STANDARD
the
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE BUILDING CODES AND STANDARDS DIVISION
MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION • 408 METRO SQUARE BUILDING
121 7TH PLACE EAST • ST. PAUL MN 55101 • VOL. 1, NO. 2
Building Code
Administration
Unit is formed
T B
o improve communications with
local building officials and to
strengthen state building code
administration, the Building Codes and
Standards Division has created a Code
Administration Services Unit. The
unit will work with the division’s six
regional building code representatives.
The staff is composed of a supervi-
sor and four building code representa-
tives experienced in code administra-
tion procedures. The unit was created
from the
BCSD
directors
Tom Anderson
W
hen I attend local building
inspector chapter meetings,
comments that I often hear
are, “What do you do all day at the
State?” or “Did I just wake you from
your afternoon nap?” Although these
comments are normally given in jest,
they do beg the question of just what
the division does on a daily basis. I can
tell you as a relatively new employee
From the directors Page 2
m a y
20 0 2
Fred Driver (above left), Doug Nord, Greg
Karow. Below, Dennis Lockwood, Jim Muyres.
“to be proactive, to identify
local needs, and to provide
one-on-one training for
code officials on building
department procedures,”
according to Assistant
Director Tom Anderson.
The unit provides
assistance, guidance,
support, and direction in
the areas of the permit
application process, plan
review, fees, staffing, record keeping,
Code Administration Page 3
We’ve inserted another post-
card for you to subscribe
to this newsletter, in case
you missed last month’s.
Just fill in your name and
address and drop it in the
mail. No stamp necessary!
NEW EXAM
PROCEDURES
IN EFFECT
udget cuts throughout state
government have resulted in
changes for statewide testing
for certification of building officials.
The Building Codes and Standards
Division is now responsible for finding
sites, scheduling days, and administer-
ing exams. These tasks were previ-
ously handled by the Department of
Employee Relations Training and
Development Resource Center.
The division has hired two staff
members to administer the exams and
to serve as primary contacts for certifi-
cation and recertification programs for
building officials, limited building offi-
cials, and accessibility specialists.
Mike Fricke, building official for
White Bear Lake since 1994, and Rich
Lockrem, assistant building official for
Woodbury since 1984, have joined the
division and are setting up the new exam
procedures. Under the former system,
the Employee Relations Department
combined exams for several different
types of positions in several state agen-
cies. Building Codes will administer
exams only for the three types of building
official certification.
The division plans to establish several
test sites in Greater Minnesota as well as a
Twin Cities metropolitan area site.
Exam procedures Page 4
 From the directors
Continued from Page 1
to this division that I am impressed
every day with the work ethic of our
employees, the expertise of the staff,
and the quality and quantity of work that
is accomplished at the Building Codes
and Standards Division. I would put our
employees up against any organization,
public or private, and be confident that
our staff would come out at or near the
top.
I thought it would be good for us
here at the Codes Division to let you,
our customers, know what we actually
do. I would like to give you some idea
of the variety of issues we handle, the
expertise we have on staff, and staff’s
devotion to serving our profession in the
construction industry.
In order to do this, each month
we will feature one of the programs
we administer or activities we are
involved in. We will give you not only
an overview of the program, but some
insight into the resources we use and
results we see being accomplished.
This month we feature the Code
Administration Services program. This
is a timely subject because we are just
beginning to offer this new service.
In future editions, we will feature
manufactured homes, education, plan
review, elevator safety, rules, public
building inspection services, regional
community outreach, code opinions,
complaint investigation, legislative
activity, and customer outreach.
I hope you will find these articles
informative, giving you a better
understanding of the issues we deal
with daily.
As always, we strive to improve
our delivery of services to the
construction industry, so your
comments and suggestions are always
welcome. You can contact any of our
program supervisors or me. I can be
reached by phone at (651) 205-4706,
by fax at (651) 297-1973, or by e-mail
at tom.c.anderson@state.mn.us
CALENDAR
BCSD’s Spring
Building Code Seminars
(Contact Don Sivigny at
(651) 297-3600 for details.)
May 1 – Rochester
May 8 – Detroit Lakes
May 15 – Plymouth
May 22 – Brooklyn Center
May 29 – St. Cloud
June 5 – Maplewood
NOTE: If you use the Minnesota
Construction Code Official 2002
calendar, disregard the locations
published there and use these. See
our Web site for details.
•
Other BCSD presentations
open to the public
(Get details from the listed contact.)
May 2 – Owatonna – History of
building codes and the permit pro-
cess. Contact Sandra McConn Halla

