BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Bay Minette builders may soon have a higher set of standards to abide by. That’s because the Bay Minette City Council has agreed to consider the 2012 set of International Building Codes.

It came upon the recommendation of Baldwin County Planning and Zoning representative Mike Howell, who told the council that adopting the codes would prove beneficial to the city’s International Organization for Standardization rating and insurance rates.

“Currently, the county is at a(n ISO) rating of six on a scale of one to 10,” he said during a work session that preceded last week’s council meeting. “In order to hold a 20-percent discount on a flood policy, we must maintain a six.”

According to Howell, maintaining a rating of six would require upgrading from the 1997 codes the city requires.

“There is some increased cost going into 2012,” Howell said. “But it’s not going to take many years to recoup what you’ve put in.”

He explained that the biggest impact on the code change would be to the requirements of roof construction. But, he added, it’s also one of the most important factors to consider.

“Seventy percent of insurance plans come down to the roof,” Howell said.

Representatives of several entities were on hand to express their support of updating code requirements, including Baldwin County Home Building Association Board member Alex Cary.

“The Home Builders Association absolutely supports it,” she told the council in last week’s work session. “We are very much encouraging you to adopt the 2012’s.”

Bay Minette Fire Chief Phil Bryars also said doing so to maintain a higher ISO rating would benefit the city’s fire code.

“We’re also graded by ISO,” he said during the work session. “We’re a four on the fire-department side. But plumbing will also be included in the fire code.”

Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery also advised the council to upgrade the city’s code requirements before the ISO inspections that are expected to occur this spring.

“The builders in Baldwin County have been exemplary and gone beyond the ’97 codes,” she said in the work session. “But when insurance companies call (Bay Minette Building Official) Oscar (Waters), he can’t tell them they go beyond those requirements.”

Following the discussion, the council unanimously voted to set a public hearing for 6 p.m. Monday, March 19 on the code adoption.

In addition, the council:

• Approved an accounts-payable report of $218,660.53.
• Approved an off-premises beer and wine retail license for B.D. Food Mart, formerly Quick Food mart Six, located at 1130 U.S. Highway 31 North.
• Approved the second reading of an ordinance establishing a procedure for the appointment of additional election-officers for absentee ballots in upcoming municipal elections.
• Approved the appointment of Barbara Judge to the Bay Minette Housing Authority.