Superior to contract for commercial electrical permits, inspections

Dec. 6—SUPERIOR — For 2 1/2 years, the city has been looking for a qualified commercial electrical inspector with no luck.

Now the city will need to change the way it handles commercial electrical inspections as Superior's only qualified inspector, Chief Building Inspector Peter Kruit, plans to retire in January.

The Superior City Council approved a contract Tuesday, Dec. 5 with REM Inspecting LLC of Amery, Wisconsin to handle commercial electrical permits and inspections for the city.

The contract comes with higher costs.

REM Inspecting provides inspection services for the 15 northern counties of the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. However, REM hasn't provided services in Superior because the city has the authority through the state to conduct its own inspections.

"This is not a service we want to cede to the state," Councilor Jenny Van Sickle said during a special Public Works Committee meeting Nov. 28.

While costs will increase for commercial electrical permits in Superior, they will remain lower than if the city relinquished its authority and DSPS took over the inspections.

"We have worked with them to get a little better rate than you would have out in the village," said Todd Janigo, public works director.

Sample permits created for the council show that while permit fees would increase with REM Inspecting, those fees would not be as high as they would be if REM was providing the inspections for DSPS.

A typical permit for electrical work for a small restaurant would cost about $208 more than the city's current permits, but still about $400 less than a DSPS permit. However, permits for multi-unit apartments would increase by thousands of dollars. A 120-unit apartment building like Acadia would see permit fees increase from $13,948.75 under the city's current value-based charge to $34,198. A DPSP permit for the structure would be $48,234.

The big issue there is the number of branch circuits, Janigo said.

Bill Slattengren, a project manager with Benson Electric Company, asked how the new fee structure would work.

"As a contractor, we have to bid and quote jobs, and we include permit fees," Slattengren said. "With the city, it was based on dollar values and a percentage."

REM's fee structure is different from what the city has done, said Dawn Kegley, vice president and chief operating officer for REM Inspecting. She said it is similar in format to how the state mandates its fee schedule, and the city will be able to provide that information so contractors know what to include in their bids.

Councilor Tylor Elm questioned how the service would change in terms of response time for inspections.

Janigo said he had concerns that it would take a couple of weeks for inspections, but the company's standard turnaround for inspections is two days.

"I think the days of calling at 4 o'clock on a Friday to have someone there at 4:30 to do an inspection before 5 o'clock are probably behind us in this regard," Janigo said. "But with a two-day notice, you call Wednesday and they should have an inspector there Friday."

The contracted inspector who would primarily serve Superior's contract lives in Duluth, said Daniel Kegley, president and CEO of REM Inspecting. However, the city would also have access to other contractors working for the company. The company currently has 12 contracted inspectors across the 15-county region it covers for the state.

Van Sickle asked what a timeline would look like for one of the city's building inspectors to acquire the necessary credentials to be a commercial electrical inspector.

Brian Bustrak, who will replace Kruit as the chief building inspector in January, said it would be a minimum of 2-3 years for current staff to build up the credentials necessary to be a qualified commercial electrical inspector.

Slattengren asked how it would work if a contractor has already taken out a permit with the city, but work is not complete when REM takes over inspections.

Janigo said those permits would still be in effect, and the city would pay REM for the related inspections.

The new fee schedule will not apply to existing permits and will only go into effect once the contract does, Dawn Kegley said.

Janigo said the contract would likely go into effect around Jan. 1.

"Our immediate need is there, and I see this as the best solution moving forward for now," Councilor Ruth Ludwig said.

In other business Tuesday, councilors:

* Authorized Mayor Jim Paine to grant the city's consent for the Public Finance Authority to issue $40 million in tax-exempt and taxable bonds to support

Fraser Industries planned expansion.

* Approved a three-year agreement to provide fire protection services to the village of Superior.

* Authorized the Superior Police Department to pay for a

squad car camera license plate recognition program

for two years using grant funding.

* Adopted the

capital improvement program for parks

in 2024.