Building Barometer - August 30, 2016

2017 Membership Directory

The Tampa Bay Builders Association is excited to announce its continued partnership with E&M Consulting to produce this year’s Membership Directory.  E&M will be contacting all of the members in the coming weeks about advertising opportunities in the Membership Directory.  This gives you the chance to promote your business or practice while supporting Tampa Bay Builders Association.  E&M will be managing the ad sales, creative design, and formatting.  They are extremely professional and produce a high quality publication, and we ask that you give E&M a moment of your time.  If you have any questions or would like to advertise, please contact Mike with E&M Consulting at 813-298-0446, 800-572-0011, or mike@emconsultinginc.com.  As always your support of Tampa Bay Builders Association’s products and services is greatly appreciated!

Staff Contact: Lauren

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TBBA Endorses 2016 Candidates

Hillsborough Property Appraiser - Bob Henriquez

Pasco Property Appraiser - Ted Schrader

Hillsborough County Commissioner - Sandy Murman

Pasco County Commissioner - Kathryn Starkey

Pasco County Commissioner - Jack Mariano

Pasco County Commissioner - Debbie Wells

Staff Contact: Jennifer

Building Barometer - August 23, 2016

Sales and Marketing Council (SMC) News ~  

As the summer draws to a close the Sales and Marketing Council (SMC) is gearing up for the upcoming fall and winter seasons. Planning has started for the 2016-2017 year with the schedule already jam packed with proposed programming, events, and charity involvement. The SMC is comprised of several committees all of which had exciting updates at the most recent board of directors meeting. All SMC members are invited to attend board meetings held the first Thursday of every month. Here are some of the highlights:

Charity -  The charity committee is working to setup dates in the fall with Habitat for Humanity for SMC volunteers to assist with a home build. Earlier this year SMC also made a financial contribution towards GTAR’s Realtor Cares Foundation to support local families in the pipeline to purchase a home. 

Awards of Excellence – The call for entries will begin this week for the 2016 Awards of Excellence being held on November 17th at the Renaissance Marriott Hotel. The co-chairs, Tori Ewing and Mike Finley, are excited to lead this year’s event with several changes including new entry categories and upscale, black tie atmosphere.

Programs & Education – Nominations for future SMC leadership was kicked off last week at the lively Bowling for Candidates event. If you or someone you know are interested in getting more involved, please submit your nominations prior to September 1. The election will take place on September 8th at Ballots and Brews at the Coppertail Brewery.

Parade of Homes – The planning for the 2017 Parade of Homes is underway. If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact amy@tbba.net. The official parade dates will be March 11 – 26th with judging on March 10th.

For more information on the SMC and details on any of the aforementioned events please visit www.tampabaysmc.com

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TBBA Endorses 2016 Candidates

Hillsborough Property Appraiser - Bob Henriquez

Pasco Property Appraiser - Ted Schrader

Hillsborough County Commissioner - Sandy Murman

Pasco County Commissioner - Kathryn Starkey

Pasco County Commissioner - Jack Mariano

Pasco County Commission - Debbie Wells

Staff Contact: Jennifer

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Building Barometer - August 16, 2016

Going Vertical - Codes Committee Update 

At the August 1st Vertical Codes Committee meeting, County staff reported that the

inspection rollover percentage was 30 for building, 1 for electrical, 1 for plumbing

and gas and 1 for mechanical. Mike Rimoldi is working with staff to be proactive in

reassigning Building Inspectors to the busiest areas in an effort to address the 30%

rollover rate. Residential permit turnaround times are 25 working days at the South

County office, 23 working days at County Center and 39 working days for

commercial permits at County Center. 

The priority topic of discussion was the unacceptable levels of service being

experienced in both inspections and plan review.  Lucia Garsys, Assistant County

Administrator, is aware of our concerns and is being proactive in taking steps to

dramatically improve the levels of service within the next 30 days.   These steps

include an immediate reduction in permit fees for applicants utilizing private

providers for plan review and inspections, and a budget request for an additional 4

inspector and 5 plan review positions. These positions would be in addition to the

current 6 inspector and 1 permit clerk vacant positions.

Ms. Garsys also stated that due to the difficulty in finding qualified and licensed

inspectors and plan reviewers, the County will be working with Hillsborough

Community College in developing a training/degree program in these areas.

