City tables terminating agreement until a hire is made
Columbia County will continue acting as the City of Lake City’s building official.
The Lake City Council agreed to table a resolution terminating the interlocal agreement for building official services Monday night by a 4-1 vote. Councilwoman Chevella Young cast the lone dissenting vote.
After the meeting, Young said she is just ready for the city to move forward.
“I’m not in favor of continuing to put things off,” Young said, adding that she believes the 180-day termination period in the agreement is long enough to allow the city to find its own building official. “It’s time to just move on.”
Councilman Todd Sampson, though, made the motion to table terminating the agreement until the city makes a hire and has a definite timeframe. Ricky Jernigan seconded the motion.
The council’s move to wait on making a move followed Noah Walker asking for more clarity on the decision. Walker said in meeting with several builders from within and outside the community, concern was expressed over what was the plan if the agreement was terminated.
“What I’m here to ask is that the plan be published so that the uncertainty of this cancellation be taken away,” Walker told the council in the lone public comment voiced during a meeting that ended in fewer than 40 minutes. “With that uncertainty comes a lot of havoc in these businesses.”
City Manager Paul Dyal said there is a plan for moving forward and it involves continuing to work with the county. Dyal said he met Monday morning with County Manager David Kraus about the building official and the county agreed to continue processing through new applications until the city made a hire. At that point, the city would take over the new permit requests, while the county would continue to handle all the permits it currently was working on.
“Everything is going to continue going forward,” Dyal said. “There should be no lapse in any building permitting.
“There’s no sense upsetting the apple cart at this point.”
Jernigan asked then why even terminate the agreement.
“It seems to me we should get somebody in place before we terminate them,” he said.
Dyal said it was just to get the six-month time clock started.
Dyal also told the council that the city is currently advertising for a building official and was close to an agreement for consulting services to handle permitting, if necessary, with North Florida Professional Services. NFPS, which already handles some engineering for the city, provides building services as a consultant for the City of Live Oak currently.
Following the meeting, Dyal said several applications have already been received by the city for the building official vacancy. He said he plans to move quickly if a qualified candidate is found.
That is exactly what Young wants to hear.
“I’m just ready for the city to just stand on its own two feet,” she said. “We’re going to be good.”