By Fred Seely, Editor
The state board that regulates the construction industry retains a Northeast Florida presence.
Attorney Christopher Cobb is a consumer member of the Construction Industry Licensing Board, being appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to fill an unexpired term. He's be up for reappointment later this year.
"I got interested when I went to a construction law seminar and the speaker was a Tallahassee attorney who talked about the board," said Cobb. "It seemed like a natural fit to me."
The governor's office is always looking for consumer members for state regulatory boards under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and Cobb got a quick appointment. He's been to six meetings, already chairs a committee and says it's a great experience.
"It's also a lot of work," he said, hefting a packet of information that he has to work through prior to the next month's meeting. "But, it's a sense of service. It's good for me to do. I spend maybe 30 hours a month on it and I learn a lot."
The CILB has 18 members and they meet monthly at sites around the state.
Its role, according to the DBPR website, is being "responsible for licensing and regulating the construction industry. The board meets regularly to consider applications for licensure, to review disciplinary cases, and to conduct informal hearings relating to licensure and discipline. The board engages in rulemaking to implement the provisions set forth in its statutes and conducts other general business, as necessary."
The Northeast Florida presence has waned in recent years. In the past, industry leaders such as the late Henry Bachara and Bob Fleckenstein were mainstays but lately the area has gotten by usually with only one: ICI's Don Wilford was a recent member.
At least we have one: Northeast Florida has no representative on the Florida Real Estate Commission.
A Fort Lauderdale native, Cobb came to this area to play baseball at the University of North Florida. After graduating in 1997, he spent a year playing minor league baseball in the Montreal Expos system and "realized that wasn't going to be my future."
He entered the Florida Coastal School of Law, graduating in 2001 and "got real lucky to have a chance to join Jim Bledsoe and his firm. "Jim loves baseball," said Cobb. "Maybe that helped me."
Cobb, 38, now practices with Charles Jimerson in Jacksonville's Riverside area. Previously, he worked with the Bledsoe Jacobson, Volpe and Tritt firms.
He now specializes in contract services.
He's married with two young daughters and lives in the Lakewood area but has purchased a lot in the Palencia development north of St. Augustine.
The CILB usually meets in this area at least once a year and it will be at Jacksonville's Hyatt hotel on May 7-10. The board's committee meetings and its general session are open to the public.
"Good and bad on the dates," he said. "That's the Players Championship weekend and I'll be in meetings, but I'll be able to get out and see some of the golf. At least I won't be down in Naples or someplace far away."