Alabama Building Commission Fees begin Today

The Alabama Building Commission Collection of Use Fees begins TODAY, October 1, 2014

Administrative Rule 170X-8 Collection of User Fees goes into effect today, October 1, 2014. As mentioned in an earlier Aho blog post, state agencies, K-12 schools, community colleges, universities, and others whose construction projects are reviewed by the Alabama Building Commission, will be required to pay a Plan Review Fee, Permit Fee, and, in some instances, a Contract Administration Fee. The fee schedule is generally figured as a percentage of the construction contract amount.

Additionally, this new rule outlines the procedure for scheduling inspections and some additional requirements for required inspections.

While this added project cost may seem like a burden, we anticipate one of the benefits of this change will be increased responsiveness. As an example, the plan review fee will be refunded to the Owner for reviews not completed within 30 days. Aho Architects supports the adequate and more-sustainable funding of the Building Commission so that it is better equipped to perform its duties.

Please click here for a summary of the new rules. The full text of Administrative Rule 170X-8 is available on the Building Commission’s website at www.bc.alabama.gov.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

HABD Selects Aho for Marks Village Reconstruction

The Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) has selected Aho Architects to design a new building for the Marks Village community in Gate City.

The project will replace a structure destroyed by a deadly natural gas explosion in December, 2013. This is our first project for the HABD, and we are honored to be selected by them to be part of the team bringing healing to this community.

Aho Architects believes we are called to use our gifts and talents to help others. As such, this is the kind of project we find especially meaningful.

Image from al.com (Frank Couch/fcouch@al.com)

More information about the project may be found in the AL.com / Birmingham News article here

Alabama Building Commission May Begin Charging Review/Permit Fees - issuing for public comment

Proposed rules may affect many of our Alabama Public Education and State Agency Clients

Yesterday afternoon, the Alabama Building Commission (BC) approved a resolution allowing them to charge user fees including a plan review fee, permit fee, and some additional fees such as a contract document administration fee. It is our understanding that while the BC has had the authority to charge fees (Code of AL §41-9-141 (a) (8)) for years, budget shortfalls have now led it to propose doing so. We believe adequate funding is important to keep the Building Commission running. If the funding mechanism shifts to charge each project, you need to be aware of that. This isn’t unprecedented though; our healthcare clients, for example, pay plan review fees to the AL Dept. of Public Health.

Please click here for a copy of the proposed rules. The fees are calculated based on a tiered value of the construction cost and will increase in proportion to the project’s costs. The contract document administration fee is 1/2% of construction cost. For example, a $2,000,000 locally-funded K-12 project would be subject to a $2,330 plan review fee and a $4,660 permit fee ($6,990 total). If the project in the example above is PSCA-funded or a community college project, where the BC is required to administer the contract documents, then the contract document administration fee would be $10,000 (total of all three applicable fees = $16,990). As you can see, these fees add-up and need to be factored into project cost budgets. As an aside, these fees are doubled if the work starts without BC approval, so be careful to follow proper procedures (it is our job to help you do that).

The proposal (please see attachment) will now be issued for public comment. Once comments are received, the Commission will have to meet again to grant final approval of the fees and process. We do however anticipate this change is going to happen. Provided the user fees are ultimately approved, they will most likely take effect for projects beginning the process on or after October 1, 2014.

Aho Architects tries to stay as current as we can on developments like this which affect our clients. We will continue to monitor this and do what we can to help you comply with- and budget for- these added costs. I hope you’ll consider us your trusted advisors.

Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or need anything else.

Aho Architects, LLC | info@ahoarch.com | (205) 983-6000

Alabama Fire College's Project Out to Bid

Aho Architects has completed the design of a new Building and renovations to the existing space of the Alabama Fire College and Personnel Standards Commission. This project will be bidding in the next few weeks (General Contractors have already been pre-qualified to bid on it). For information on the bid process for this project, please contact our office.

TOP Trails Environmental Center Nears Completion

The City of Talladega's TOP Trails Environmental Center located at Brecon Springs is almost complete. We conducted our final inspection yesterday, and the Owner plans to start moving-in next week.

Front Porch  |  TOP Trails Environmental Center — **Front Porch** | TOP Trails Environmental Center

The facility is the welcome center for Talladega's TOP Trails outdoor recreation center and includes management offices, reception/check-in for the park and campground, an environmental education center, and public rest room and shower facilities. The building was designed by Aho Architects, in conjunction with InSite Engineering, which is designing the overall development.

Talladega's newspaper, The Daily Home, ran a story about the center which is available here: http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/21913612/article-Work-is-complete-on-TOP-Trails-Environmental-Center?instance=home_news_bullet

Construction Progress at LIFE Tech Transition Center

Retrofit metal roofing systems are being added to three buildings at the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles LIFE Tech Transition Center in Thomasville, AL. Two of the buildings are well underway as shown in these before and "in-progress" photos taken last Friday.

Work in Progress 2/15/13:

Views from before construction started: