Four ICC Members Appointed to Florida Building Commission

Florida Governor Rick Scott announced two appointments and two reappointments of ICC Members to the Florida Building Commission. The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Code Council Board member Robert "Bob" Boyer of Palm City is the codes, product and training coordinator for Palm Beach County. He is reappointed for a term beginning November 30, 2012, and ending July 26, 2015.

Bradley W. Schiffer of Naples is the principal of Brad Schiffer/TAXIS Inc. He is appointed for a term beginning November 30, 2012, and ending August 11, 2015.

Jeffrey B. Stone of Saint Pete Beach, is an independent consultant with Stone Resource Systems LLC. He is reappointed for a term beginning November 30, 2012, and ending July 27, 2015.

Oscar L. Calleja of Palmetto Bay is vice president of engineering at Engineered Air LLC. He is appointed for a term beginning November 30, 2012, and ending February 3, 2015.

FASNY President/ICC Member James Burns Appointed to
Governor Andrew Cuomo's NYS Respond Commission

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced new appointments to three emergency preparedness commissions, including the appointment of the Firemen's Association of the State of New York (FASNY) President James A. Burns. Burns, a 51-year veteran of the fire service, will be serving on the Governor's New York State Respond Commission.

The NYS Respond Commission is tasked with finding ways to ensure that New York is ready to respond to future weather-related disasters. The Commission's recommendations will seek to improve the planning, training and resource commitment that must occur to ensure the appropriate deployment of people and resources before, during and after a future emergency.

"I am honored to be recognized by Governor Cuomo and the State of New York," said Burns. "In response to Hurricane Sandy, the need for preparedness and emergency response is greater than ever. I look forward to serving alongside some of the brightest and most qualified professionals to improve and strengthen New York State's infrastructure and response capabilities for the future."

Olk Named Community Services Director for Farmers Branch, Texas

Jim Olk (at podium) leads discussion during ICC's PMG Membership Council meeting in Portland, Oregon.

Citing his years of experience combined with his national leadership in the code enforcement industry, longtime Farmers Branch, Texas, Building Official Jim Olk has been named Director of Community Services by City Manager Gary D. Greer. Olk will now assume supervision of the city's Environmental Health and Planning Divisions, in addition to Building Inspection and Code Enforcement operations that make up the Community Services Department.

Olk has been employed with the city of Farmers Branch for 13 years. He previously worked for the city of University Park, Texas, for 10 years. Olk is Immediate Past President of the Building Officials Association of Texas and the North Texas Chapter of ICC, and serves as Chairman of the North Central Texas COG Building and Energy Code Committee and as a Board member of the North Central Texas COG Regional Code Coordinating Committee. He is chair of ICC's PMG Membership Council; chairman of the city of Lucas, Texas, Planning and Zoning Commission; a member of the city of Lucas Home Rule Commission; and a Board member of the city of Lucas Texas Board of Adjustment.

A certified building official with the Code Council, Olk holds multiple ICC certifications and is a licensed plumbing inspector and a licensed code enforcement officer with the state of Texas. He is often invited to speak to groups of industry professionals on implementation of proactive code enforcement programs and co-authored the Housing, Property Maintenance, and Code Enforcement Inspection Programs chapter in the newly redrafted Building Department Administration – 3rd Edition.

Longtime Tennessee Building Official Dale Patty Passes Away

By Nick Reiher

Maryville, Tennessee, is a town of some 27,000 just outside of Knoxville, at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. It has a delicate mix of great schools, residential, commercial and industrial combined with enough history and small-town atmosphere for cable channel A&E to name it among the "Top Ten Cities to Have It All." But as of Oct. 10, Maryville is without one of its favorite sons. Dale Patty, Building Inspector for the city of Maryville for 45 years, passed away after a brief illness. He was just a couple weeks shy of his 75th birthday.

It's been some 17 years since Patty retired as Maryville's Building Inspector. Frank Wright, Patty's longtime friend and former Maryville Electrical Inspector, remembers it well. He retired at the same time. Wright said he first met Patty in May 1971, when he left the military for the electrical inspector's job in Maryville. He went home and told his wife Shirley about the guy he was working with. Turns out Patty graduated a year after Shirley from Everett High School in Maryville. For the next 24 years, they became as close a family, practically inseparable.

"Part of that is because the city had only one car for us," Wright said chuckling. "We had to go out on all calls together. We spent a lot of time together." And their work styles complemented each other nicely, Wright said. "I was more direct, go right at 'em,” he said. "Dale would take the long way around, and eventually, he would tell them this is the way it needs to be done. "He had such a way with people. I remember someone would come in the office upset about something. He would tell them to sit down and then ask where they lived. Then he would say, 'Isn’t that where so and so lives?' And they would say, 'Well, yes it is.' And they would go off on that for a while. I don't know that they ever got the answer they wanted, but they left happy."

