 |
| Is there another layer of additional scrutiny that we can apply to folks who construct infrastructure to insure the county and residents don't have big bills to pay and problems years after such infrastructure is constructed? The answer is YES. |
One of the things I mentioned in last Thursday's Committee of the Whole Meeting was that we need more scrutiny applied to the projects that are built and that we allow to be permitted.
I was pleased that one of my counterparts agreed that this is necessary. It is necessary.
We need to enforce our codes and be fair to builders---and we are---but we have to make sure all ordinances are followed and things permitted are built as designed.
Otherwise, we will continue to have unintended consequences that homeowners and the county will have to address.
From stormwater ponds not built according to the way they were designed and permitted, (look at the issues in Beulah last week) to lift stations that fail costing residents hundreds of thousands of dollars, to platted subdivisions that are not graded according to plan and cause flooding on surrounding properties--we are racing from crisis to crisis fixing these issues that are symptomatic of a larger problem: insufficient oversight and scrutiny of the projects that are permitted once they are built.
I recently had lunch with a contractor locally who has a well-regarded, established company doing construction and maintenance throughout the southeast. He has about 60 employees and his company is wildly successful. "Jeff, we build a retaining wall and we follow the rules. We get the permit, we build it as it is designed--but nobody comes to verify that we built it according to the specifications of the engineer of record. It just gets signed off, and nobody comes to look at it. They would not even know what to look for if they did come out" he stated flatly. "The county should make the engineer of record on these projects sign an affidavit stating they inspected the project after construction and that it has been built according to the plans."
I like that idea, and we are going to look at doing just that.
1. County staff scrutinizes plans to insure they meet code.
2. Approval is sought and obtained to construct
3. County inspects items built
4. Engineer of record signs off that what was built matches what was submitted to county
5. If post construction-issues arise based upon faulty/flawed construction--builder and engineer of record will be called to task
The problems that we are facing today are self-inflicted. We have allowed things to be built, land to be cleared, and subdivisions to be platted where the grading plans have not been followed--and now we are scrambling to pick up the pieces. When we have to come up with solutions for homeowners who have faced tremendous issues with improperly constructed infrastructure in subdivisions that affect nearby homeowners-this is problematic and it should NOT be a regular, recurring situation.
Sadly-----it has been.
So we have to do better. And we will.
I'll be bringing a plan to address this issue.
