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SAN JUAN COUNTY PERMIT CENTER |
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County concentrating on planning prioritiesposted 03/07/06
Part of the problem is due to the high cost of housing in the islands, he said. Another problem is "We require a high level of expertise - a Bachelors degree and six years or a Masters and four years." He has redrafted job descriptions. County Councilmember Kevin Ranker said part of the problem with recruiting planners is the reputation the county has gotten as a result of the turnover and budget cutbacks. Part of the recruitment process will need to include information explaining the new commitment to the department. The Community Development and Planning Department has been struggling with turnover and constant reorganization in the past few years. The departments budgets have been cut. Last year the budget was increased. In 2002 Permit Director Grant Beck resigned and Joseph McKenna Smith was hired. In 2003 Planning Director Laura Arnold was fired and the Permit Center and Planning Dept were consolidated. In 2004 McKenna-Smith resigned. In 2004 Steve Amsbaugh was hired. In 2005 Amsbaugh resigned. Deputy Director Francine Shaw was fired in 2005. The county's Solid Waste Manager Matt Zybas took over as Interim CDPD Director until Ron Hendrickson was hired in late 2005. County's long-range planner resignsEditor's note: this story has been changed since first posted. The changes are in bold. updated 2/24/2006
Lee McEnery and Julie Thompson are associate planners in CDPD. Shirlene Hale has been working as a temporary hire with the department since the fall and will take over some of Anderson's work. The county is conducting a search for more senior planners. New Planning Director hiredposted 11/18/05
Deputy Planning Director firedposted 05/17/05
During her two years with the county, the Planning Department and Permit Center merged. Shaw began as Director of Long Range Planning, became deputy director of the merged department, was interim director after Joseph McKenna-Smith resigned in August 2004 and resumed duties as deputy director when Steve Amsbaugh was hired in Jan. 2005. Amsbaugh announced his resignation a week ago. The commissioners appointed county Solid Waste Manager Matt Zybas as interim director effective May 17, 2005. Planning Director resigns, replaced by Solid Waste Managerposted 10:50 a.m. 05/11/05
Zybas has a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning with a concentration in land use planning and environmental issues from Portland State University. Amsbaugh was hired in January 2005. He replaced Joseph McKenna-Smith who resigned in August 2004. Planning director hiredposted 12/23/04
Francine Shaw has been interim director since Joseph McKenna-Smith resigned in August 2004. Francine Shaw named interim Directorposted 08/04/04
The three county Commissioners directed Human Resource Manager Becky Rusnak to begin the process of finding a permanent director. An interim deputy director will be hired to fill in for Shaw. Planning Director resignsposted 07/14/04
San Juan County Commissioners regretfully accepted his resignation. Commissioner Rhea Miller said, "I will miss you. Thank you for your service. You taught me a lot." Commissioner John Evans said, "For the first time in a long time I felt we had somebody in that department who would listen to reasonable requests and think about the impacts of decisions. And secondly, for the first time I have been abundantly proud of permitting and planning in this county." Commissioner Darcie Nielsen said, " You brought unprecedented management savvy. This will be a loss for us." McKenna-Smith was a supervisor for the FBI and a member of the Issaquah Planning Commission. He has masters degrees in Public Administration and Community Development and Planning. He has 30 years of experience in senior-level management and serves as adjunct faculy in the Master of Business Administration and Criminal Justice. The commissioners will discuss the process to find a replacement at a future meeting. County hires former planning director as consultantposted 06/16/04
Other consultants have been hired to work on the barge landing sites issue and the Urban Growth Area issue. The Community Development and Planning Department is short staffed. Director Josepy McKenna-Smith is in the process of interviewing candidates to replace Rick Rutz who resigned in April. A year ago, the Planning Department consisted of Arnold, Rutz, Senior Planner Pat Mann and administrative assistant Lynda Guernsey. The department was merged with the Permit Centerin September 2003 and became the Community Development and Planning Department. Guernsey is the only member of the former planning department still employed by the county. More turnover at planning dept.posted 04/07/04
The county is under a November deadline to finish work on the Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) for Eastsound and Lopez Vilalge. Community Development and Planning Director Joseph McKenna-Smith asked for permission to hire a consultant to help with the workload while a new planner is sought. Marriner heading to Bellinghamposted 03/08/04
