MINUTES
BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYORS
DATE:
September 7, 2011
TIME:
10:00 A.M.
PLACE:
500 N. Calvert Street
Room 308
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
PRESENT:
John Mettee, Chairman
Donald Ocker
Joan Dunne
John Jensen
Daniel Lavelle
Thomas Orisich
OTHERS
PRESENT:
Pamela J. Edwards, Executive Director
Milena Trust, Assistant Attorney General
Deborah L. Heil, Administrative Secretary
John Campbell, Maryland Society of Surveyors
Barry Hoyle, Maryland Society of Surveyors
Patrick Simon, Baltimore County Government
Janet Morgan, Outreach Coordinator
CALL TO ORDER
John Mettee, Chairman called the meeting to order at 10:15 a.m.
MINUTES
Motion (I) was made by Mr. Orisich, seconded by Mr. Ocker and
unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the August 3, 2011 meeting with
corrections.
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September 7, 2011
Page Two
COMPLAINT COMMITTEE
08-LS-06 - Hearing scheduled for October 13, 2011 at OAH.
10-LS-14 - send to investigator.
11-LS-02 - sent to investigator.
11-LS-12 - Responses received. Under review by complaint committee.
11-LS-13 - sent 20 day response letter.
12-LS-01 - Closed. Complaint resolved.
12-LS-02 - sent 20 day response letter.
12-LS-03 - consent order signed - closed.
Motion (II) was made by Mr. Lavelle, seconded by Mr. Jensen and
unanimously carried to accept the complaint committee's report as submitted.
CORRESPONDENCE
Ms. Trust reported that she received an e-mail from Mr. William Bryant,
the Code Enforcement Administrator, Anne Arundel County. Mr. Bryant
requested clarification whether the preparation of FEMA Elevation Certificates
falls within the exclusive scope of practice of licensed surveyors, or whether such
Certificate may be signed by a licensed architect or engineer competent to do so
by virtue of his or her education, examination, and experience. The issue arose
as a result of inquiry previously made to the Board by Mr. Matthew Sichel, a
licensed professsional engineer practicing in Baltimore County.
Mr. Patrick Simon, Chief of Surveys, Baltimore County Government, Land
Survey Division, appeared before the Board in connection with the same inquiry.
Mr. Simon stated that usually the FEMA certificate forms are submitted by
surveyors; however, on rare occasions, including the submission by Mr. Sichel,
the certificates are submitted by professional engineers. Mr. Simon further
stated that the Baltimore County Department of Public Works uses the FEMA
certifications for permit purposes.
MINUTES - LAND SURVEYORS
September 7, 2011
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Mr. Ocker noted that the FEMA Elevation Certificate is a Federal form
which refers to the preparation of the Certificate by a surveyor, an architect or an
engineer. While the form makes references to individual State laws as to the
appropriate design professional eligible to sign the Certificate, the Board stated
that the nature of Maryland statutory definitions of "practice of architecture" and
"practice of engineering" is so broad, that on its face these definitions do not
appear to exclude the preparation of FEMA Elevation Certificates by licensed
architects and engineers qualified to do so by virtue of their education,
examination and experience. The Board further noted that should the Baltimore
County make a determination, after consultation with the Baltimore County Office
of Law, to limit the preparation of the Certificates for specific purposes to certain
design professions, they certainly are entitled to do so.
Motion (III) was made by Mr. Orisich, seconded by Mr. Lavelle and
unanimously carried to submit this issue to the Joint Chairs Board for their
opinion.
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Orisich stated that NCEES is conducting a PAKS survey on the
content of the Fundamentals of Surveying exam. He asked Ms. Edwards to
email the survey link to all licensees to afford them the opportunity of submitting
input.
