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Plumbing board elects officers, discusses merging with mechanical board to address low volunteer turnout
Summary
The Linn County Plumbing Board of Appeals elected Brett Brecky as chair and Al Varney as vice chair, approved prior minutes and discussed a potential merger with the mechanical board to cope with persistent low attendance among volunteers.
The Linn County Plumbing Board of Appeals elected new officers and discussed combining plumbing and mechanical appeal boards to reduce scheduling burdens caused by low volunteer attendance.
During the meeting the acting chair opened nominations. "I nominate Brett Brecky for chair," said Speaker 5, and the nomination received a motion, a second and an affirmative response on the record. "I'll nominate Al Varney," the acting chair said when nominating a vice chair; the nomination was seconded and carried. The board then moved to approve the Feb. 14, 2022 minutes and recorded affirmative responses that closed the vote.
Linn County Building Official Luke Maloney urged discussion of a possible merger, saying the county struggles to get attendance on several boards and that appeals before the plumbing board are infrequent. "Given the fact that we we struggle to get attendance on our boards or volunteering on some of the county boards, I wouldn't mind having the discussion with both the plumbing and mechanical boards on merging the 2," Maloney said. He proposed drafting ordinance language that would preserve expertise while allowing a combined meeting structure and said he would consult with administration and the Board of Supervisors before formalizing any change.
Board members named several people on recent rosters, including Al, Roger Boyles, Brett Brecky and Jeff Wenzel, and discussed logistics such as how to structure seats so expertise remains available if boards are combined. Maloney said he would review rosters, reach out to unions used for recruitment, circulate any proposed ordinance language by email and update the boards next week.
Maloney also noted a minor, one-sentence amendment had been sent to board members by email and that he would check whether a formal recommendation from this board was needed. With no public present and no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
