The City of Vidalia will adopt its own ordinance in accordance with Act 12 in the next few months.

Act 12 is a state legislation that started Jan. 1, which requires new construction to be inspected by an International Building Code official or IBO.

City Attorney Jack McLemore asked Mayor Hyram Copeland and the Board of Alderman Tuesday to pre-file his proposed ordinance.

McLemore’s proposed ordinance adopts the existing requirements for Act 12, he said.

“As far as Vidalia is concerned, Vidalia is not yet under the ordinance (Act 12), but it is state law,” he said.

According the state legislation, the inspector would inspect 10 different entities of a home or business including plumbing, electrical and water systems and foundation work and must approve the permits before a citizen can build.

These permits will cost potential home or business owners more money to build in certain parts of Louisiana including Concordia Parish.

There are only a few IBOs in Louisiana and different inspectors have different methods of charging for permit approval including charging extra money per square ft. of a home or charging a flat rate.

In some cases, inspectors also charge mileage to come and inspect a home, Copeland said.

McLemore also suggested the city collect money from CBOs upfront before they start to build.

“I think it will be more secure and we would have more control over the work being done,” McLemore said.

Under the proposed ordinance, the city will collect money from the building permits up front and the CBO will give an estimate on how much it will cost to build the structure, he said.

“Once the work is completed we’ll pay the inspector, McLemore said. “The reason we’re adopting it is to allow our citizens to get the work done with as little red tape as possible.”

There will be a public hearing to discuss the ordinance before the city passes a resolution, McLemore said.

In other business:

4The board pre-filed a resolution to apply for a USDA grant of $1.7 million for the new Vidalia convention center.

4Occupational licenses and sign applications were approved for following businesses: Holly’s Habits, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, CNA Taxes, River Park Community Cath Lab LLC and Kustom Automotives.