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By Steve O’Neal, CBO, Chief Building Official, City of Lubbock; and Garett Nelson, Fire Marshal, City of Lubbock Anyone serving in a public service regulatory capacity understands that we live in a time where the public has very little patience for increasing government interference in their lives and businesses. It can be difficult for the … Read more
By Jeffrey Widmer, Chief Building Official, City of Rockwall, and BOAT Board of Directors Many of you may already be aware of BOAT’s response to several disaster events that occurred within the state and the assistance we provided to communities impacted by those events. On occasion, the Association has called for volunteers to perform damage … Read more
Wow, we are halfway through the year! It’s summer and things are heating up in temperature and construction activity. How are things going in your town? Is work progressing so fast you can hardly keep up? Texas is blessed with an abundant amount of development. We are staying quite busy these days and with that … Read more
Our BOAT Constitution and By-Laws contain many opportunities for membership involvement. BOAT is only has good as its membership participation. Sign up for one of our committees. There are many areas to help out and learn more about our organization. Below is a list of our standing committees: Program and Education Committee shall establish long-term … Read more
It is that time of year again and we must be aware of the hidden dangers in our own backyards. Pools and spas are places we use for sports, recreation, and exercise. They should be as safe as possible. Unfortunately, each year people are injured at public and private pools and spas. The powerful forces … Read more
I assume that many of you are currently working on your 2015 code adoption process. Therefore, I’d like to briefly address an item that merits some of your attention. The 2015 IBC contains regulations requiring storm shelters as part of certain occupancy types. The code obviously specifies when these shelters are required and refers to … Read more
An applicant for a Certificate of Occupancy comes in to the office ready to open their business only to find the business type is not allowed based on zoning regulations; or the building must be altered to add additional means of egress or more toilet facilities; or that the building must now be equipped … Read more
Have you ever thought about the similarities that building officials share with golfers? Some may think it’s absurd, but there is justification to support this idea. In the daily role of the building official you must consider the many codes that need to be applied to certain construction dilemmas. What type of construction do you … Read more
Guest article by: Julie Hildebrand, Executive Director, Texas Board of Architectural Examiners Next year, Texas Board of Architectural Examiners will turn 80 years old. Starting in 1937, Texas has ensured state level oversight of the design professions, with the stated goal of protecting the public. From around the same time, various building codes have existed … Read more