The Building Fund balance was $3,037,111 at the end of June, and $2,617,809 at

the end of May. June’s permit volume and revenue increased 7% over the month of

May. 

Tom Legler, Chief Plumbing/Gas Inspector, discussed a new procedure that will

combine the tub set and 2nd plumbing rough-in inspections into a single inspection. 

This new procedure will be effective September 1st. 

Obviously, the percentages and time frames listed above are of great concern to our

building industry.  TBBA leadership is actively involved, as are Ms. Garsys and

other County representatives, in reversing these trends through whatever means

possible.  We welcome any and all participation in these endeavors.

Please contact Dave Ford at davef@hamiltonengineering.us to have new items

added to the agenda, or to be addressed prior to the next meeting. 

Staff Contact: Jennifer

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The TBBA Inshore fishing tournament presented by ODC and Heritage Drywall will be held on Sept. 16 with the shotgun start at the Magnuson Hotel in St. Petersburg, FL. A BBQ dockside party will follow the tournament with live music and exciting raffles.

Personal Boat - $600 (Includes 4 Angler Registrations)

Guided Boat - $1200 (Includes Boat, Guide, and 4 Angler Registrations)

REGISTER Here

Staff Contact: Amy

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Join us for Stew Gibbon's final President's Reception and to hear who the nominating committee has selected for the next set of TBBA leaders. No registration required.

August 24th, 2016

5:30 PM

The Tampa Club

Staff Contact: Lauren

Building Barometer - August 9, 2016

Turning Dirt - Codes Committee Update 

A draft guideline for soil and material testing final report has been prepared and distributed for review and comment. Please provide any comments to Everett Morrow eem@lesc.com by August 25. This will be discussed at the September 12th Horizontal Codes meeting and then Hillsborough County will issue a technical bulletin to make the guidelines a part of the technical manual. Click Here to Review Guidelines.

Joe Gross with Hillsborough County will be working with his staff to provide guidelines for arborist reports. The goal is to provide some standardization of information required in the report and possibly a standard format for tree surveys.

Diana Ramirez is over the Public Works review team for development projects. She will be reviewing comments and determining which projects need to be reviewed by Public Works. Public Works will be developing guidelines on when a Public Works review is required for development projects.

Currently there are two items that Hillsborough County is working on which will require an amendment to the LDC. The first is to allow more than 10,000 cubic yards of material to be removed from a site without a land excavation permit and the second is to clarify that no wetland setback is required when a wetland impact occurs. TBBA is working with Hillsborough County on the proposed changes. It is anticipated that the LDC changes will approved in mid-2017.

At the industry meeting on August 4, Public Works stated that medians in collector roads must be included as part of the right of way and cannot be a separate tract. If a separate tract is required, it must be discussed with Mike Williams in advance and noted on the construction plans. 

Staff Contact: Jennifer

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Register Here

Staff Contact: Lauren

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The TBBA Inshore fishing tournament presented by ODC and Heritage Drywall will be held on Sept. 16 with the shotgun start at the Magnuson Hotel in St. Petersburg, FL. A BBQ dockside party will follow the tournament with live music and exciting raffles.

Personal Boat - $600 (Includes 4 Angler Registrations)

Guided Boat - $1200 (Includes Boat, Guide, and 4 Angler Registrations)

REGISTER Here

Staff Contact: Amy

__________

Join us for Stew Gibbon's final President's Reception and to hear who the nominating committee has selected for the next set of TBBA leaders. No registration required.

August 24th, 2016

5:30 PM

The Tampa Club

Staff Contact: Lauren

Building Barometer - August 2, 2016

The Best of SEBC

provided by Grey Street Studios, Architectural Photography

The 2016 Southeast Building Conference (SEBC), July 27 - July 30, has come and gone in a flurry of exhibits, education and events! This year it was held at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The venue was beautiful and spacious, conveniently keeping everything in one area. Our Grey Street team had a unique perspective, as an exhibitor, attendee and official photographer of the SEBC. We were overjoyed to see TBBA members participating in many facets (attendees, exhibitors, speakers, coordinators, volunteers). Everything from set up, and registration, to events and education, recaps and take-down was smooth.

