(EDITOR'S NOTE: Throughout the year, various OSHBA meetings have provided important information for our membership. In a look back, and to the future, we share news vital to you.)
Mike Means
From the state office: Executive Vice President Mike Means is joining NAHB's Executive Officer Committee next year. The trustee for BuildPAC will be Tony Foust, with Jeff Click as alternate.
HBA of Greater Tulsa has rolled out an "Under 40" younger-member group and it's gaining some great success, so much so, the association plans to bring the group into the leadership ranks as an official council next year. Possibly a model to copy?
Kent Bradley
Stillwater HBA: Hats off to past president Kent Bradley, who is newly elected county commissioner.
BASCO's Bob Thompson reports home builders have been working closely with code-inspection officials as the cities of Moore and Norman raise various fees and impose high-wind building codes. So BASCO decided to host brown bag lunches and, guess what, the city officials are joining as they break bread over differing views.
Building permits remain flat, like everyone else.' Thompson said the high-wind construction mandates were thought to add $1 per square foot to the cost of a home, but it's turning out to be more like $2.50 per square foot. The sense is a similar code change will be brought to the state level for consideration by the UBCC.
The high-wind codes cause potential liability issues because some home owners might assume that a house built to the code will be able "tornado proof" when in fact it is not built to withstand extreme winds of tornados.
Lawton HBA's longtime Executive Officer Sharleen Gehers will be leaving the position in June and the HBA is looking for a new home and a new EO.