OLD BUSINESS
Report on Severn River Watershed Commission Meeting
Chairman Mettee reported that he, Howard Harclerode, Chair of the
Professional Engineers' Board, and Pamela J. Edwards, attended the meeting of
the Severn River Commission on August 4, 2011. The Joint Chairs of the Design
Boards sent a letter to the Commission offering to meet with them to discuss the
exclusion of land surveyors and landscape architects from their law which allows
only professional engineers to prepare stormwater management plans within the
Severn River Watershed. Legislation was introduced last year to include
surveyors and landscape architects in the law but it failed.
Chairman Mettee stressed the fact that land surveyors could give better
and more attention to the smaller issues of a project rather than professional
engineers who concentrate on the larger projects.
MINUTES - LAND SURVEYORS
September 7, 2011
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The Commission was unsure why surveyors and landscape architects are
excluded from the law. Mr. Harclerode and Mr. Mettee explained to the
Commission that surveyors and landscape architects are competent and
qualified by virtue of education, experience, and examination to prepare
stormwater managements plans. The Commission was impressed with the
support of the Professional Engineers' Board.
The meeting concluded with the agreement that a detailed comparison of
the education of engineers, landscape architects, and surveyors would be
prepared by the Boards and forwarded to the Commission. The Commission
agreed to look into the reason surveyors and, specifically, landscape architects
were excluded from the law.
Report On NCEES Annual Meeting
Mr. Orisich reported that the EPS Committee met and some issues
discussed were: removing the term "engineering survey" from the model law,
and a program called TWIST, Teaching With Spatial Technology, which is a
week long program for teaching GIS and GPS to K-14. NCEES is considering
grant awards for this program but there has not been a big demand for
scholarships for this program. The FS Computer based testing is moving ahead.
The last pencil and paper administration of the exam will be October 2013.
Ms. Trust stated that the Board may wish to consider to changing the
"8- hour written exam" in the law to allow the computer exam to be used.
There also was an electronic signature workshop at the Annual Meeting
which focused on the availability of products to facilitate electronic signing of
documents.
OTHER BUSINESS
Pam Edwards informed the Board that the "By Design" newsletter will be
coming out in a week.
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September 7, 2011
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MARYLAND SOCIETY OF SURVEYORS
John Campbell told the Board this would be his last meeting. He
introduced his replacement, Barry Hoyle, President Elect. They had nothing to
report.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion (IV) was made by Mr. Jensen, seconded by Ms. Dunne and
unanimously carried to go into Executive Session at 11:30 a.m., 3rd Floor
Conference Room, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. This meeting is permitted to be
closed pursuant to State Government Article §10-508. The purpose of this
meeting was to consult with Counsel. Upon completion of the Session, the
Board re-convened the public meeting at 11:40 a.m.
APPLICATION FOR PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR BY EXAMINATION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Robert L. Boykin - approved.
David L. Myers - approved.
Stephen J. Hall - approved.
Mark T. Lagana - approved.
Matthew D. Lane - approved.
Charles A. Pollard, Jr. - approved.
Anthony L. Taylor - approved.
APPLICATION FOR PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR BY RECIPROCITY
1. John J. Luciani - approved.
2. Jeffrey W. Patterson - approved.
3. Timothy L. Fish - approved.
APPLICATION FOR LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
1. Polaris Land Consultants, LLC - approved.
2. Mason - Dixon Surveys, LLC - approved.
APPLICATION FOR CORPORATION
1. Aresolve Engineering, Inc. - approved.
MINUTES - LAND SURVEYORS
September 7, 2011
Page Six
APPLICATION DENIALS
One CPC Provider application was denied because they offered no land
surveying courses.
Two professional land surveyor by reciprocity applications were denied for
incompleteness.
One professional land surveyor by examination application was denied for
incompleteness.
Following a review of the above applications by a minimum of two board
members, a motion (V) for approval was made by Mr. Lavelle, seconded by Mr.
Orisich and unanimously carried.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, motion (VI) was made by Ms. Dunne,
seconded by Mr. Jenson to adjourn the meeting at 11:45 a.m.
______ With Corrections
___X___ Without Corrections
Signed by John Mettee, Chairman, October 5, 2011.