southeastern arizona contractors association construction
TRANSCRIPT
October 2011
Southeastern Arizona Contractors Association
Vol. 8, No. 2
ConstructionNews & Views
A message fromSACA�’S President
Larry Saunders
President continued on page 5
Member Profile: ETC Compliance Solutions Inc.Established in 1993, ETC Compliance
Solutions (ETC) is recognized asArizona�’s premier provider of Safety andEnvironmental training, consulting andrelated services. Through excellence ineducation, we provide our clients with theproper tools to minimize risk, reduce ac-cidental loss and meet regulatory obliga-tions. We understand that navigating themaze of federal and state regulations is adaunting task which requires a variety ofapproaches to get the job done right, ontime and within budget.
As a safety and environmental com-pany, we offer clients several options forgetting up to speed with their safety andenvironmental challenges. Open enroll-ment classes are conducted in Tucson andPhoenix every month. These course of-ferings are economical for companieswith a small workforce or for the newemployee needing to catch up on requiredtraining. The Open Enrollment scheduleis published quarterly and may be ac-
cessed online on our website www.e-t-c.com.
Custom �“By Request�” training is achoice when the Open Enrollment sched-ule doesn�’t offer the type of trainingneeded or it doesn�’t fit into the company�’sschedule. Whenever possible, the coursematerials are customized to a company�’straining objectives and polices and pro-cedures. Custom training may be deliv-ered on-site, 24/7 or at ETC�’s TrainingCenters.
Consulting and Safety/Environmen-tal Services programs are tailored toeach client�’s needs and can be set upfor long or short term projects, regularvisits or on-call, written program devel-
opment, job hazard analysis, site inspec-tions and more.
It�’s all about our clients! ETC Com-pliance Solutions Inc has weathered theeconomic ups and downs of the last fewyears because we focus on exceptionalcustomer service and finding �“the bestof the best�” safety and environmentaltrainers and consultants around. As anETC client, you can expect our profes-sional team to make your priorities ourpriorities.
If you need OSHA, DOT, EPA orMSHA training or consulting, call usat 520-321-1999 or 602-923-9673.
ETC Compliance Solutions Inc.is a certified WBE/DBE company.
DON�’T FORGET...SACA�’s Annual Golf Tournament
Friday, November 4, 2011
A big thanks goes out toWendell Gilbert for organizing an-other suc-cessful pic-nic to sup-p o r tC o c h i s eCounty 4-H Clubs.The 4-Herscame fromall over thecounty toshow offtheir animal projects, which in-cludes horses, goats, a pig, chick-ens, and more. They also hone theirpublic speaking skills informing thecrowd about their projects. Thanksgo out to all who so generouslydonated to the 4-H. SACA mem-bers and friends gave over $3,000to exceed our goal.
Our next charity event is thegolf tournament scheduled for Fri-day, November 4 at Pueblo del SolCountry Club. Robbie Cain ofSouthwest Desert Images is head-ing up the committee this year. Planto register early and take advan-tage of the online option this yearat www.saca-az.org. If you canhelp with any aspect of the tour-nament, contact Robbie at803.0063. We need sponsorships,tournament volunteers, prizes, andmore.
SACA October 2011 Calendar of Events
ATTENTION SACA MEMBERS!
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Construction News & Views
Construction News and Viewsis published monthly for the
Southeastern ArizonaContractors Association
The SACA newsletter is looking formembers�’ business stories to publish.
Do you have a story about your business that you�’d like otherSACA members and the general public to hear? Please contact
Christine Bingel at 459-1706, or email [email protected]. Contractor ContactsRegistrar of Contractors (Local)333 W. Wilcox Dr., Ste. 106BSierra Vista, AZ 85635520-459-5119(This office has closed as of June17. Business will be conducted outof the Tucson office until furthernotice.)
