BUILDERS, CITY DISCUSS BUILDING RESPONSIBILITIES

When architects, engineers and city inspectors put their seal of approval on a project and there is a mistake, who is ultimately responsible?

That question surfaced during the Chamber of Commerce building task force meeting Thursday afternoon.

Architects and engineers who attended the first public building task force meeting said they believe they have a professional obligation to make sure that the plans they have drawn up are carried out in the field.

City Supervisor of Inspectors Rick Murray said he would be happy to have more dialogue with architects and engineers to make sure they are more involved in the inspection process.

However, Murray said the city has the responsibility to inspect each project thoroughly to make sure the building is safe. "I feel like the city is a partner in the project and we're all there to work as a team," Murray said.

Tony Sebek, a Cape Girardeau architect, said he would like to see a more detailed checklist drawn up by the city that lets him know if everything in the building plans are up to the 1993 BOCA code.

Murray said he would follow up on that idea and put it into practice.

One of the missions of the Chamber of Commerce building task force, which includes builders, architects, developers and engineers, is that only specific cases would help solve the problem builders are having when they deal with the city.

Cape Girardeau developer Keith Deimund cited a specific instance in which the inspector made a mistake that cost him both time and money.

"I was told in November that I needed 2-inch water lines, and then four weeks ago I was told that I needed 4-inch lines," Deimund said. "If the inspector makes a mistake and I end up taking care of the correction, why am I paying the inspector in the first place?"

Murray said he would investigate the matter and get back to Deimund. Deimund said there was another instance in which an inspector doing a summer internship allowed an on-site change to take place despite the fact that the change didn't adhere to the original plans.

"I was fortunate that I had someone on the site who recognized that the change shouldn't have taken place, and it was taken care of right away," Deimund said.

Developer and builder Herb Annis said the task force is not nearly effective without the presence of builders who construct homes of under $100,000.

"Those are the people who make 85 percent of the complaints, and yet they're not even represented here," Annis said.

Murray said he would like to have monthly meetings involving people who represent each trade. Chamber of Commerce President John Mehner said he would ask those on the task force to provide names of builders who could voice their concerns throughout the year.

"We don't want this to get going and then just die after two months," Assistant City Manager Doug Leslie said. "It should continue throughout the year."