SAN JUAN COUNTY PERMIT CENTER

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Vogee quits Permit Center

posted 02/04/02
Deputy Permit Director/Building Official Jan Vogee has accepted a job on the mainland. Permit Center Director Grant credits her with streamlining the permitting process and said it will be hard to replace her. "I think it sucks," he said. "She has implemented a lot of changes in the permit process. We are able to do more, quicker with less."

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 staff reorganized

posted 05/00
San Juan County Permit Center has been reorganized. Two new positions, approved by the Board of County Commissioners in 1999, were filled by promoting from within the center.

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.