400 W. Congress, #212Tucson, AZ 85701(520) 628-6345
Registrar of Contractors(Phoenix)1-877-692-9762www.rc.state.az.usSoutheastern Arizona ContractorsAssociation197-B, E. Fry BlvdSierra Vista, AZ 85635520-458-0488Email: [email protected] contact:[email protected]: www.saca-az.org
For information on advertising in this newsletter, contactFive Star Publishing
1835 Paseo San Luis, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 �• (520) 458-3340Email: [email protected]
General Membership Meeting October 19Location: PDS Country Club, St. Andrews Drive, Sierra Vista, AZ
Time: 11:30 a.m. �– 1:30 p.m. Luncheon $15 at the doorSpeaker: Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever
Our speaker for October 19 is Larry Dever, Cochise County Sheriff. Sheriff Dever is a nativeCochise County resident, born and raised in the town of St. David, AZ where he currently resides.He and his wife, Nancy, a retired Special Education Administrator and Educational Consultant, areproud parents of six fine sons. The oldest serves as a major in the US Army, three work for AZ lawenforcement agencies, one as a firefighter, and one attending college. They also have five wonder-ful daughters-in-law and 11 grandchildren. Sheriff Dever is a 34-year Cochise County law enforce-ment veteran. He was elected to his first term as Sheriff in 1996, following a distinguished 20-yearcareer working in the trenches of Cochise County law enforcement. Entering the profession as adeputy in 1976, Sheriff Dever rose through the ranks from sergeant to major before successfullyseeking political office and being re-elected to a fourth term in 2008. As Sheriff, his administrationhas been particularly challenged by a tremendous influx of illegal immigration and associated casu-alties in the area. He has been called upon to testify before Congress on several separate occasionsregarding these issues and has assumed a forward leadership role in attempting to bring resolutionto related local concerns. He serves on the National Sheriff Association�’s board of Directors andwas elected because of his strong leadership role in Border Law Enforcement Issues.
2011 SACABoard of Directors
and Committee ChairsCathy Carter, Executive Director
Larry Saunders, PresidentMike Rutherford, Vice President
Registrar of ContractorsAdvisory Council MemberBuilding Committee Chair
Water Issues ChairGreg Keller, Secretary/Treasurer
Kevin Jorgenson, DirectorSafety Committee Chair
Scholarship/Charities ChairBob Kirk, Director
Christine Bingel, DirectorNewsletter Chair
Membership ChairRobbie Cain, Director
Kurt Obermeier, DirectorWayne Gregan, Director
Website ChairLynn Mattingly
Cochise County Stakeholders RepresentativeMichael Cerepanya
City of Sierra Vista Stakeholders RepresentativeSWPPP/MS4 Co-Chair
Advertise in ConstructionNews and Views
Call 458-3340 todayto find out how affordable it is!
Your advertising in the newsletter is now availableto view on the SACA website: www.saca-az.com.New!
Government MeetingsCochise Cty Board of Supervisors Every Tues., 10 a.m. County Buildings, Bisbee, AZSierra Vista City Council 2nd & 4th Thurs., 5 p.m. City Hall, 2nd FloorBenson City Council 2nd & 4th Mon., 7 p.m. City HallBisbee City Council 1st & 3rd Tues., 7 p.m. City HallWillcox City Council 1st & 3rd Mon., 7 p.m. City Hall
Up-Coming SACA EventsFriday, November 4, 2011, SACA Golf Tournament
Thursday, November 10, 2011, OSHA Training PDS County Club, 9 a.m. �– NoonSaturday, December 10, 2011 Annual Meeting
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The Way I See It: NeverNever Land?Page 3
Casey Jones
Sierra Vista“Ace is the Place with the Helpful Hardware Folks”
D.I.Y. Lumber & Building Materials • Hand &Power Tools • Locksets & Security Hardware
Keys Made & Locks Re-Keyed • ElectricalSupplies • Plumbing Fixtures & Supplies
Evaporative Coolers & Supplies • Re-Screening & Glass Cut To Size • LightingFixtures & Ceiling Fans • Ace Brand PaintWith Computer Matched Colors • Lawn &
Garden Supplies & Equipment Sprinkler &Drip Irrigation Supplies
Serving Sierra Vista &Cochise County Since 1981Locally Owned & Operated
458-36503756 E. Fry Blvd., Sierra Vista
www.sierravistaace.com
Monday-Saturday 8am-6pmSunday 9am-5pm
A Proud Member of The Greater Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce
Commercial AccountsAvailable
Guy C. Cary, MDNeuro Pain
INTERVENTIONAL PAIN
520-417-1133BILINGUAL
2480 E. Wilcox Dr., Sierra Vista
• LUMBAR FACET INJECTIONS• EPIDURAL INJECTIONS
• BOTOX
SIERRA VISTAPersonnel
We work for you!(520)458-8826
Your local source fortemporary labor and skilled
trades.
