Board for Professional Engineers s4

MINUTES BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS

Date: February 8, 2007 Place: 3rd Floor Conference Room 500 North Calvert Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Present: Eugene C. Harvey, P.E., Chairman H. C. Harclerode, P.E., Vice Chairman Steven A. Arndt, P.E. Pastor Farinas, P.E. Sandra J. Murphy

Others Present: T. L. Woods, Executive Director Pamela Edwards, Assistant Executive Director Milena Trust, Counsel to the Board Dorothy Matricciani, Administrative Secretary Robert Mead, Executive Director, MSPE Robert Francis, P.E., Acting Director, Dept. of Inspections, Licenses and Permits, Howard County

Absent: Sallye E. Perrin, P.E., Secretary Rosalind L. Yee

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Harvey called the meeting to order at 9:48 a.m.

ACTION ON MINUTES

The minutes of the January 11, 2007 meeting were approved as submitted.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Motion (I) was made by Mr. Farinas, seconded by Ms. Murphy, and unanimously carried to go into Executive Session at 9:50 a.m., at 500 North Calvert Street, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202. This session was permitted to be closed pursuant to State Government Article, Title 10-508(a)(7). Upon completion of the session, the Board reconvened its public meeting at 10:15 a.m.

COMPLAINT COMMITTEE REPORT

Mr. Harclerode reported on the status of complaints and license reinstatement issues discussed by the Complaint Committee at its meeting on February 8, 2007. Board for Professional Engineers Minutes – February 8, 2007 Page 2

04-PE-13: Hearing held January 16, 2007. Waiting for report from OAH. 05-PE-01: Decision and fine suggested by Administrative Law Judge accepted. & 02 Proposed order signed. 05-PE-17: Waiting for copy of Deposition before taking action. 06-PE-11: Offer Consent Order and fine. 06-PE-19: Send to OIS. 07-PE-03: Sent to AAG for precharge review. Charge Letter signed by Chairman. 07-PE-04: Send to OIS. 07-PE-05: Sent to AAG for pre-charge review. 07-PE-07: Sent to investigator. 07-PE-08: Send to OIS. & 09 07-PE-10: Consent Order signed; fine paid; recommend close case. 07-PE-11: Consent Order signed; fine paid; recommend close case. 07-PE-12: Send letters to complainant and respondent. 07-PE-13: Waiting for reply from respondent. 07-PE-14: Send letter to respondent. 07-PE-15: Send letter to respondent.

The Complaint Committee reviewed two applications for reinstatement of license. The licenses were lapsed three and nine renewal periods. In each case, no documents were signed and sealed in Maryland during the time the licenses were lapsed. The Complaint Committee recommends reinstatement with a warning letter for the first applicant and requesting additional information from the second applicant.

The Complaint Committee reviewed a conduct issue concerning an applicant for the Principles and Practice of Engineering examination and decided to request that the applicant provide samples of his work for the Board’s further review.

Motion (II) was made by Mr. Arndt, seconded by Mr. Farinas, and unanimously carried to accept the recommendations of the Complaint Committee.

FINAL ACTION ON REGULATION COMAR 09.23.04.03, FEES

The Board took final action to adopt the proposed amendment to COMAR 09.23.04.03, to reduce the license/certificate fees by $10, from $78 to 68, as published in the Maryland Register, December 22, 2006. Ms. Trust said no comments were received.

Motion (III) was made by Mr. Harclerode, seconded by Mr. Farinas, and unanimously carried to adopt the proposed amendment to COMAR 09.23.04.03, to reduce the license/certificate fees by $10, from $78 to 68. Board for Professional Engineers Minutes – February 8, 2007 Page 3 Presentation by Mr. Bob Frances, P.E., Acting Director, Department of Inspections, Licenses, & Permits, Howard County.

Mr. Frances spoke to the Board about a program that he and Mr. Mickey McBride, Special Programs Coordinator for the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute, are putting together called “Surviving Plan Review.” It is intended for Architects, Fire Protection Engineers, Interior Designers and Plan Review Specialists who submit or review plans for approval either to or as Code Officials. Information will be presented in a generic format so that plans can be reviewed and approved in a timely manner. The program will be an all-day course and is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2, 2007 in College Park, Maryland. The cost is $30, and will include lunch. “Continuing Education Units” will also be available. Mr. Frances asked the Board’s assistance in getting the word out about this program and said that further information can be obtained by visiting the Web site www.mfri.org. Mr. Harvey said the Board would be happy to spread the word to the various engineering societies and also to put it in the Design Board’s April Newsletter.

