Agenda Packets - 2003/10/27 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Some other activities above and beyond the typical day to day work include assessing homes within the Mounds View Manufactured home community in association with the Mounds View Manufactured Home park revitalization program; working with the Housing Resource Center staff in the administration of the Mounds View rehab incentive program and the Ramsey County deferred loan program. Building Inspections / Fire Marshalling Activities Kathi Osmonson has been very active this year with building inspections and fire marshalling. As mentioned earlier in this report, Kathi has performed more than 1,000 inspections this year and completed 50 fire inspections. All City buildings were inspected and violations were identified and are slated for correction. A few fire inspections have resulted in controversy and Kathi has unfairly come under attack. As the Fire Marshal, Kathi is responsible for ensuring that buildings are safe and that violations, especially violations that compromise or put at risk the safety of the public, are corrected. The Fire Marshal reports to the Fire Chief, who is a strong advocate for proactive code enforcement as a means to reduce fires, building loss and loss of life. The proactive enforcement has resulted in decreasing fire calls and decreasing losses when fires do occur. A representative from the State of Minnesota Building Codes and Standards Division recently performed a needs assessment audit to review the City’s practices and procedures and to evaluate the City’s current staffing for inspections. The initial response was positive, it was mentioned that the City has exemplary procedures and is well organized however plan storage and filing was identified as needing improvement. Staff will work on this through the rest of this year. It was noted that for the number of permits processed and inspections requested, additional assistance would be recommended. With the new planning associate on board, more of Jeremiah’s time can be spent assisting with building related inspections. During the peak months of June, July and August, we will plan on having an intern provide some temporary assistance to keep us running smoothly. Kathi worked on the second annual safety camp this summer and by all accounts it was a success. The camp was open to children from Mounds View, New Brighton and Spring Lake Park and involved the participation of a variety of City staff members, trained professionals in the fields of safety and representatives from the YMCA. Other activities of note include participation on the state’s building code advisory committee and contribution to the Juvenile Firesetter Task Force as an assessor and instructor. Continuing Education Continuing education and training is important to ensure staff remains knowledgeable in the various facets of their position and allows for the broadening of their skill-set which is a benefit to the community. An example of some of the training opportunities staff attended include: • MN Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators annual training conference. Studied advanced arson investigation (Jeremiah). • Point of sale/truth in housing conference sponsored by MN Society of Housing Inspectors (Jeremiah) • Firefighter II Certification through MN Fire Service Certification Board (Jeremiah).