Marriner has worked on the growth management issues since October 1999. "He's made a huge contribution both professionally, personally and emotionally," Gaylord said. "He keeps people up." Marriner's wife, Kelly Owen, already works three days per week in Bellingham. The move gives the family the chance to simplify the logistics. Things will be complicated until the summer, as their two sons will finish out the school year here. "It was a tough decision," Marriner said. "But I am ready for a different type of work experience." Gaylord said it will be hard to find a replacement for Marriner. "He has traits that are hard to find in people." The uncertainty from year to year as to whether the position will be included in the county's budget makes the working conditions difficult, Gaylord said. The pay schedule also makes it difficult to find people to work in the prosecutor's office, he said. Gaylord said his office will evaluate the options before deciding what to do. The staff is already operating at less than full staff due to medical leave for one of the attorneys. Planner not manager to be hiredposted 10/14/03
McKenna-Smith asked the Board of County Commissioners to reinstate a departmental assistant position which was cut to half-time. He presented a budget with $83,000 less expenses and $27,000 in increased fees. McKenna-Smith and Deputy Auditor Charlotte Dye will run the figures and present the revised department budget to the BOCC. Planning Director firedposted 08/12/03
Nielsen has lobbied for years to combine the planning and permit center. She presented plans on Monday, August 11, 2003 to do so. Arnold will be offered a position in the combined department. The exact nature of the position is still to be determined. Under Nielsen's plan the position would be under the Permit Center Director and would oversee one senior planner. McKenna named Permit Center Directorposted 09/25/02
The county appointed McKenna-Smith on an emergency basis in May. The job was advertised internally to county employees for a week in September and then advertised externally for six days. The external search netted one application. McKenna-Smith was a supervisor for the FBI and a member of the Issaquah Planning Commission. He has masters degrees in Public Administration and Community Development and Planning. He has 30 years of experience in senior-level management and serves as adjunct faculy in the Master of Business Administration and Criminal Justice. He lives on San Juan Island. Another resignation in the permit centerposted 05/22/02
The county has contracted with Berryman & Henigar to perform Uniform Building Code non-structural fire and life safety, structural, disabled accessibility, Washington State Energy Code, Uniform Mechanical Code and Uniform Plumbing Code Plan reviews from May 14, 2002 through no later than December 31, 2002. County Commissioners were concerned about the backlog of permits which was a result of cutbacks in the 2002 budget. Weer has been doing inspections. Since Berryman & Henigar are on board to do plans examinations, Beck is recommending Toni, one of the two remaining plans examiners/building inspectors, be pulled off plans examinations and concentrate on building inspections. Beck, who begins work in Yelm next week, said many cities contract out their plans examinations work. BOCC hires Interim Permit Center Directorposted 05/15/02
McKenna-Smith has been a supervisor for the FBI and a member of the Issaquah Planning Commission. He has masters degrees in Public Administration and COmmunity Development and Planning. He has 30 years of experience in senior-level management and serves as adjunct faculy in the Master of Business Administration and Criminal Justice. He lives on San Juan Island. Skolnik's background is in economic development and historic preservation. He has a masters degree in Architecture and Urban Design. He owns a company which provides land use, economic development, public policy and property management consulting. The county is currently seeking to fill three permanent positions -- Director, Deputy Director/Building Official and Plans Examiner/Building Inspector need to be filled. Beck resigns as Permit Center Director posted 4 p.m. 05/13/02
