December 15, 2010 – Coushatta, LA: The Town of Coushatta, Louisiana has signed an agreement enabling the Louisiana Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS) to provide the following Building Code Department services:
- Functioning as the Building Official for the town.
- Assisting citizens with questions and the permitting process.
- Performing plan reviews on all residential and commercial structures.
- Conducting structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and energy inspections on all residential and commercial structures.
- Reviewing and revising all building code department ordinances as necessary, to ensure they are compliant with state requirements.
- Approving all permits for issuance by the town.
- Approving all Certificates of Occupancy for issuance by the town.
- Implementing Building Code Department software for tracking.
- Ensuring that all National Flood Insurance Program requirements are blended and complied with during the Plan Review process.
- Reviewing third party provider (TPP) plan reviews and inspections for compliance.
- Compiling and archiving all the necessary documentation.
- Implementing an electronic drawing review and approval process.
- Performing electronic data backup.
Due to the state-wide mandated construction codes, the Town of Coushatta needed to have a Certified Building Official to implement a Building Code Department that tracked all permits, applications, conducted Plan Reviews, Inspections and authorized the Certificates of Occupancy for the town. IBTS was chosen based upon our quick response time and understanding of not only how the Building Code Department works, but how other departments integrate and how other federal, state and local ordinances and regulations are interwoven.
IBTS is delivering Building Code Department services in addition to the flood plain management services. The Town of Jonesville also signed a contract with IBTS for flood plain management services and realized the most efficient process of mitigating their NFIP Program was to combine it with the Building Code Department services Jonesville needed. When IBTS combines these two services, Jonesville now has developed a “one-stop-shop” that can handle all of these services at one time, during the plan review process.
IBTS has appointed Greg Blount, Louisiana Branch Manager, and Dean Runnels, Louisiana IBTS Building Official, to function as the primary staff for this project. Mr. Runnels will act as the Certified Building Official for the project, while Mr. Blount will be responsible for policy, client satisfaction and overall management of the contract.
Press Contact:
Karen Johnson
Market Engagement Program Director
kjohnson@ibts.org
