Plumbers frustrated by code change that could take away business – The Topeka Capital-Journal

Plumbers filled the aisles at Topeka City Council to voice frustration over a quickly approved change to the International Plumbing Code in August.

Last month, plumbers said, a change in plumbing code that could take away business from plumbers was approved too quickly. The amendments allow for other contractors, such as excavators, to do work that was exclusively done by plumbers, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Sept. 13.

The amendment, which was proposed and passed in the same meeting, was unanimously supported at the Aug. 18 city council meeting.

"The codes were set by competent master plumbers, mechanical engineers and contractors and these codes cant be changed by city council," said Russel Ridgeway, business representative for the plumbers and pipefitters union in Topeka.

Ridgeway said he wants code changes to be made by a group of experts in the field.

Dave Cobler, owner of Ace Plumbing Company, also spoke during the meeting and said plumbers spend years in school and years working as apprentices to learn the trade.

"This is way too important to rubber stamp through on the first night," he said.

Cobler added that plumbers and excavators have their own areas of work and that "plumbers havent been going out and trying to take their work."

Three plumbers spoke during Tuesdays Topeka City Council meeting, and all three voiced frustration over the changes and want them to be reversed.

Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala said during the meeting she was concerned that Deputy Mayor Tony Emerson had a conflict of interest when voting on the plumbing amendment in August. Valdivia-Alcala said Emersons contracting company had been paid about $7 million by the city during his time on the city council.

Multiple city council members came to Emersons defense and said his business interests didnt affect his vote.

"Is this just going to become free for all?" Councilman Michael Lesser said. "How many accusations are we going to throw out there?"

Also discussed at the city council meeting:

The city council unanimously passed changes to stormwater code with "a gun to our head," Emerson said. In April 2018, the EPA reviewed Topekas stormwater management protocol and provided the city with an order of consent in May 2019. The order of consent listed issues the EPA wanted to see fixed.

Braxton Copley, deputy utilities director, said the stormwater ordinance addresses concerns raised by the EPA and is the last concern the city has to solve. Copley said the city had to address all the concerns through October. He added the issues raised werent because Topeka did something incorrectly but rather due to the EPA pushing cities "to get to the next level."

The city council "rekindled" discussion on handing over governance of the Topeka Zoo to the nonprofit group Friends of the Topeka Zoo. City manager Brent Trout said Tuesdays presentation is one of multiple presentations about zoo governance, with this presentation being a general overview of the zoo and governance.

Councilwoman Karen Hiller said at the meeting she wasnt sure what exactly the zoo was proposing. Topeka City Council has been discussing zoo governance since June 2019.

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Plumbers frustrated by code change that could take away business - The Topeka Capital-Journal