Asserting that state bonds are good enough to protect residents, the Lauderdale City Council moved at its Jan. 11 meeting to repeal the city’s ordinance requiring a city license to install heating and air conditioning systems or gas pipes in homes.
A public hearing on the question took only a few minutes, as no one joined the meeting to ask questions or take a position.
City Administrator Heather Butkowski recommended the action, saying that many cities do not require such a license. She explained that the state issues a bond certificate to an installer, who must show that bond to the city’s building official for permission to work on a site. (The city’s building official is Rum River Construction.)
Butkowski said the main reason to drop the requirement is to simplify the work for homeowners and installation businesses, but “it’ll simplify things greatly on our side too.”
The motion to repeal the city’s licensure requirement passed with no objection and little comment from council members. Jeff Dains said, “Sounds good to me!”
Mayor Mary Gaasch said, “I know there’s a lot of barriers” to homeowners and business and added this will “streamline the process.”
—Anne Holzman