Pretty much anyone who worked with Patty ended up happy, Wright said. He had such a great sense of humor. "One day, he comes in and says, 'Don't make any appointments for me this afternoon. I'm going to get a toupee.' I said, 'Don't make any appointments for me, either. I’m going to go, too.' So we went over there, and the guy in charge put a toupee every which way that he could on Dale's head. It was hours of continuous laughter. "Then, we go back to the office, and when the secretary sees him, she stands up and says, 'My God!' We always had a good laugh with that."

Wright said their families spent a lot of weekends camping together. "It was more like family than friendship," he said.

Wright remembers when they almost lost Patty back in February 1983. Patty had been trimming a tree and fell. "His wife, Charlene, brought him to one hospital, but they said they couldn't find anything and released him," Wright said. "Then she brought him to one in Knoxville, and they said he broke his back. There was a surgeon in town, and they got him off the golf course to do surgery. If he hadn't, Dale probably would have been wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life."

Several months later, he was back at work. That injury left him with a lifetime of back problems and a new focus on making sure the disabled were safe in the built environment, said friend and co-worker Bobby Parks, some seven years before the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law.

Parks, who eventually would succeed Patty as Maryville Building Inspector, worked under him as a Code Enforcement Officer beginning in 1979. He said Patty was in charge when the city got its first mall, as well as when global auto and truck parts dealer Denso put up a complex there. Parks said Patty treated everyone the same. "I always remember him saying, 'It's not what you want or what they want. It's what the code requires,'" Parks said.

Though he was a person who generally liked to stay in the background, Patty attended as many meetings of the Southern Building Code Congress International and Tennessee Building Officials Association (TBOA) as he could, eventually rising to president of the Chapter. Tim Ward, retired as longtime Division Manager and Building Official for Oak Ridge, Tennessee, often rode with Patty to those meetings. In fact, he first met Patty at a TBOA meeting in 1978. "He had been involved in TBOA for years by then," said Ward, who also would be elected president of that group. "He kinda took me under his wing." Ward said Patty believed there had to be a minimum standard with the codes, "but he didn't agree with all the code changes that came out. He would enforce what was in the books, but he didn't always like what was in the books."

Patty also helped Terry Cobb get involved in TBOA shortly after the latter was named Director of Nashville's Codes Department in January 1990. He dropped by Cobb's office in Nashville that March to introduce himself and to invite him and his staff to the TBOA annual meeting in Nashville that year. Cobb is glad he did. "Dale invited me to drop by the TBOA hospitality room that evening and get to know a few of my contemporaries from across the state. Great advice!" said Cobb. "He introduced me to the other code officials in Tennessee, most of whom I am now proud to say have been, and are, close and dear friends."

Patty did a lot for Maryville during his many years there, Parks said. But maybe his biggest, or at least most visible, accomplishments came after he retired. For a few years, he worked with the Blount County Public Building Authority, overseeing construction of four new schools, as well as a new county justice center, including a courthouse and jail. "It was very complicated," Parks said. "It encompassed fire, egresses, sally ports, elevators. He really enjoyed that."

But slowed by his back problems, Patty, until his last days, was more than content to dote on his children and grandchildren.

All said they would miss Patty's friendship and his sense of humor. "He was pretty quick to jokes," Ward said, "and he was pretty quick to laughter. "He had this big, bushy mustache, so you couldn't see his mouth. But when you saw his eyes squint, you knew he was smiling. That's how you could tell."

Dodson Named New Building Official for City of Tallahassee, Florida

The city of Tallahassee announced the appointment of Glenn Dodson as the new Building Official in the city's Growth Management Department. Dodson will oversee activities in the Building Inspection Division and will report to Karen Jumonville, director of Growth Management.

Prior to his appointment, Dodson served as the city's Deputy Building Official after having served as the Supervisor of Inspection Services and Plans Examiner. Last year, Dodson was named Building Official of the Year for the State of Florida. Dodson has over 13 years of combined experience in permitting, inspections, plan review and licensing and investigations. In his new position, Dodson will be responsible for overseeing all residential and non-residential building permitting, inspections and enforcement.

Dodson is licensed in the state of Florida as a Building Code Administrator, Fire Safety Inspector, Standard Inspector, Standard Plans Examiner, Standard 1&2 Family Dwelling Plans Examiner, and State of Florida Certified Building Contractor. He also holds multiple International Code Council certifications.

"Glenn Dodson brings both experience and expertise to the position of Building Official," Jumonville said. "Glenn has a proven track record of providing excellent customer service and has established positive relationships with the development community and citizens over the years."

Brown Appointed Building Official for Prince George County, Virginia

The Prince George County Board of Supervisors appointed Jeffrey M. Brown to the position of Building Official at their meeting on November 27. Brown will be assuming the duties of Building Official from Julie Chevalier Walton, who was recently promoted to Director of Community Development and Code Compliance, a newly consolidated department for the County that combines the Planning and Zoning, Building Inspections, Environmental, and Code Compliance divisions into one department. Walton has been the county's Building Official for over 14 years, following four years as the Assistant Building Official.