International Building Safety Week

at (507) 455-3656.
May 9 – Brainerd – IRC. Contact

P
Cheryal Lee Hills at (218) 829-4982.
‘Setting the
resident Governor, too May 15 – Redwood Falls – Exiting
George
Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura also and plan reviews. Contact Russell
Standard Bush
observed International Building Safety Thornberg at (507) 238-9461.
observed
for Building International
Week. He proclaimed the week of April
June 7 – Detroit Lakes – Spray foam
Safety’ 7 - 13 as Minnesota Building Safety
Building Safety insulation. Contact Mark Kuehne at
Week and it was officially recorded by
Week in early (218) 847-8010.
the secretary of state.
April by sending you and us these words June 20 – Maplewood – Contact
The proclamation included these
from the White House: Keith Willie at (651) 464-3550.
words:
“Millions of Americans depend on
“Among the world’s most
the structural security of their homes
fundamental laws and ordinances are
and places of employment. I commend
those that provide standards for the
the code officials and members of the
safe construction of buildings in which
construction industry who work with
people live, work, and play.”
local, State, and Federal governments
“For construction and building
to provide a reliable system of building
codes to be effective and enforced,
safety regulations. By ensuring the
understanding and cooperation must
dependability of building structures and
exist between code officials and the
workplace safety across our country,
people they serve.”

2
you help protect the well-being
This year’s theme is “Setting the
of countless lives.”
Standard for Building Safety.”
Display booths available for
local home shows, other events
H
ave you borrowed one of
the display booths that are
available for home shows and
other building construction gatherings
around the state? MnBO’s Doug
Sandstad has handed over to this
division the reservation process for
these booths, now that the division has
a new communications coordinator.
Each booth has two partitions
that can be fit together vertically. Each
partition has five connected panels with
a display area on each panel of roughly
2 feet by 4 feet. For floor
use, it can be stacked one
partition on top of the
other, making a display
area on each panel of
roughly 2 feet by 8 feet.
Mary Williams
The display area is gray
on one side and maroon on the other.
The booth case measures 53 inches
by 26 inches, is 11 inches deep, and is
on wheels. It comes with two electric
spotlights, a power strip, and an indoor
extension cord. The division will
supply you with handouts, photographs,
signs, and other materials.
Here’s the reservation process:
1. Figure out the days you want to
pick up and return the booth. It will
usually be at the division’s St. Paul
office.
2. Contact Mary Williams with your
request by phone, fax, or e-mail. She’ll
ask you the number and type of dis-
play materials you will need, including
pencils, pamphlets, a CD-ROM titled
“Building Code Issues: What Inspec-
tors Will Normally Look at,” and dis-
play photographs for the booth panels.
3. Mary will tell you immediately
whether a booth is available. If so, she
will then confirm your reservation by
phone or fax. Demand for the booths
can be heavy during the early months
of the year.
4. Pick up the booth on your sched-
uled day at the Building Codes and
Standards office in the Metro Square
Building in downtown St. Paul. If you
call Mary on your cell phone when
you’re just a few blocks from Metro
Square, Mary will arrange to have the
booth and carrying case at the lobby so
that you don’t have to find a parking
place. The same goes for returns.
If the timing between your show and
another building official’s show is tight,
you may be asked to pick up the booth
at another site.
When the 2002 home show season
is over, Mary will send a questionnaire
to each user, seeking feedback about the
program and ideas for improvement.
You may contact Mary Williams,
Building Codes’ communications coordi-
nator, at (651) 296-6204 (voice), (651) 297-
1973 (fax), or Mary.Williams@state.mn.us
(e-mail).
Handouts for
your customers
q Permits Made Easy – Porches
q Permits Made Easy – Garages
q Permits Made Easy – Decks
q Permits Made Easy – Asphalt
Shingle Roofing
Smoke Detector Requirements
q Branch; and Jim Muyres, Rice County.
Made Easy
Emergency Escape Windows and
q
Window Wells Made Easy
Building Codes – How Do They
q of the division for 14 years and is
Help You?
q Benefits of Building Permits
q Questions and Answers about
Carbon Monoxide (CO) and CO
Alarms
q Smoke Alarms
q Professional Code Administration
q Careers in Code Enforcement
q Minnesota Building Official
Certification
Code administration
Continued from Page 1
and field inspections, as well as many
others related to the administration of
the State Building Code. “Our goal is
to have all building code departments
on the same page for administration of
the State building Code, with an end
result of uniform application. We have
one state building code in Minnesota,
with very few local options. Therefore,
regardless of the municipality, code
administration should be a mirror
image,” said Supervisor Fred Driver.
Regional representatives will visit
municipal building departments in their
respective regions, assessing needs
and special requests for support. They
may make several visits, but when
additional support is required, the Code
Administration Services staff will be
there to provide assistance and support.
The service, part of the division’s
continuous improvement of education
for local building officials, is also
available to municipalities that have
recently adopted the building code or
have had staff changes.
The staff includes four former local
building code officials: Doug Nord, City
of East Bethel and with the division
for almost four years; and new staff
members Greg Karow, Goodhue County;
Dennis Lockwood, City of North
The service is up and running and
may be requested by building officials or
municipalities at this time. Fred Driver,
the unit supervisor, has been a member
supervisor of the rules and information
units as well. Fred is the contact
person for the service. His number is
(651) 296-7099 (voice) or (651) 297-
1973 (fax), or he can be e-mailed at
fred.driver@state.mn.us. Requests for
this service must be in writing and may
be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed.
Additional information about this
3
program is being presented at
the division’s spring seminars.
Long-time building official retires from Building Codes and Standards Division
D
on Anderson, who helped bring the building code
to Greater Minnesota, will retire after 12 years as
a regional representative with the Building Codes
and Standards Division. When he was a local
building official in St. Peter in the 1980s, Don
voiced some complaints about the way things
were. He was challenged by then-director
Richard Brooks to join the division and do
something about his complaints. And he did.
Don Anderson Don joined the division in January 1991
when it had fewer than 20 employees, none
of which worked outside the St. Paul office. Don and Ken
Svee introduced the regional representative idea and split
Don has helped many counties, townships, and cities adopt
the Minnesota State Building Code during his tenure.
The division gained a great deal of credibility in Greater
Minnesota when the regional reps were created, Don said. He
added that the establishment of regional offices has had the
greatest impact on code enforcement in Minnesota, in his opin-
ion.
After he retires at the end of May, Don and his wife
Carol will move permanently to the Ozark National Forest
in Arkansas, where they are rebuilding their vacation home.
Both he and his wife plan to stay young by playing a variety of
stringed instruments with blue grass bands.