Yelm has a mayor/council form of government. He will report to a city manager and will oversee a staff of four people. During a tour of the town, he saw the wastewater treatment plant located next to a new subdivision. He asked how many appeals had been filed. Only two people showed up at a meeting about the plant. He was told the only appeals filed in recent memory were two involving a cell tower. Beck told them, "I got to federal district court on that." The BOCC announced his resignation at 3 p.m. May 13, 2002 after an executive session which began at 9:30 a.m. A press release was issued explaining how the permit center would operate during the estimated three to six months it'll take to find Beck's replacement. PRESS RELEASE: The Board of County Commissioners announces the resignation of Grant Beck as the Permit Center Director effective May 28, 2002. After accepting Beck's resignation, the three county commissioners met with staff from both the Permit Center and Planning Department. Commissioner Rhea Miller stressed the importance of processing the permits quickly during the height of the building season while also maintaining a high quality. Commissioner Evans said overtime has been authorized and temporary help hired to speed the permit processing along. "We'll need a real team effort in this part of the building," he said. The BOCC had cut back staff in the the Permit Center during the 2002 budget process. Commissioner Darcie Nielsen offered her expertise as a former planner. She is willing to participate in discussions the staff will hold regarding organizational structure, workload, etc. Evans said, "From the perspective of the board, we are very disappointed and personally I am very sorry to see him go." In an interview, Beck said he had been looking for a while. "I felt I had done as much as I can with the Permit Center," he said. It is more professionally run now. WIth the budget cutbacks and losing Jan (Vogee resigned in Dec. 2002), that was a huge hit for me, I couldn't see it going anywhere but treading water." He noted the absence of a sense of teamwork and common vision organizationally in the county. BOCC demands faster approval of permitsposted 05/06/02
Two positions, including a plans examiner/building inspector, were cut from the Permit Center in the 2002 budget process. After her job was cut, the plans examiner/building inspector transferred to another position which was open in the permit center. Due to the lower pay, she began a job search and has since accepted a job on the mainland. On April 17, 2002 Beck asked the BOCC to authorize the hiring of a permit coordinator to replace the person who was leaving. Posting of all positions, including replacement of current positions must be authorized by the BOCC. During the discussion of Beck's request the BOCC decided to consider combining the permit center and planning department as part of the 2003 budget process. In the meantime Commissioners Rhea Miller and John Evans voted to authorize Beck to hire someone for the plans examiner/building inspector position which was cut rather than fill the permit coordinator position. The internal posting application process for the position closed May 2. External posting of the position is now taking place. The slowdown in processing permits plans is also a result of turnover in the department according to Beck. Deputy Director Jan Vogee quit in December 2001 citing harassment by a county Commissioner. Interviews for the deputy director position will be held this week. Evans blamed the slowdown on the way Beck operates his department. He said the county staff is doublechecking the math the architects and engineers did. "The situation is the inspectors are spending a lot of time with engineers. You need to stamp those suckers and get them out of here," he said. Grant replied, "We are not going through and checking professionals work. We are checking life safety. What kills us in the field is, often the plans and engineering don't reference each other. We make sure when you open up a set of plans they reference each other. We are not double checking their numbers." Miller agreed saying, "Sometimes there are amazingly glaring problems that make a nightmare in the field. We need to be prudent and practical." Evans and Miller both said they had heard from residents who are facing unemployment if permits are not issued quickly. Evans said, "Grant what you need to do is sit down with all three of them (plans examiner/building inspectors) and say how do we get the back logs out of here. How do we triage?...Mark DayVincent shouldn't be 14 weeks out on his credit card trying to keep his crew together." Nielsen who has long advocated combining permit and planning said, "It is not our job to micromanage. We need to say it should take four to six weeks, 11 is not acceptable. Just do it. We set the standard. You need to get the permits out, that is your job, that is what we pay you to do." Beck was told to find outside temporary help to review plans and to report back today, (May 6) or Tuesday (May 7). Evans said, "People are in trouble, they thought we had a four week schedule. This is unconscionable. We have got to get these things fixed. " Vogee quits Permit Centerposted 02/04/02 Vogee offered to stay at the county if the Board of County Commissioners unanimously agreed to make changes she felt were necessary. In her four-page letter to the commissioners submitted Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2002, she listed examples of what she called interference by a county commissioner in the activities of the Permit Center. She urged the BOCC to enact a provision in a county ordinance prohibiting interference. Besides the non-interference clause, she requested a competitive wage to match the $60,000 she had been offered at her new job and better