The Convention Hall held about 200 exhibitors, sharing the latest in products and services, from insulation, garage doors and bathtubs, to radon testing, photography and renderings. The Exhibit Hall was alive with a Demonstration Stage where you could watch programs like Hardwood Flooring for Florida or learn about the latest building products. There was also a Main Stage with experts on topics like Zillow or New Home Construction Trends. The Social Media lounge was a helpful conference addition where you could literally re-charge. With dedicated hall hours, a Thursday Expo Hall Happy Hour and a Friday Cheeseburger Lunch, the Expo floor traffic was steady and lively.

Take an easy escalator ride upstairs, and there was the the grand Education Hall, with meetings so convenient and close, it was easy to zip between sessions. There were topics for any interest in the home building industry including building codes, regulation, trends and management. Legislators, State Representatives and members of Governmental Affairs groups gathered to review and discuss affairs in their regions. And last but not least, the Sales & Marketing and Rockin' Sales Day programs brought local and national speakers to teach, inspire and motivate!

The After Dinner Beach Bash was a hit in the lush main Atrium of the Gaylord. It was complete with a live band, drinks and desserts all backdropped by a Florida landscape and waterfall. It was a great environment for members to connect, reconnect and celebrate.

Friday evening saw the return of the Aurora Awards and the Excel Awards. Attendees of the Aurora Awards were in their elegant attire, gathering to find out who this year's winners would be. The Excel Awards shared the best Sales and Marketing achievements of the Southeast. TBBA is proud to have many winners among it's members.

Congratulations to the FHBA for a successful event. Congratulations to the TBBA members for their achievements, dedication and participation. As a TBBA member we were proud to see so many members involved!

Tap into all the fun by looking up the #SEBCville hashtag on Facebook and/or visit the FHBA (Florida Home Builders Association) Facebook page.

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The TBBA Inshore fishing tournament presented by ODC and Heritage Drywall will be held on Sept. 16 with the shotgun start at the Magnuson Hotel in St. Petersburg, FL. A BBQ dockside party will follow the tournament with live music and exciting raffles.

Personal Boat - $600 (Includes 4 Angler Registrations)

Guided Boat - $1200 (Includes Boat, Guide, and 4 Angler Registrations)

REGISTER Here

Staff Contact: Amy

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Using an Assignment of Insurance Benefits to Obtain Payment

Jason Lambert, Construction Litigation and Appellate Attorney at Zinzow Law

            The construction industry and the insurance industry are tightly connected. Contractors carry insurance; they require subcontractors to do the same; and many contracts mandate minimum insurance coverage by owners, architects, contractors, and subcontractors. But a significant number of projects are paid for using insurance proceeds as well. From sinkhole remediation to disaster/water recovery to certain negligent construction practices, the contractor performing the repair work is often being paid using a property owner’s insurance proceeds.

           

            One of the more common problems contractors run into in these situations is how to ensure the property owners use the proceeds to pay them. Once a payment problem arises, the contractor likely has lien rights than can be used to encourage payment, but wouldn’t it be preferable to avoid that process altogether before the project even starts? One way to do this is through a preemptory assignment of insurance benefits.

            An assignment of insurance benefits is an agreement between the contractor and the property owner by which the property owner agrees to give the contractor the property owner’s rights to any benefits or payments under the relevant policy. Many times these agreements also authorize the direct payment of insurance proceeds to the contractor. Sounds great, right? So let’s discuss how this works in the real world. Read More

If you would like to submit an article for the eBarometer please contact Amy for more information.


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TBBA Endorses 2016 Candidates

Hillsborough Property Appraiser - Bob Henriquez

Pasco Property Appraiser - Ted Schrader

Hillsborough County Commissioner - Sandy Murman

Pasco County Commissioner - Kathryn Starkey

Pasco County Commissioner - Jack Mariano

Pasco County Commission - Debbie Wells

Staff Contact: Jennifer

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The 2017 Parade of Homes planning is underway! 

The tentative 2017 Parade of Homes dates are March 11 - 26. With judging taking place on March 10. 

The Request for Proposals was sent for the 2017 Showcase Home Builder. Full RFP

Committee meetings will begin in the fall, please email Amy if you are interested in participating.

Staff Contact: Amy