Council directs staff to draft exemption easing contractor certification barriers for young people

The Town Council directed staff Aug. 18 to draft an amendment to the municipal contractor-licensing code to create an exemption intended to reduce barriers for young people entering the trades. The motion passed unanimously with Councilman Schechter absent.

Background and what council decided: Paul Anthony, town director of planning and building, presented a scoping report requested in June after two appeals involving applicants who lacked the four years of qualifying experience typically required to become a journeyman. Under current practice, verified pre-apprentice work done without an apprentice COQ card may receive 50% credit toward qualifying experience; staff proposed adding a targeted exemption so younger workers could obtain COQ cards (and thus be formally tracked) while waiving or reducing fees.

How certification works now: The municipal ladder described in the workshop begins with an apprentice COQ card (no prior experience required), followed by four years of qualifying supervised experience to become a journeyman and another four years of journeyman experience to become a master. The current apprentice COQ card fee is $85 and the card is valid for three years.

Staff recommendations and council discussion: Staff suggested a draft amendment that would: - Allow people under a defined youth age to obtain a COQ card without paying the $85 fee (staff initially suggested under-18 as the bright-line age); - Still require the COQ card to provide documentation and supervisory oversight so the town can verify qualifying hours; and - Return draft ordinance language as part of a package of contractor-licensing updates that staff is already preparing.

Council members debated options: some favored a strictly age-based rule (for example, under 18, or under 21), others suggested an hours-based or early-career carve-out (for example, waiving fee or easing documentation for a fixed initial period such as one year or six months). Building official Kelly Schluter emphasized that the COQ card signals on-site authorization and is a life-safety tool: "That COQ card also is good for 3 years ... it's not $85 a year; it's $85 for a 1 time cost," he told council, noting the card helps inspectors verify someone is authorized to be on a job site.

Action taken: Councilwoman Speary moved to direct staff to prepare an amendment to the municipal contractor-licensing chapter to create an exemption for young people; Councilwoman Beeman seconded. The motion passed unanimously with Councilman Schechter absent. Staff said drafting the amendment could be accomplished with existing workloads and recommended including it in the next package of mid-year municipal code updates.

What staff will return with: Draft ordinance language specifying the age or other eligibility criteria, fee-waiver mechanics, verification requirements for supervised hours, and recommended implementation language. Staff flagged two design choices for council direction when the draft returns: whether eligibility should be age-based, time-in-trade-based, or a hybrid; and whether the card itself should be required (with the fee waived) or whether a separate youth credential should be used for tracking initial supervised experience.

Authorities referenced: The staff report referenced the town—6s contractor-licensing sections of the municipal code (chapter cited in discussion as both 15.26 and 15.36 during the workshop); the motion directs staff to draft an amendment consistent with those chapters.

Clarifying details pulled from staff presentation: apprentice card requires no prior experience; journeyman requires four years of verified supervised experience; COQ card fee is $85 (one-time, three-year card); staff can verify past high-school work and award 50% credit in current policy, but the proposed change seeks to make early-career crediting and access more straightforward for younger entrants.

Next steps: Staff will draft ordinance language and return to council for formal review and, if directed, ordinance hearings and adoption.