Commission approves ordinance to require general contractor licensing

Upon recommendation from the Board of Building Trades/Appeals, the Concordia city commission, on a 4-1 vote, approved an ordinance to require general contractor licensing in Concordia, during its regular meeting on Wednesday night.
The ordinance repeals chapter 11 of the Concordia code of ordinances and replaces it with additional language for general contractor licensing. It requires general contractors to have minimum qualifications as well as continuing education for renewal. It also allows for a grandfathering period of six months to allow for local contractors to get their provisional grandfathered license.
With the ordinance taking effect April 1, 2021, there will be a six-month provisional licensing period that will expire on September 30, 2021. The first licensing cycle will expire December 31, 2023.
There will be three levels of licenses, including Class A general contractor, can work on any buildings, structures and signs; Class B building contractor, general contractor work on any buildings not exceeding three stories or structures not exceeding 65 feet in height; Class C residential contractor, general contractor work on one and two-family residences and their accessory structures only, and signs.
“I believe this is a good thing for the contracting community,” city building inspector Bruno Rehbein said.
Information presented to commissioners by Rehbein stated that general contractor licensing has been in the board’s (Building Trades) conversation almost since its inception 20 years ago. Over the years, board members, as well as various contractors, have inquired about and argued for general contractor oversight of some form or another.
Rehbein informed the commission that the discussions by general contractors have included having to bid projects against uninsured competitors and/or substandard products.
Licensed skilled tradesmen, as well as licensed electrical, plumbing and HVAC contractors, have brought up the issue of requiring general contractor licensing and continuing education for some time now, as it has been required for them since 2014.
The commission was informed that the Board of Building Trades has been working on language for the ordinance for approximately two years under the direction of city manager Amy Lange and city attorney Justin Ferrell.
Rehbein reported to the commission that the board believes the licensing will help allow for: Safer buildings for owners and occupants; improving education for contractors for code compliant work, reducing costs long term; and help level the playing field for general contractors working in the city limits as they will be required to carry insurance, learn and be proficient at building codes as well as how to protect themselves through permits, inspections and code compliance.
“Contractors know it is coming. They are ready for it. We have an extremely good, I think, information packet for them that we developed,” Rehbein said.
Commissioner Ashley Hutchinson voiced some concerns about the impact the licensing requirement will have on the smaller companies.
“I am worried that it means that is an increase in costs to then their customers,” Hutchinson said. “We kind of set, at the beginning of the year, one of our priorities that we could help people grow from within, and regulating them more is a concern to me.”
Hutchinson said that concerns were with the continuing education requirement of the licensing.
“I think this is actually more helpful to the small guy,” Rehbein said.
Hutchinson voted against the ordinance.
In other action taken during the meeting, the commission approved a development agreement between the city and Central Plains Agronomy, LLC, presented by CloudCorp executive director Kim Reynolds.
The development agreement is for the preparation, construction and operation of a new facility in the North Development.
Central Plains Agronomy, an agricultural wholesale/retail business that sells herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers and seed treatments throughout Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma, plans to construct a 103x80 building in the North Development that will include office space and inventory space.
Under the development agreement, Central Plains Agronomy agrees to purchase Lot B of Block 1 in the North Development; fully cover the cost of building engineering, soil borings, site preparations, driveways and building construction, landscaping, etc.; start business operations at the site sometime during 2021; employ approximately eight people; cover all operational costs of the building and property maintenance of the site, payroll, utilities, property taxes, insurance, etc.; and promptly pay all local property taxes due locally.
The estimated costs for Central Plains Agronomy, excluding operational costs, is $500,000.
The city, at its expense, agrees to waive the costs of water and sewer taps and fully cover the cost of paving the site entrance portion, located on the public right-of-way.
The estimated cost of the city in-kind services is $16,000.
Also during the meeting, the commission approved, by a 3-2 vote, an ordinance repealing the mask mandate.
During its previous meeting, the commission voted 3-2 to rescind the orders set forth in the ordinance, that required the wearing of masks in public spaces to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The ordinance approved on Wednesday notes the date and approximate time of the motion to rescind the order.
The commission approved accepting the recommendation of the Planning Commission by changing the zoning at 322 West Fifth St. from C-3 general commercial to R-2 medium density residential.
The property had been rezoned 11 years ago to general commercial and converted into a small office/retail sale of monuments. It is now for sale and there was significant interest in changing the use of the structure back to residential.
Also on the recommendation of the Planning Commission, a conditional use permit to allow Cunningham Communications to expand their operations at 219 Court St. was approved by the commission.
The commission had previously approved vacating the property.
The ordinance approved is the final zoning procedure needed by Cunningham Communications to be able to get a building permit for the intended expansion.
The commission gave approval to Mayor Chuck Lambertz to sign an agreement for federal aid construction inspection services between the city, the state of Kansas and Campbell & Johnson Engineers, P.A. for the pavement replacement project to the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 81 from the south city limits to 500 feet north of College Drive.
The low bid on the project, $617,869 from Vogts-Parga Construction, LLC, Newton, was approved by the commission in a previous meeting.
The city was selected to receive $1 million in funding for the project through the Kansas Department of Transportation's City Connecting Link Improvement Program. There is a 10-percent match required.
Reappointing Jamieson Gross to the Frank Carlson Library board of directors for a four-year term and appointing Lora Watson to a four-year term was approved by the commission.
The commission met in executive session for 10 minutes for the purpose of discussing non-elected personnel. No action was taken following the session.