Come with me to NeverNeverLand.
While there let�’s pretend that youhave been given the task of managingand expanding a �“very important�” ex-isting government permitting program.
As a prudent person you analyzethe task before you. That analysis re-sults in the following:
�• Program expansion will increaseyour workload from 14,700 to 6.1 mil-lion permits annually.
�• This increased workload will re-quire you to enlarge your staff from18,000 to 230,000 full time employees.
�• And incur administrative costs of$21 billion per year.
�• It causes you to report to thoseresponsible for overseeing your pro-gram that in five years the administra-tive burdens may be so great compli-ance with your responsibilities �“may stillbe absurd or impossible to administer.�”
�• Notwithstanding those findingsand your statement, you further informyour overseers that you intend to pro-ceed with requiring full compliance withthe permitting requirements your pro-gram imposes upon those required toobtain permits from you.
All of this with no conclusive proofthat full or even partial compliance withyour program will have the desiredsalutary effects of the underlying leg-islation which established the program.
If that is not NeverNever Land,
there isn�’t a NeverNever Land.
And the sad thing is that it isn�’t inNeverNever Land.
It is OUR U. S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency (EPA) as it, under fiatby the U. S. Supreme Court, goesabout implementing just one small part�– Greenhouse Gas Regulations - of theClean Air Act (CAA). All of the num-bers above came from the EPA.
That 2007 Supreme Court decision(Massachusetts v. EPA) said that car-bon dioxide (CO2) was a pollutant andtherefore under the purview of EPA�’sresponsibility to enforce the Clean AirAct. This not withstanding the factsthat it clearly was not Congress�’s in-tent for CO2 to be declared such un-der the CAA: and in fact such wasstated during congressional debate onthe act and it�’s subsequent amendment.
We should also bear in mind that
this pollutant is not just some noxioussubstance floating around out there.Without it ALL life; yours, mine, thebirds�’, the bees�’, everything would beimpossible.
And who, one might ask will be re-quired to undergo this permitting pro-cess to continue to operate?
How about the McDonald�’s andJack in the Box in downtown SierraVista, our local donut shop, or the Dis-count Tire Store? Yep. Quite likelythese and their counterparts across thenation will exceed the allowable levelof CO2 emissions, and require EPA per-mits to continue their businesses legally.
Another thing, each state also hasto comply with EPA�’s regulations and
will no doubt incur commensurateworkload, staffing, and expenditureincreases. I didn�’t mention thoseabove while we were in NeverNeverLand.
We did leave NeverNever Landdidn�’t we?
Or did we?Maybe not. No, like it or not we�’re
still there.Does anyone out there know the
way to San Jose, or back fromNeverNever Land?
It�’s up to us folks. What are wegoing to do about it?
