State to revisit building inspections

By Andy Gates - Argus Observer
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:44 PM PDT

ONTARIO - Representatives from the Oregon Building Codes Division will revisit Ontario in the next few weeks and assess the safety of recent commercial constructions in town.

The visit by representatives from the division stems from the fact the city did not complete a significant piece of state-mandated plans inspections, which could affect building security.

Thirty-nine plans involving “fire, life and safety” for commercial projects should have been reviewed by the city’s building inspector — Dwayne Holloway — between January 2006 and June 2007.

Those projects carried price tags between $2,000 and $1,958,000 — and included notable names like Holy Rosary Medical Center, Treasure Valley Community College, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and the Ontario School District.

The city collected thousands of dollars in fees to review those plans, even though they were never completed. For example, Wal-Mart was billed a hefty $10,211.99 for its fire safety plan review.

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Holloway, who is contracted by the city from Fruitland, is apparently not certified to review fire, life and safety plans in Oregon, Ontario City Manager Scott Trainor has said.

Trainor said he learned about the situation July 25 and contacted the state for assistance.

There had been confusion regarding the entity responsible for fire safety plan reviews, Trainor also said.

“It seemed that the (Oregon) State Fire Marshal’s office was handling that role due to the form that was signed for each commercial permit that says ‘Fire/Life Safety Plans Review,’” Trainor said last week in an e-mail to the Ontario City Council.

So, state building code officials visited Ontario Aug. 21 to spot check a couple of the city’s overlooked buildings.

However, more needs to be done.

“We feel we need to come back,” Oregon Building Codes Division Administrator Mark Long said Tuesday. “And do an in-depth spot-check of some plans.”

State building code officials want assurance the city’s buildings are safe for the public. Higher risk constructions will be initially analyzed, like for example, high occupancy schools or hospitals, Long said.

During this upcoming phase of spot-checks, state officials will determine how many of the city’s 39 incompletely reviewed constructions will ultimately be analyzed, Long confirmed.

Fire safety plans are apparently a significant component of safe buildings in Oregon.

Long compares fire safety plans and building inspections to one leg of a three-legged stool — where the other two legs represent the work of a licensed, trained architect and a licensed contractor.

“All three work together for a safe building. Sometimes the three legs don’t all work,” Long said. “Just because miscoordination occurred at the city level doesn’t mean the contractor and designer didn’t do a great job.”

Those legs of the construction process are all important.

“If there’s a breakdown of all three legs,” Long said, then an unsafe building could result. “Everybody has a level of responsibility.”

The building situation in Ontario is not common, Long confirmed.

“Every situation is unique and different. The bottom line is we’re working cooperatively with the city,” Long said.

The city of Fruitland will apparently pay the costs for coordination problems in Ontario.

Ontario officials said even though the city collected fees for fire safety plan reviews, it also paid Fruitland for building inspection services.

“All costs to spot check or review will be paid by the city of Fruitland,” Ontario Public Works Director Steve Gaschler said last week in a city memorandum.

Gaschler oversees the city’s building department, Trainor said, but Fruitland also plays a key role.

“Fruitland is the service provider and would be responsible for ensuring that Dwayne (Holloway) has all the necessary certifications. Since building inspection programs are handled through our public works department, Steve Gaschler would have been the department head that oversees this aspect of the program,” Trainor said last week in an e-mail to the Ontario City Council.

Fruitland picked up an inspector from Pendleton to provide Ontario with fire safety plan reviews, Gaschler said in his memo. Holloway could be properly certified next April.

The city recently placed a hold on reviewing fire safety plans. That stalled various construction projects in town, like Carl’s Jr.

Ontario-based Inspections, Inc. was initially utilized by Ontario to keep the plan review process moving.

“Apparently it’s all working out because there’s been no further complaints from builders directly to me,” Ontario Mayor Joe Dominick said. “I hope its worked itself out.”

Long said the city is taking positive steps to handle the situation.

The possibility of fines against Ontario from the state are not a current concern.

“We don’t start with remedial discussions,” Long said. “Our first focus is to make sure buildings are safe.”