retirement benefits. She also wanted the prosecutor to conduct an investigation to determine if there had been any improper conduct between the BOCC and the permit center. She wrote: "If you want competent, qualified personnel and wish to retain their services then you have to be competitive and give them an incentive to come here and stay here. I've had difficulty hiring experienced personnel because they can't afford to live here, much less support their families. You also have to treat management and employees with respect to provide a safe and wholesome working environment and stop using the Permit Center as some kind of scapegoat..." Vogee will work two more weeks at the Permit Center. She will speak at the monthly meeting of local architects and builders on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2002. Permit Center restructuredposted 02/14/01 County commissioners yesterday, Feb. 13, approved the reorganization of San Juan County Permit Center. A land-use manager will be recruited as soon as possible to supervise the center's daily activities and a third permit coordinator will be hired. Two existing positions -- customer service manager and senior planner -- will be eliminated under the new structure recommended by Permit Center Director Grant Beck. The new positions will cost the county an additional $5,500 per year. "It's the right thing to do for the organization. It probably should have been done last year," Beck said, referring to a similar proposal he made in late 1999. "Currently, the permit coordinators, the backbone of the Permit Center, report to the Customer Service Manager, who is not and was never contemplated to be a land-use planner," Beck wrote in a Feb. 7 memo to county commissioners. "Therefore, for interpretations of code language, for administrative determinations, and for procedural guidance, the permit coordinators deal directly with the director. This has proven to be a poor organizational structure." Beck compared working on major county land-use policies and then being interrupted to answer a technical permit question to driving a car at 70 miles an hour on I-5 then "having your car thrown into first gear. You come to a screeching halt." Under the new structure, the land use manager will be overseeing the day-to-day activities of the land use section of the Permit Center, which processes shoreline and conditional-use permits and subdivisions of land. The land use manager also will be reviewing all building permits for consistency with the Unified Development Code (UDC). "This gives the Board of Commissioners a more flexible Department if and when the system of land use regulation and comprehensive planning changes in the future," Beck said in a Feb. 13 press release. "It will give the (Permit Center) director a chance to focus solely on bigger picture and permit system issues and not the daily 'brush fires' that keep us from being responsive to the changing needs of the public." Commissioners John Evans and Rhea Miller endorsed the new structure. "I'm very positive about the direction we're going with the Permit Center," Evans said. Miller also noted it was "an excellent direction." Also, referring to the two people who no longer will be employed in the permit center, the commissioner said she is "painfully aware that the change is difficult for someone." Beck, who proposed a similar restructuring plan a year, ago also is aware with the RIF (reduction in force) will be difficult for the two employees it affects. "Unfortunately, it's ugly," he said. Commissioner Darcie Nielsen believes more fixes are needed. "It's a Band-Aid to how we do planning and permitting," she said. Another county department -- the Prosecuting Attorney's office -- is going to help identify some areas the Permit Center might need to improve on, especially those set forth in the county's Unified Development Code. Beck noted, since the UDC's adoption, the number of "purely discretionary" permits, ones requiring a subjective analysis and recommendation by the Permit Center, have decreased but the amount of allowed and provisional uses, which are permitted subject to clearly set conditions, has increased. To help the county adjust to this change, an outside attorney is being hired to audit the Permit Center this summer, said county Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord. The contracted attorney will "work directly with Permit Center staff to review and recommend changes to the procedures and processes the center uses to review land use permit applications. In addition, the Unified Development Code will be reviewed for possible clarifications to ensure that the permit process is fair and orderly from beginning to end," according to the press release. "This is an exciting opportunity to strengthen an already close relationship between my office and the Permit Center," said Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord, "and also a chance to improve the procedures in the Unified Development Code to ensure an efficient and effective permit process." Permit Center restructuresPRESS RELEASE: