By BEN LUNDIN

Staff Reporter

HAHNVILLE – In an effort to aid enforcement of Louisiana’s new state-mandated building codes, the St. Charles Parish Council has approved a resolution to contract an independent firm to possibly perform building inspections on all new construction in the parish for the next five years.

Parish representatives initially planned to independently perform the inspections, enforced by State Act Number 12 on January 1, 2007, but because the area lacks trained workers it elected to retain its current firm, Plan Review and Inspection. The firm was contracted to enforce the new law by St. Charles Parish for $40,000 from January to July, and will continue its services for five years with an option to renew for two more.

Plan Review and Inspection, led by Ray Davezac and Paul &#8220Joey” Murray, will not change its inspection prices or methods and agreed to train parish employees, who are slated to eventually take over the inspection process in three years.

Council members expressed concern that St. Charles Parish will be stuck with the company for five years even if the parish conducts its own inspections before then, but Davezac of Plan Review and Inspection said the parish administration has the right to terminate the contract at any time. Planning and Zoning Director Michael Henderson hopes the parish will have its own inspection department within three years.

The financial income for Plan Review and Inspection from new contract is based entirely on a 60 cent per square foot fee charged to residents for inspections. Henderson said the contract is expected to generate $350,000 per year based on an average of 330 permits per year.

The 60 cent per square foot fee is the maximum price Plan Review and Inspection can charge and to stay competitive the firm may lower that price if parish representatives find a more financially reasonable option.

The decision to use Plan Review and Inspection came after Planning and Zoning formed a technical committee that reviewed proposals from the Institute of Building Technology and Safety, Plan Review and Inspection and South Central Planning. St. James and St. John Parish contracted the latter commission.

The committee reasoned that Plan Review and Inspection was financially competitive and better qualified.

&#8220Part of it was the financial part and part of it was the fact that we were concerned that South Central Planning was tackling this with very little experience,” Henderson said. &#8220We were concerned with them being located in Thibodaux and Lafourche Parishes and if they could really meet our needs.”

&#8220We contracted out for the best deal for the service we need and we felt a local contractor that could provide that was our best option,” he added.

The Louisiana legislation passed State Act Number 12 late last year that forced new inspection codes on any building constructed after Dec. 31, 2006, to ensure new construction can better hold up in the face of hurricanes.

Prior to January St. Charles Parish had never contracted Plan Review and Inspection.