Business Meeting Minutes April 29, 2025 - Elevator Safety Review
TIME: 10:00 am
LOCATION: 100 S. Charles Street
Remington Conference Room
Baltimore, MD 21201
Held Virtually via Google Meet
Google Meet Link (https://meet.google.com/vbg-mvtj-mtv?hs=122&authuser=0)
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PIN: 546 397 236#
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Ed Hord, Chairman
Michael Moran, Industry Member
Jason Dankner, Industry Member
Steve Redman, Consumer Member
Thomas Lindsay, Industry Member
Charles “Peter” Meeks, Industry Member
Devki Virk, Commissioner of Labor & Industry, Ex-Officio Member
MEMBERS ABSENT:
William “Bill” Hosea, Consumer Member
LABOR OFFICIALS AND STAFF PRESENT:
John Dove, Commissioner, Occupational and Professional Licensing
Sarah McDermott, Assistant Commissioner, Occupational and Professional Licensing
Charles Marquette, Executive Director, Mechanical Licensing Unit
Mischelle VanReusel, Deputy Commissioner, Labor and Industry
Daniel Gutierrez, Chief Elevator Inspector
Dave Dearborn, Labor and Industry
Matthew Venuti, Assistant Attorney General
LaKissha Thornton, Administrative Officer
GUEST PRESENT:
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Hord called the Business Meeting of the Maryland Elevator Safety Review Board to Order at 10:12 am.
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA
A motion to adopt the agenda of the April 29, 2025 Business Meeting was made by Mr. Moran, seconded by Mr. Meeks, and by a roll call vote unanimously approved by the Board.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
A motion to approve the minutes of the February 18, 2025, meeting was made by Mr. Meeks, seconded by Mr. Moran and, by a roll call vote, unanimously approved by the Board.
COMPLAINT COMMITTEE REPORT
There was no report from the Complaint Committee.
APPLICATION REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT
Mr. Moran reported that one application for an elevator mechanic license had been for review. He requested guidance on whether the application should be approved as the applicant’s work history only indicated that they had been employed by a company the only performed accessibility lift work, not elevator work. Mr. Meeks commented that he did not feel the work experience was sufficient and that the application should be denied. Chairman Hord agreed with Mr. Moran. Mr. Moran stated that he would provide a determination on the application to Director Marquette to be reported at the next meeting.
REVIEW OF PSI EXAMINATION STATISTICS AND LICENSE TOTALS
Director Marquette reported that no candidates were tested in 2025. Since the inception of test 79 candidates have been tested, with 37 having passed and 42 having failed for a pass rate of 47%. There are currently 1,105 active licensees.
WIND TURBINE COMMITTEE REPORT:
Mr. Danker reported that the Committee did not have anything new to report since the last meeting and suggested that Wind Turbine Committee report be removed from the bi-monthly agenda be added to the agenda when there was information to report. Director Marquette stated that he had spoken with David Dearborn regarding scheduling a visit for the Board to see a wind turbine elevator. Mr. Dearborn confirmed the conversation and requested that the Board provide him with some dates that they would be able to visit the site. Director Marquette stated that he would poll the Board members and provide the dates to Mr. Dearborn. Mr. Redman asked if he could be reminded of the reason for the site visit. Mr. Danker replied that about two years ago the Board received a request from Alimak, a wind turbine company, asking the Board to allow their wind turbine elevator mechanics to perform inspections on the wind turbine elevators without having to obtain an MD Elevator Mechanic license. The Board did not approve the request but did consider the role a licensed Elevator Mechanic plays in the inspection of wind turbine elevators. It had been suggested that the Board visit and inspect a wind turbine elevator to help determine if a license exemption or new class of license should be issued in the future. Mr. Moran stated that he was under the impression that the MD Elevator Mechanic did not perform the inspection on wind turbine elevators
Mr. Lindsay joined the meeting at 10:20 am.
Chairman Hord questioned what would be needed to create a new class of licensure since the Board had decided not to grant an exemption. Mr. Venuti replied that it would require a change to the Board’s statute through legislation. Chairman Hord asked the members of the Board if they wished to continue pursing a new class of licensure for wind turbine elevator mechanics. Mr. Moran stated that he felt it would be helpful to visit the site. Mr. Gutierrez commented, stating that the inspections are performed and witnessed by technicians who are licensed by the wind turbine company. He continued stating that the International Code Council’s code governing wind turbine elevators was different from that of standard elevators. The wind turbine company is required to operated by the standards set forth in that code. Mr. Meeks question whether the people conducting the inspection testing were licensed elevator mechanics or if they were only certified by the company. Mr. Gutirrez replied stating that the mechanics do not have state licenses and were licensed through the companies. Assistant Commissioner McDermott questioned if anyone knew if the neighboring states had an official license for wind turbine elevator mechanics. Mr. Venuti replied that to his knowledge no other states had a wind turbine elevator mechanic license. Asst. Commissioner McDermott stated that staff would do some research to see what states, if any, offered a license to inspect wind turbine elevators.