That�’s the way I see it.Casey Jones
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KANMAR
439-44831-800-980-3884
www.kanmar.com
360 S. 7th • Sierra Vista
“Talk with the friendly guys in townfor a FREE ESTIMATE”
Licensed Contractor ROC K5-166101(Res./Comm.) AZ LIC ROC K3-167165
MEMBERSOUTHERN ARIZONA
SOUTHEASTERNARIZONA
CONTRACTORSASSOCIATION
REYNOLDSREYNOLDSREYNOLDSREYNOLDSREYNOLDSfor better building prfor better building prfor better building prfor better building prfor better building products inoducts inoducts inoducts inoducts in
ALUMINUMALUMINUMALUMINUMALUMINUMALUMINUM
• Patio Covers
• Carports
• Awnings
• Sun Screens
• Suntex Screen Rooms
• Fascia & Soffit Enclosures
• Vinyl & Aluminum Siding• Seamless Aluminum 5” & 6” Rain Gutters
ServingServingServingServingServingCochise
CochiseCochiseCochiseCochiseCounty
CountyCountyCountyCounty
WANTED:A few good men and
women to serve on theSACA
Board of DirectorsAll board positions are two year
terms. Contact any board memberfor additional information on how
you can help serveYOUR association.
Elections will be held duringthe Annual Meeting on
December 10.
SACA�’s AnnualGolf Tournament
Friday,November 4, 2011
SaSaSaSaSavvvvve the dae the dae the dae the dae the date!te!te!te!te!
SACA supports local 4-H ClubsDuring their annual picnic to support local 4-H clubs, SACA member, guests,visitors and friends raised $3,395 in support of 4-H activities here in CochiseCounty. Special thanks to Vicki and Wendell Gilbert for donating all the food anddrinks. KE & G donated water, and RSC donated the cooking and grilling efforts.Thank you to all the exhibitors who brought out their animals and shared theirstories with us.
OFFICE SPACEAVAILABLE
SACA has a singleoffice available tosub-let, to learn more,please call the SACAoffice at 458-0488
Welcome!The below listed companies have joined SACA recently.
Be sure to say �…..
ETC Compliance Solutions, Inc.
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SACA donates to Special OlympicsKevin Jorgenson, Scholarship/Charities Chairperson of Southeastern ArizonaContractors Association, presents a $2,000 donation to Officer Tracy Gradyfor the Sierra Vista Police Department�’s Saracen Pull for SpecialOlympics. SACA and Rutherford Diversified Industries have sponsored theSaracen Pull since its inception. Photo by Karen Doolittle
Dear Contractors,I would like to take this opportunity
to thank all of you who took the time toattend the 2011 National ElectricalCode update presentation sponsored bythe City of Sierra Vista on Saturdaymorning, June 11, 2011. DennyKaunzner, the presenter, was graciousenough to take the time to put the classmaterial together in a form of a powerpoint presentation. Denny as well asCity Building Inspectors were on handto answer any questions that wereraised concerning electrical changesfrom the 2008 NEC to the 2011 edi-tion. This was a great opportunity forthe electrical community and city staffto come together to discuss the upcom-ing changes, meet some new faces andhave a few laughs along the way.
I would also like to thank those ofyou who contributed suggestions rela-tive to the codes during the code adop-
September 2011 19 Year to Date �’11 126September 2010 11 Year to Date �’10 141September 2009 20 Year to Date �’09 159
City of Sierra VistaResidential Permits Issued
tion process. This input was valuedsince it is very important that the build-ing community have a say in the pro-cess because you have the experienceand are the experts in your perspectivefields.
The 2011 National Electrical codehas been officially adopted and will gointo effect on June 27th 2011. Most ofthe changes were relatively subtle butimportant nevertheless. For those ofyou that could not attend the class,please feel free to stop by city hall topick up a copy of our handouts.
Bob CampsBuilding AdministratorCity of Sierra VistaCommunity [email protected]
A message from theBuilding Administrator
The last OHSA training for 2011 iscoming up on November 10. The topicis �“Scaffolding Safety.�” Be sure to reg-ister for this important training that willbe held at the Chamber of Commerce.We appreciate the Chamber�’s willing-ness to make their training room avail-able to SACA. Watch for an emaildetailing registration. If you have sug-gestions for topics in 2012, contactKevin Jorgenson, 458.3688. Kevinheads up training and safety for SACA.
We�’ll end the year on a high note,Saturday, December 10 with the an-
nual party. Mark your calendars and thesave the date for an evening of goodfood, music, prizes, and more. Watchfor details in the next few weeks.