Before beginning employment with the county in 2004 as a Building Inspector, Brown was a Field Services Coordinator with Engineering Consulting Services, Inc., a local engineering and testing firm. During his tenure at Prince George County, Brown has advanced from Senior Building Inspector to Assistant Building Official to Deputy Director.

As Deputy Director and Assistant Building Official, Brown recently obtained his certification from the International Code Council as a Master Code Professional, which is the highest level of certification the Code Council awards to building officials and inspectors. Brown is currently one of only 58 professionals in Virginia and one of approximately 700 in the world to have this certification. Brown is also a Certified Building Official, Fire Official, Property Maintenance Official and Fire Marshal.

"Jeff instills a sense of pride and professionalism in our department, and his knowledge of codes and building principles is unmatched. He is an invaluable resource to staff, contractors, homeowners and the community. He is an excellent choice to continue the progress we have made in the building official's office." said Julie Walton.

Larimer County, Colorado, Promotes Eric Fried to Chief Building Official

Larimer County promoted Eric Fried to Chief Building Official on November 29. Fried replaces current Chief Building Official Tom Garton who is retiring at the end of the year. Fried is looking forward to his new job, "I am excited by the opportunity to lead our county's exceptionally skilled and hard-working building department into the future with all its challenges."

Fried was hired as a county building inspector in 1997. Prior to that time, he worked as a building inspector in the Denver metro area and in California. He switched over to a code compliance officer in June 2009 due to budget issues in the building department, performing building inspections as well as investigating building and zoning code violations.

He is a certified chief building official as well as a residential and commercial combination building inspector. He is also certified as a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green Associate. Fried has been instrumental in making sure "green building" information is available on Larimer County's website, the Virtual Courthouse.

He holds a bachelors' degree in social studies from Harvard University. "Eric's background and experience are well matched for future growth and changes facing the building department in today's economic environment," according to Building & Code Compliance Supervisor Candace Phippen.

Childers, Remmert Re-appointed to Texas Industrialized Building Code Council

Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed six members, including Randall Childers and Mark Remmert, to the Texas Industrialized Building Code Council for terms to expire Feb. 1, 2014. The council oversees the inspection of industrialized housing and buildings to ensure state standards are enforced.

Randall "Randy" Childers of Hewitt is a building official for the city of Waco, as well as a certified building inspector, residential combination inspector, building plans examiner and building code official. He is a member of the International Code Council, the Lone Star Chapter of the ICC and the ICC Region X Coalition. He is also a board member of the International Association of Building Officials, and a board member and past president of the Building Officials Association of Texas. Childers received a bachelor's degree from Tarleton State University. He is being reappointed.

Mark Remmert of Liberty Hill is a building official for the city of Round Rock. He is a member of the International Code Council and Austin Home Builders Association. Remmert received a bachelor's degree from Concordia University. He is being reappointed.

Durbin Certified as Master Inspector in Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Dean C. Durbin has been certified as a Master of Special Inspections from the International Code Council. He is the first person to hold both a professional engineer's license in Kentucky and Master of Special Inspections certification from the Code Council. Durbin has ICC certifications in structural masonry, reinforced concrete, structural steel and bolting, structural steel and welding, and master of special inspections.

Holly Hill, Florida, Building Official Greg France Dies

Friends and co-workers say James "Greg" France always smiled and brought a sense of professionalism to the job, serving as Holly Hill's chief building official and previously as vice mayor for the city of DeBary. France, 63, died Friday, October 5.

Holly Hill Commissioner John Penny said France complained of feeling ill on Friday and went to his DeBary home. He later called 9-1-1, but was dead when paramedics arrived. Officials say France had been dealing with a severe case of pneumonia. "He will be greatly missed," Penny said.

France was hired as Holly Hill's chief building official in 2011. He also served in a similar capacity in Daytona Beach, Deltona and Seminole County. Before coming to Holly Hill, France served as Vice-Mayor for DeBary from 1996-2001. He also made an unsuccessful run for Volusia County Council. France studied at the University of Maryland before moving to DeBary in 1972. He later received his master's degree from the University of Central Florida.

Holly Hill City Manager Jim McCroskey, who knew France for about 20 years, said he always had a smile on his face and had a great sense of humor. "I don't believe I ever saw him upset," McCroskey said.

Penny and McCroskey credited France for making the building department a business-friendly one during his tenure with the city. "He worked well with the public and always tried to find ways to make a project happen," McCroskey said.

Mary Swiderski, executive director of Volusia Council of Governments, wrote in an email that whenever France visited the organization’s office that it was "a bright spot in our day."

The city manager said officials will honor France at the commission's meeting. In the interim, the city is using a contracted consulting firm to handle France's duties.