City council members discussed building codes Thursday, and approved City Administrator Carl Slaugh to pursue information for updating Iola’s codes. COUNCIL members looked at four new entrance signs for the city. IN OTHER business, council members approved corrections to the 2011 audit analysis, as well as the official revisions to the city’s purchasing policy.
Slaugh said building codes are part of an international program that releases updates for the codes every three years. The city looked at revisions from 2009 and 2012. A motion passed to obtain the 2012 revisions.
Slaugh said the city is not prepared for certain aspects of revised building codes. For example, a new revision requires all residential buildings to have sprinkler systems installed. He said the city would be allowed to take exceptions to revised building code plans.
The council agreed that it is important for the city to take a look at the codes, in order to keep building quality at a high level.
“If you build a home, you have an expectation of how the home is going to be built,” Slaugh said. “It keeps the builders on their toes.”
The revisions will be analyzed by the council in 2013. The approximate cost to update building codes is $2,400.
Trimark and Hawk Business Specialties have presented bids for new signs, with old ones to be demolished completely. However, councils members expressed that they would rather keep the stone pillars on either side of the original signs to cut down on construction cost.
Bids for the signs have them priced $12,753 or $15,348 for a high-density urethane version, making the total cost either $50,292 or $61,392. This cost does not include demolition, electric work or masonry work.
Council members also stressed the use of high-density urethane, which they said would be a more durable material than a normal aluminum sign.
The decision was to pursue new bids from the vendors, including the cost of a sign with the existing pillars. Councilman Steve French said anything to cut cost would be preferable, noting “that’s a lot of money for a sign.”
City council to pursue new building codes
