to realize the benefits of codes to sustainability efforts. And around the world, engagement with the products and services of the Code Council reflects on your expertise – and it provides additional financial resources for us to continue to do our important work both domestically and globally.”

Despite this momentum, Weiland said the key is and will remain establishing and maintaining relationships at events such as the Annual Conference and capitalizing on changes in technology.

“Frankly, despite the economic challenges and even with our forward momentum, it all comes down to relationships,” Weiland said. “Recognizing this, we’ve really upped our efforts to communicate with you this past year – from our new CEO Quarterly Report – to an increased emphasis on member outreach.

“But sometimes, we just don’t have enough money or the time to meet as often as we would like,” Weiland added. “As the world moves faster we all are experimenting with how technology can keep us engaged. An exciting development that will help our members to access critical information at the tap of a finger is now available through the magic of the iPad.”

An evolving organization will serve its members better in the future, Weiland said. “You have our commitment that we will continue to refine our ability to make our products and services available by electronic means as well as by the traditional approaches that many of you still rely on.

“Thanks for all you do. Thanks for your passion and thanks for your continued dedication to building a safer and more sustainable world.”

Code Council Voting Representatives Approve Honorary Members

Code Council Governmental Voting Representatives approved three new Honorary Members: Greg Keith, President of Professional Heuristic Development; former Code Council CEO and COO Bob Heinrich; and former International Conference of Building Officials CEO John Traw.

Voting representatives also ratified the Board’s Emergency Amendment to the fuel gas purging requirements of the 2009 International Fuel Gas and Residential Codes.

Proposed Amendment 1-2010: Bylaws changes to Articles II, III, X, XVIII did not receive the necessary two-thirds votes for approval.

Global Forum Demonstrates ICC’s Collaboration with International Community

Tuesday’s Global Forum was comprised of eight presentations from various countries and regions that are receiving support from the Code Council on the development of its codes. Representatives from Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Mexico, Jamaica, a coalition from the Caribbean, Japan and Canada participated. The Forum was rounded off by a presentation from the Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee (IRCC).

Moderator Mark Johnson, President of ICC-ES and ICC’s Senior Vice of Business and Product Development said, “The goal of ICC is to really work with the global community in putting the I, in ICC.”

Ironically, Drew Azzara, ICC Vice President of Global Services and Business Development, was not physically attendance, because he is working on behalf of the ICC in China this week, but was able to address attendees for the Forum by video tape.

“There is a clear and growing market demand for better building construction,” Azzara said. “ICC, for one, is taking a leadership role in this endeavor by engaging various regions and countries throughout the world in support of building safety by providing technical information and related programs.”

Code Council CEO Rick Weiland appreciated the commitment of international delegates to make the trip to Charlotte to be in attendance, noting that global partnerships are a significant part of the ICC’s mission.

“Every time I see something tragic happen around the world that could have been prevented with good codes and good code enforcement,” says Weiland, “it just tells me that we have an unbelievable responsibility. We really believe and are passionate in terms of what we have created here in this country and we would like to share it with the rest of the world.

“Now, we are not so arrogant to think that in that process we are not going to learn something in return,” he added. “It becomes mutually beneficial. It’s the kind of collaboration that we are looking for as we move forward.”

Rick Okawa noted that the common thread he saw in all the presentations was a desire for collaboration.

“And in all areas,” Okawa said. “Not necessarily just on a national level, like the governmental officials level, but also with the design community, the industry, the manufacturers. One of the things we try to do is cooperate with some of these entities that are providing some method of safety. That type of technical knowledge needs to be transferred. That is part of the collaboration effort.”

The speakers that participated, their countries and/or regions, and topics are listed below:

– Ali Bukair, P.E., Consultant-Policies and Regulation, Department of Municipal Affairs, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, “Development and Implementation of Abu Dhabi International Building Codes.”

– Dr. Khalid El-Zahaby, Vice-Chairman, Housing and Building National Research Center and Professor of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Arab Republic of Egypt, ”Case Study – Effect of IAS Accreditation on the National testing Laboratories of Egypt’s National Housing and research Center.”

– Evangelina Hirata, former Director of Mexico’s National Housing Commission (CONAVI), “Towards a Green Construction Code in Mexico.”

– A. Michael Wood, Project Coordinator for the Caribbean (Regional) Building Standards Project, CARICOM/CROSQ, “The Challenges of Developing and Harmonizing Building Standards for the Caribbean region in Cooperation with the ICC.”

– Takashi Imamura, Director for International Building Codes Coordination, Housing Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), “International Collaboration: Update from Japan.”

– Joseph Aryee, Lecturer, University of Technology, Jamaica, and Coordinator, National Building Code Training Programme, “The New National Building Code of Jamaica – A Partnership between Jamaica and the International Code Council.”

– Mannie Withrow, CRBO, President, Alliance of Canadian Building Officials Association (ACBOA) and Lynn C. Balfour, CBCO, Immediate Past President, Ontario Building Officials Association (OBOA), “Ontario Building Officials Association – Developing Our Professional Building Officials.” and “ACBOA Update.”

– Jon Traw, P.E., Chair, Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee (IRCC), “International Collaboration on Performance-Based Codes.”