Saturday, August 31, 2002
The county requires electricians performing certain work to be registered.
VIENNA -- Continued construction of the new Delphi Packard Electric Systems plant here is in question because union electricians are not registered with Trumbull County.
Peter Marchese, chief building official for the county, said electricians with the International Union of Electrical Workers Local 717 have to be registered to hook up new plastic injection molding machines.
The county has a resolution that requires registration for any work that falls under state electrical codes.
Marchese stopped the work Tuesday but allowed it to resume Thursday when Packard filed an appeal with the county electrical appeal board.
A Packard spokesman could not be reached, but Marchese said the appeal letter says the company should be exempted from the registration requirement because the company is not a contractor and it is using qualified electricians.
Who's on the board
The board that will hear the appeal is made up of contractors, an electrical engineer, a union official and an Ohio Edison official.
Marchese, who has been in his position since March, said he wasn't sure if the registration requirement has come up in previous Packard construction projects.
Packard could seek registration for its electricians, Marchese said. To be registered, electricians must meet educational requirements, have a state certificate and meet bonding and insurance requirements.
When the plant was built, outside contractors who were registered with the county installed wiring, Marchese said.
Packard is moving its plastics operation from its Dana Street plant in Warren to more modern plants in Cortland and Vienna. The Vienna plant in AeroPark off Ridge Road is being built and equipped at a cost of about $60 million.