Permit Center Director Grant Beck announced on Tuesday, February 12, 2001, that the Permit Center would be restructured in order to help provide better service to its customers, the citizens of San Juan County. The Permit Center will be hiring a Land Use Manager to oversee the day to day activities of the land use section of the center, which processes shoreline and conditional use permits and subdivisions of land as well as reviewing all building permits for consistency with the Unified Development Code (UDC). According to Grant Beck, the restructure is very close to being budget neutral, as several positions within the Permit Center will be changed to address the new system of land use regulation under the UDC. "The new organizational structure addresses several issues for the organization as a whole and for an approved management style" said Beck. "This gives the Board of Commissioners a more flexible department if and when the system of land use regulation and comprehensive planning changes in the future. It will give the director a chance to focus solely on bigger picture and permit system issues and not the daily 'brush fires' that keep us from being responsive to the changing needs of the public." Since the creation of the Permit Center in 1996, the UDC has been adopted by the County. The UDC is a much more specific document than its predecessor and clearly spells out the requirements for all types of development in the county. The number of purely discretionary permits, those that require a subjective analysis and recommendation by the Permit Center, have dropped under the UDC and the number of allowed and 'provisional' uses, which are allowed subject to clear conditions, has risen. To help the transition, San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord's office will hire an outside attorney to audit the Permit Center during the summer months. The attorney will work directly with Permit Center staff to review and recommend changes to the procedures and processes used to review land use permit applications. In addition, the UDC will be reviewed for possible clarifications to ensure that the permit process is fair and orderly from beginning to end. "This is an exciting opportunity to strengthen an already close relationship between my office and the Permit Center," said Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord, " and also a chance to improve the procedures in the Unified Development Code to ensure an efficient and effective permit process." The Permit Center will be recruiting a Land Use Manager as soon as possible. To fill this position, the Permit Center will be looking for a highly professional planner with experience in supervising a planning permit system and with managing other planners. Applications may be obtained from Administrative Services at 360.378.3870. Grant Beck, Director Permit Center staff reorganizedposted 05/00 Permit Center Director Grant Beck announced the results of the reorganization in a press release Thursday, May 11, 2000. Customer Service Manager Millie Roe, a long-time Permit Center employee was promoted into this new position. Roe supervises the 'front office' staff and the Permit Coordinators, who serve as the primary public contact for clients of the center. She also provides support to the Code Enforcement Officer/Fire Marshal. If you have a problem or concern regarding a permit application, a code violation, or need general information regarding the process, Millie can help you out. Deputy Building Official Jan Vogee was promoted from Plans Examiner into this management position. Vogee supervises the Building Inspectors and Plans Examiners and is the Permit Center's expert on the Uniform Codes. If you need to know the brace wall requirements for a single family dwelling, check with her. Code Enforcement Officer/Fire Marshal Rick Galer has served as the San Juan County Fire Marshal for years, and more recently has also conducted building inspections on Orcas Island. Galer has moved into land use code enforcement following the retirement of John Jensen, but will continue to investigate fires in San Juan County for origin and cause. Building Inspector/Plans Examiner The Permit Center welcomes Kim Weer and Ron Zemel to the team. Weer and Zernal will be reviewing construction plans for consistency with the Uniform Codes and inspect construction in the field. Both are graduates of Butte College, a technical school in northern California specializing in construction inspection. Permit Coordinators The Permit Center late last year had two vacancies for the position of Permit Coordinator, the people many of our clients deal with on minor land use and building permit applications. Fay Chaffee was promoted within the Permit Center and we were able to steal Jane Redfern from the Auditor's office. Departmental Assistant Dianna Moore has joined the Permit Center team, taking over Fay's vacant position in the front office. When your building permit is ready to be picked up you will probably get a call from Moore. |
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