SHORTS
the state in half. Today, the division has six regions and a
rep in each one of them.

Work proceeds on Todd Sandell has joined the

Manufactured
adoption of Structures Section of
building code changes the Building Codes

S
taff are working against the clock
in order to publish proposed
changes to the Minnesota
Building Code.
Over the past 18 months, advisory
committees have reviewed the text
of the 2000 model codes, including
the International Building Code,
International Residential Code,
International Mechanical Code, and
International Fuel Gas Code. The
proposed amendments to these model
codes will be published in the State
Register soon. The division intends to
adopt the new codes in July.
All persons who have asked to
receive a copy of rule changes will
receive the proposed amendments when
they are published. If you are not on the
mailing list and would like to receive a
packet of the proposed changes, contact
Rules Coordinator Colleen Chirhart
at colleen.d.chirhart@state.mn.us (e-
mail), (651) 296-4329 (voice), or (651)
297-1973 (fax).
We have posted several draft rules
on our Web site (admin.state.mn.us/
buildingcodes/rules/rules.html – click
on items under the fifth bullet). They
are informational only and may change
between now and publication. These
proposed amendments should not be used
for design or enforcement purposes. You
may submit comments on these proposed
rules now or you may wait until the
official comment period begins after the
rules are officially published. The division
is required to respond to comments
received only during the official comment
period. The internal drafts on the Web site
are:
MR 1300 – code administration
MR 1301 – building official
certification
MR 1305 – International Building
Code
MR 1306 – optional fire suppression
systems
MR 1309 – International Residential
Code
and Standards Division
as a building code
representative. He
has been a contract
electrical inspector Todd Sandell
for the State Board of
Electricity for 10 years, working in
East Central Minnesota and, for the last
six months, in Cass and Crow Wing
counties. He has prior experience in
electrical contracting as well as general
contracting in Sandstone.
Want instant news from us? Send
your e-mail address to:
bobbi.peterson@state.mn.us
or
mary.williams@state.mn.us
Did you think we had moved,
according to the return address on
the last issue’s subscription postcard?
Not so. In order to record the number
of postage-paid pieces of mail returned
to the state each day, the U.S. Postal
Service routes the incoming mail to the
state’s mailing services office, which
records the numbers and the name
of the agency that will be billed for
the postage. It’s then delivered to the
appropriate agency. It’s really a very

4 MR 1311 – building conservation

MR 1315 – electrical code
efficient system. Really.