Two Lake of the Ozarks area Fire Departments have adopted ordinances requiring inspections on docks involved in a transfer of ownership due to the sale of real estate.

In December 2013, the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District Board of Directors unanimously approved the new requirement and at their regular monthly meeting in March 2014, trustees of the Village of Four Seasons did the same. The ordinance adopted by the Village, which took over all dock inspections within that municipality in October 2012, went into effect immediately; LOFPD’s ordinance kicked in January 1, 2014. Under the law, a copy of the inspection approval must be submitted with the permit transfer application to Ameren Missouri.

The newly approved dock inspection ordinances, which are patterned after one adopted last year by the Osage Beach Fire Protection District, will not affect condominiums with multiple slip docks that are tied to an association. The permits will be good for one year.

In 2006 the OsageBeach, LakeOzark, Mid County and SunriseBeach fire protection districts partnered with Ameren Missouri to institute a dock inspection program at the Lake. The program required electrical inspections and permits for:

·All newly installed private boat docks equipped with electric power;

·When revisions were made to existing docks; or

·When those docks were relocated.

In a 2013 interview, Osage Beach Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Dorhauer said although the existing inspections were good, because they didn’t cover all docks, additional steps needed to be taken to provide a safe environment for residents and visitors. That’s when the board of directors decided to adopt the ordinance requiring inspections on docks involved in a transfer of ownership due to the sale of real estate. The following is a link to the  Osage Beach fire Protection website where you can see their dock regulations.

Inspectors advised that to help the residential-sale inspection process move more smoothly, sellers should order the needed dock inspections before the property is listed – not when it sells.

On their website, Ameren provides electrical installation requirements, a wiring diagram and a checklist for docks. The information is available at http://www.ameren.com/sites/aue/lakeoftheozarks/Pages/DockElectricalInstallations.aspx.

Lake Expo and The Lake of the Ozarks Business Journal