After more discussion it was decided that the Wind Turbine Committee would work with Mr. Dearborn to schedule a site visit to see a wind turbine elevator. It was also decided that staff would try to obtain design drawings and manuals and guide on wind turbine elevators for the Boards review.
Commissioner Virk joined the meeting at 10:30 am.
Chairman Hord stated that he and the Board would await the findings of the Wind Turbine Committee after the site visit and thanked Director Marquette for assisting with scheduling the visit.
Mr. Danker began a conversation on licensing compliance for elevator mechanics by asking Director Marquette how many licensed elevator mechanics there were in the State. Director Marquette replied that he believes there were about 1000 mechanics. Mr. Danker stated that he had received a list of about 55 elevator contractors and that it may be beneficial to remind the contractors that all of the employees must be licensed. Commissioner Dove asked Mr. Danker to estimate the number of elevator mechanics he thought were working in Maryland, to which Mr. Danker replied about 1500. Mr. Lindsay suggested that if a standard renewal application was available on the Board’s website it may prevent mechanics from having lapse in licensure, as mechanics have complained that they do not receive renewal application in a timely manner. He asked if would be possible to have a fixed date that all mechanic licenses would expire as opposed to have a different expiration date for each licensee. Director Marquette stated that he did not think it would be possible to set a standard renewal date. Mr. Meeks stated that he agreed with notifying elevator contractor companies of their duty to make sure that their mechanics were licensed if they are working in the state. Asst. Commissioner McDermott asked if the Board had enforcement authority regarding unlicensed mechanics. Director Marquette confirmed that while the Board does have enforcement authority, enforcement was driven by complaints and the Board did not receive many complaints, making enforcement difficult. Director Marquette stated that he would work with Counsel to draft correspondence to be sent out to the Elevator Contractors who are licensed by the Board requesting that they provide a listed all of mechanics working for the company and information on their license status and present it the Board for approval.
CORRESPONDENCE
There was no correspondence.
OLD BUSINESS
Chairman Hord stated that Director Marquette had sent out information regarding all of the Board’s Committees and their members, as well as short bios on Board Staff and questions if the members of the Board found the information sufficient. No other information was requested from Director Marquette.
Mr. Meeks commented that there are two open seats on the Board and that, if possible, he would like to see those seats filled and to have a full Board. Commissioner Dove stated that work was being done to fill those seats by the Governor’s Appointment office.
There was no other Old Business.
NEW BUSINESS
Chairman Hord began a discussion on establishing reciprocity agreements with the neighboring states. Director Marquette stated that he discovered that Pennsylvania does not offer an Elevator Mechanic license and that he was having difficulty establishing a point of contact with the Delaware Board to begin discussions. Mr. Meeks stated that he was under the impression that Delaware felt that Maryland did not meet the standards they established for an elevator license so Director Marquette may have some difficulty establishing an agreement. Mr. Danker commented that he had a contact with the Delaware Elevator Board that he would share with Director Marquette to assist the process.
Chairman Hord asked Director Marquette if he could provide an update on the Board’s budget to ensure the Board was not operating a deficit. Commissioner Dove stated that staff would not be able to provide a budget update at this time, as the Elevator Safety Review Board was awaiting its share of funds collected during the fiscal year from the Div. of Labor and Industry.
Mr. Danker asked if any more progress had been made regarding establishing electronic licensing for Elevator licenses. Commissioner Dove stated that the Board was still slated to establish electronic licensing but there were several projects that were scheduled to be completed first. He hoped to be able to implement electronic licensing for Elevator licenses within the next 18 months. Mr. Redman stated that he agreed with Mr. Lindsay in that it would be beneficial for licensees if all elevator licenses were set to renew on a fixed date. Commissioner Dove stated that he would have a discussion with staff and Counsel to see if that was permissible by statute or able to be carried out by staff. Mr. Redman questioned if CE course offered by Elevator repair companies could be counted toward the CE requirement to renew an Elevator Mechanic license. Mr. Hord stated that any course that had been approved by the CE committee could be accepted for credit.
There was no other New Business to be discussed.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS REPORT
Director Marquette thanked the Board for attending the meeting in person and for their participation in the Board.
COUNSEL’S REPORT
Counsel did not offer a report.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Chairman Hord did not offer a report, but thanked the Board for attending the meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made to adjourn April 29, 2025, Business Meeting of the Elevator Safety Review Board was made by Mr. Meeks, seconded by Mr. Lindsay and unanimously carried by the Board at 11:06 am.