Although our economy continues tobe a challenge, I�’m proud of howSACA members have generously giveof their time and checkbooks to sup-port community this year. As 2011 windsdown, I�’m confident SACA will con-tinue its mission to serve the construc-tion industry of Cochise County and ourmembership will continue to improvethe quality of life in southeast Arizona.
President continued from page 1
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Septic careIs your septic system ready for
a holiday party? If you don�’t knowwhere your septic tank is, havenever inspected or pumped it, yourseptic system may just take the lifeout of your party.
Why is it important to know aboutyour septic system? Besides havinga system that adequately removeshousehold waste, a properly func-tioning septic system will help pro-tect your drinking water. Owners ofseptic systems are often well own-ers and malfunctioning septic sys-tems can pollute well water.
To learn more about septic sys-tems, attend a �“Septic Care�” pre-sentation with Dr. Kitt Farrell-Poe, UA Water Quality Special-ist on Saturday, November 19from 9- 11:a.m at in the PublicMeeting Room at UA South, 1140N. Colombo Ave in Sierra Vista. Dr.Farrell-Poe specializes in water qual-ity with a focus on residential septicsystems and unravels the mysteriesof waste water management.
Septic systems are not compli-cated - they are simply big digest-ers. Septic chambers breed bacte-ria that break down waste material.Processed liquid flows out of the
septic chamber and into a leach field. Butsome materials such as oils, grease, gar-bage disposal waste, cigarettes, andflushed personal products are not digestedand remain in the tank. This build-up re-duces the ability of the system to prop-erly digest waste, resulting in poor qual-ity water entering the leach field whichmay reach the groundwater (newer leachfields are shallow so as to reduce waterinfiltration and encourage evaporation).
Here are some tips to help protectwater quality and prolong the life of aseptic system: do not put solids down thetoilet that have not been digested; do notuse a garbage disposal; reduce the useof products such as bleach and disinfec-tants that can kill septic bacteria; there isno evidence that septic �“enhancing�” prod-ucts work; do not put grease or oils downthe drain; do not wash laundry loads oneright after another; annually inspect theseptic tank; and do not waste water as-suming it is recharging the groundwater.
Using gray water (waste water fromlaundry, showers and bathroom sinks) forlandscape plants is a great way to reducethe amount of water a septic tank pro-cesses, concurrently reducing groundwa-ter for irrigation. High water flow enter-ing septic chambers can flush out unproc-
essed liquids to the leach field. Top load-ing washing machines that typically usearound 40 gallons of water for a fullload should not wash multiple loadswithin a short period of time. However,if the gray water is diverted to flowerbeds or to shrubs or trees, wash away!
Retrofitting for gray water is easyif the washer is next to an outside wall,in an outside room, or if gray waterpipes can be accessed from under thehouse. If this is not the case, gray wa-ter retrofits can be cost-prohibitive. Forhomes built after January 4, 2007 inthe unincorporated area in the SierraVista Subwatershed (the area boundedby the Huachuca and Mule mountains,the Mexican border and Hwy 82), graywater plumbing is required. If you livein one of those homes and do not knowabout your gray water plumbing, callthe Cochise County Planning Depart-ment at 432-0440 or contact WaterWise.
FOR MORE INFORMATION onseptic care, gray water and water con-servation, contact call the Water Wiseprogram at 458-8278 ext. 2141 or visitwaterwise.arizona.edu. Water Wise isa University of Arizona CooperativeExtension program whose Partners are
Cochise County, the City of SierraVista, Ft. Huachuca, the Upper SanPedro Partnership and Sulphur SpringsValley Electric Cooperative.
Cado DailyProgram Coordinator Senior,
Water Wise ProgramUniversity of Arizona CochiseCounty Cooperative Extension
1140 N. Colombo AveSierra Vista, AZ 85635
Ph: (520) 458-8278 x 2139FAX: (520) 458-5823
waterwise.arizona.edu
Bisbee Water Wise Office66 Brewery Ave
Old Bisbee520-366-8148
Office hours: Tues & Friday12pm �– 6pm
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SAFETYHalloween safety tips for drivers
SAVETHE
DATEDec. 10,
2011SACA
AnnualHolidayEvent
SunWatts.SunWatts.