Mr. Frances further said that his department is responsible for damage assessment and he is presently in the process of talking with people in the State of California about coming to Maryland and presenting a course on post-earthquake and post-flood assessment of buildings. The course would be engineering level related so that a group of people could be assembled to assist with disaster evaluation. Mr. Frances said that he is trying to put together a presentation about developing an emergency response plan that could possibly be used nationwide.

Mr. Harclerode said that the Good Samaritan Law may prevent the use of consulting engineers because of liability and licensure issues.

CORRESPONDENCE

Letter from Manoj K. Jha, Ph.D., P.E., President, Maryland Society of Professional Engineers (MSPE), dated December 15, 2006

The Board reviewed a letter from Mr. Jha supporting the Board’s proposed regulation requiring professional engineers to include the expiration date of their licenses on all documents they sign and seal. Mr. Jha states that “although it is regrettable that the experience of the Board indicates the necessity of this regulation, it is clearly in the public interest to assist building code officials in ascertaining the current validity of a licensee’s seal.”

Ms. Trust said this proposed regulation, was printed in the February 2nd issue of the Maryland Register. (COMAR 09.23.03.10, Code of Ethics)

Board for Professional Engineers Minutes – February 8, 2007 Page 4

Letter from Nancy Katz, Special Consultant, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, (AACRAO), dated January 2, 2007 The Board reviewed a letter and attached information from Ms. Katz concerning the foreign credential evaluation service of the AACRAO, and requests that the Board consider listing it among the agencies it currently approves to evaluate the foreign educational credentials of those individuals seeking professional registration and licensing in the State of Maryland.

After review of the information submitted and before making a decision, the Board decided to request Ms. Katz to provide the names of colleges/universities in Maryland that accept the AACRAO’s evaluations.

NEW BUSINESS

MSPE – Engineer’s Week Celebration

Mr. Mead, said that the MSPE will host an Engineer’s Week Celebration at the Engineers Club of Baltimore on Friday, February 23, beginning at 6:30 p.m. As part of the celebration, newly licensed engineers will be introduced and presented with certificates. Mr. Mead invited Board members to attend as guests of the Society.

OLD BUSINESS

Discussion on Memorandum from Louis A Raimondi, P.E., President, NCEES, dated November 28, 2006

The Board affirmed its stance on the following items to be discussed at the NCEES Board Presidents Assembly to be held on February 15-17, per Mr. Raimondi’s memorandum: 1) the Board accepts degrees from foreign countries. Washington Accord countries degrees are accepted as “approved degrees.” All other countries degrees are accepted as “unapproved degrees;” and 2) regarding NCEES entering into unilateral agreements with foreign licensing bodies on behalf of the Member Boards, the Board abstained from addressing this issue because it does not have enough information to make an informed decision at this time.

APPLICATIONS APPROVED FOR RECIPROCITY

Motion (IV) was made by Mr. Farinas, seconded by Ms. Murphy, and unanimously carried to approve the following applications for reciprocity:

Charles C. Ackley 34054 Lawrence J. Marchetti 34094 Frank J. Andracchi 33691 Bryan T. Melton 34095 Gary W. Beazley 33671 Edward J. Mizerek, Jr. 34093 Board for Professional Engineers Minutes – February 8, 2007 Page 5

APPLICATIONS APPROVED FOR RECIPROCITY (Cont’d.)

David G. Benning 33420 Renee B. Muir 33678 James A. Caulder, Jr. 34086 Carl A. Nelson 34090 Joseph K. Chan 34083 Ronald Ngantung 34074 Shashi K. Dahal 33471 James T. Peck 34080 Jared G. Fasick 34082 Brian J. Provencal 34079 Albert J. Fill 34084 Daniel W. Rice 34078 Matthew A. Goudy 33504 Ann M. Rothmann 33653 Gary W. Gunther 34088 Michele F. Roth 33747 Ali A. K. Harris 34055 James L. Seibert 34077 Mark R. Hunsicker 34020 David E. Sestak 34076 Martin S. Jordan 34085 Jason B. Sparrow 34075 John M. Klein 33697 Karl P. Stegmann 33750 Surya P. Lamsal 34064 Sam Taxis 34012 Travis H. Lau 33654 Clayton C. Tock 34091 Dong Li 34081 Theresa L. Van Dyken 33756 Ryan C. Linthicum 34097 John A. Wallen 34092 Lambert B. Logan 34087 John B. Williams 34096 Rafael A. Magana 34070 Jenni E. Woodworth 33521 David L. Mailler 33703 Yuping Xie 34089

APPLICATIONS APPROVED ADMINISTRATIVELY FOR RECIPROCITY

The following applications, supported by NCEES Model Law Engineer files, were administratively approved for licensure by the Assistant Executive Director of the Board:

Guy B. Brousseau 34111 Jeffrey D. Patterson 33746 John A. Clark 34021 Joseph M. Pearce 34047 Cassandra B. Daller 34048 Robert Plitko 34115 Douglas R. Dunko 34069 James L. Rayburn 34103 David M. George 34046 Frank E. Roberts 34109 David C. Graham 34117 Daniel J. Santos 34058 Ronald R. Gryzik 34066 Eric J. Seksinsky 34041 Jamshid K. Hosseinzadeh 34114 F. William Shirk 34110 John W. Jordan, Jr. 33758 Keith A. Smith 34112 Jonathan E. Meyer 34040 Randal E. Swiech 34049 William D. Neal 34113 Jeffrey A. Tibbitts 34043 Joseph Nyanjom 34116

APPLICATION DENIED FOR LICENSURE BY RECIPROCITY

Motion (V) was made by Mr. Farinas, seconded by Mr. Arndt, and unanimously carried to deny an application for licensure by reciprocity because the applicant did not meet the requirements for licensure in the State of Maryland. APPLICATIONS APPROVED FOR THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING EXAMINATION, APRIL 20, 2007

The following applications were approved for the Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination to be held April 20, 2007.

Sherry A. Abbott-Adkins Santa K. Katwal Khaled A. Al-akhdar Katherine A. Keigan Jennifer E. Alderton Thomas C. Kozlowski Theodore B. Allan Aron A. Krasnpooler Marta P. Alonso-Escartin Anand Kumaraswamy Ned A. Aridi Patricia A. Kunder Maria P. Ariza Steve H. Leblanc Nathan C. Atkinson Justin M. Lennon Calvin D. Austin Gibb P. Little Yves-Zinga Banota Yubin Li Tuck Oai Grace C. Bazata Hearbert A. Locklear Natalya Basumallick Daniel Lovette Gregory P. Bauer Joseph M. Maurio Satish R. Belagutti Meghan S. McDonald Amy M. Bellanca Ali M. Moustafa Melissa A. Bill Jennifer M. Murno Thomas Bliss Khadija A. Ngozi Teresa A. Bondi Shelly C. Nix Victoria F. Bremseth Michael L. Parham Christy J. Butler Ankur B. Patel John T. Canavan Dipali R. Patel Chavan N. Chavan Michael C. Peterson Gilbert M. Chlewicki Quyen D. Pham Tze-Wei Choo Richard Y. Pratt Matthew D. Collette Catherine F. Proot Eric J. Davidson Dustin T. Quincy Jessica R. Desalvo Ann M. Russell Mary Ann Dirado Subir K. Saha Justin T. Domire Nathanal B. Salnick Board for Professional Engineers Minutes – February 8, 2007 Page 7

APPLICATIONS APPROVED FOR THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING EXAMINATION, APRIL 20, 2007 (Cont’d.)

Vibert J. Dos Santos Rolando A. Sanidad David K. Duff Charles H. Scott, Jr. Robert J. Ells Anthony C. Senneca Jeffrey D. Evans Kent R. Simodynes Owais E. Farooqi Jimmy D. Sneed Benjamin A. Fedor Billie J. Swailes Hugene Fields, Jr. Raj K. Tamang Gregory N. Fincher Anita E. Thomas Dimitri L. Fomil George A. Tsakanikas Jon M. Gagnon Kevin M. Ulmes Renju George Monica S. Urisko Roger A. Greve, III Lauren F. Waesche Devon C. Hahn James A. Waller, Sr. Melissa A. Hedrick John J. Watson Courtland J. Helbig Kathryn L. Weisner Dennis L. Heyman Edward T. Wessel Eric J. Horvat Thomas B. Wise Sarah C. Hoyt Addisu H. Woldesenbet Yuhui Hu Hong Yuan Mark A. Johnston Cheryl A. Zaron Birame Kandji Yanjun Zhou

APPLICATIONS DENIED FOR THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING EXAMINATION, APRIL 20, 2007

Motion (VI) was made by Mr. Arndt, seconded by Mr. Farinas, and unanimously carried to deny eleven applications for the Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination to be held April 20, 2007, because the applicants did not meet the Board’s requirements. The applications were discussed at the Board meeting.

The Board also affirmed its decision to deny a previously denied applicant for the April exam after review of the applicant’s appeal letter.

ADJOURNMENT

Motion (VII) was made by Mr. Harclerode, seconded by Mr. Farinas, and unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting at 11:24 a.m.

______With Corrections

_____X____Without Corrections Signed by: Eugene C. Harvey, P.E. Chairman