520-515-3473
At SSVEC, we know many cooperativemembers have expressed interest inclean, renewable energy sources. Westrongly support the development of“green” power that can help preserve our environment and reduce depletion of natural resources. And as part of ourSunWatts program, we’re offering you a number of ways to support this important effort. One way is a small voluntary monthly contribution that canbe added to your electric bill. All moniesgo directly into development of solar-powered electric generation and otherrenewable sources such as wind, bio-mass and landfill gas. Help support this bright future of energy. Call SSVEC today.
Part of abright futurefor all of us.
Ask about rebates up to $8000* for installing a solar power system!*Maximum of 50% of purchase price
Photo courtesy of Expert Solar Systems
Halloween is a wonderful holiday, butbecause of increased foot traffic and thatTrick-or-Treaters are out at night, thepotential for automobile related accidentswith young pedestrians increases fourtimes on this night according to a CDC(Center for Disease Control) study.
Streets are literally crawling with allsorts of witches, ghosts, goblins, vam-pires and all other sorts of costumedpeople. This makes for added responsi-bility for drivers to make sure that theydrive safer than normal.
In many areas, people drive their kidsinto subdivisions and let them out to walkfrom house to house. Usually the parentfollows behind in the car. This can causetraffic jams in small areas and muchconfusion as kids dart between cars onthe streets going from house to house. Adriver is already distracted because theyare trying to keep an eye on their ownkids and usually aren�’t paying attentionto much else.
Children and adults tend to be pre-occupied and may not pay as much at-tention to safety as they should. They
may not see your vehicle or just assumethat you see them automatically. Stay onthe defensive and you shouldn�’t have aproblem while driving on Halloweennight.
Don�’t use a cell phone or otherelectronic device while driving on Hal-loween night. You shouldn�’t be doing thisanyway, the rate of cell phone relatedauto accidents has jumped dramaticallysince the use of cell phones and textinghas risen so high. Some states have al-ready made laws concerning this andothers are working on it.
Pay extra attention, particularly tocrosswalks, intersections and the side ofthe road. Kids tend to walk along thecurbs, cutting across the street to get toother homes. Keep scanning all aroundyou as you drive, whether as thru trafficor along with your kids as they trick-or-treat.
Drive below the posted speed limitin residential areas during trick-or-treat-ing hours. This will allow you time to breakif you see a child dart in front of you.
Do not pass other vehicles thathave stopped in the roadway, they couldbe dropping off children. This is morecommon in rural areas but can happenanywhere.
Instruct your child to never get intothe car of a stranger. It might be easy foryour child to mistake someone else�’s caryour car with the excitement of Hallow-een. Put a lighted plastic Jack-O-Lan-tern on your dashboard to make your carmore recognizable to your child,
It�’s also a night that child preda-tors are looking for victims. Let your childknow that they should never get into thecar of a stranger at any time. If some-one stops them and asks for help or of-fers them candy, tell them to scream asloud as they can and run.
Make sure your child carries aflashlight, glow stick or has reflective tapeon their costume to make them more vis-ible to cars. Left them know if they carrya flash light to never shine itin the eyesof a driver. This can cause blindness onthe drivers part temporarily and they maynot see your child.
If you are dropping off or picking
up your kids in an area, pull off the roadinto a safe spot and turn on your hazardlights to alert other motorists. If you go
with your kids from door to door, leavethe hazard lights on so other drivers cansee your car parked there.
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Advertise in Construction News and ViewsCall 458-3340
Recently we have received severalcalls from the public regarding an adver-tisement published by a local air condi-tioning & heating company they stated,�“State and Local Authorities bannedthe installation of swamp coolers onnew housing projects. In other words,your old swamp cooler is obsolete.�”
This statement has raised questionsfor many since it is not entirely accurate.We would like to take this opportunity toclear up any misconceptions as to theuse and installation requirements ofswamp coolers (evaporative coolers). In2010, the City of Sierra Vista did amendArticle 151.16.002A Water �– SavingPlumbing Fixtures. It does require that�“new single-family construction shallnot offer evaporative coolers as theonly source of cooling.�” Swamp cool-ers can still be installed as part of a dualsystem for new construction. If you havean existing swamp cooler, it can certainly
Jack HoldenCC BO
Arguing with an inspector is likewrestling a pig. Pretty soon you real-ize the pig likes it�….
I was told this a long time ago andI think it has some truth. But some-times it works both ways. My wifewould agree that we are all pigs, butI think on a different level. Anyway,how do you talk to an inspector?
I recently told a local contrac-tor that he needed to provide a spe-cial inspection report on the installa-tion of A325 high strength bolts. Hisplan was clearly marked indicating theinspection by a third party was re-quired because of the loads imposedon the bolt. He felt that the countywas overreaching, and he had neverin his 56 years of construction everheard of such a thing. Calmly, I toldhim to just get the report done andmail it to me. His response was some-thing concerning my family and herdsof buffalo or something to that effect.I got the report several months laterand all of the bolts failed the inspec-tion, so I felt some satisfaction. I�’mnot really sure what the contractorfelt, but I am sure he still doesn�’t un-derstand why.
This is clearly not the method Iwould recommend and it does nothingto generate intelligent discourse be-tween respectful people. The buildingcodes consist of thousands of pagesof code with millions of pages of ref-erence materials and standards. So noone knows the codes in their entiretyand to make matters worse we alsochange them every three years. Weneed knowledgeable people on bothsides of any discussion.
Recently there was an issue con-cerning bonding bushings on electri-cal installations. The contractor tookissue with the inspectors�’ requirementto install these expensive fittings. He
Talking to a Building Inspectorsubmitted via fax about 8 pages ofdocumentation supporting his position.This lead to emails to UL and severalother electricians I knew, and to anauthor of an article that I had read afew years ago. It turns out that the con-tractor was correct. Our inspectorswere told of the findings so they wouldmake a more informed inspection in thefuture. This is the way the processshould work.
Several people have told me thatarguing with an inspector is so timeconsuming that it is just easier to justdo as he/she said. I can see the logic inthat, but it is a sad commentary on ourrelationship if it does no good to try tomake a point or reach an understand-ing.
The best way to address an issue isto look at the plans to see if the issue isdescribed. If nothing is shown on theplans then look to the specific codesection to see if it might clarify the is-sue (someone ought to have a codebook). If the plans were prepared byan architect or engineer they could pro-vide an RFI response. If the code doesnot specifically address the issue thenthe manufacturer�’s installation instruc-tions should be consulted. If there arestill issues, then the building officialshould be informed and a ruling made.If there is continuing disagreement thenthe builder could go to the BuildingCode Appeals Board to ask for a re-view. I have never actually had to goto an Appeals Board because the is-sues have always been resolved suc-cessfully.
There is a logical process that leadsto an answer. It just takes a little timeto wade through all the information andreferences. We can always reach anagreement, even if the answer is no,and move on from there.
So the next time that pig situationarises, do me a favor and leave my in-spector alone, he might start liking it�…
From the Building Administratorbe replaced with another swamp coolerwithout having to upgrade to an air con-ditioning system.
Swamp coolers have been around formany years and have served us quitewell, especially during the hot dry months.As far as being obsolete, this is not true.Swamp cooler are still being manufac-tured and installed in many high endhomes and continue to serve as an af-fordable source of cooling in existinghomes. I suspect that as long as peoplelive in the desert, we will continue to seeswamp coolers being used. Thank youfor this opportunity to clarify the City�’sstand on this topic. If you have any fur-ther question regarding the use of swampcoolers, please feel free to contact me.Bob Camps, Building AdministratorCity of Sierra VistaCommunity Development(520) [email protected]