Winthrop Building Official Dave Sandoz "Off to His Next Adventure"

Building Official Dave Sandoz is finishing up his duties this week after more than five years of issuing building permits, conducting inspections and reviewing plans for construction projects in the towns of Winthrop and Twisp. Sandoz will be returning to Richland, Wash., to do engineering at Bechtel International's Hanford Vitrification Plant—the world's largest radioactive-waste treatment plant.

"It's interesting technology that's never been done before," said Sandoz, who is no stranger to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. He had been a mechanical engineer at Hanford for 25 years before he took early retirement and moved with his wife, Sally, to the Methow Valley in 2007. Sandoz was hired as Winthrop's first building official in September of that year, not long after he moved to the area. Read more

Young Building Inspector Helps Williston (N.D.) Grow

Mitch Pursell is one of numerous young professionals helping Williams County grow in the right direction. As a building inspector Pursell assists his department in ensuring commercial and residential structures are constructed in accordance to county codes. It's busy work. In 2013, the county department issued 770 building permits with a value of $254 million, according to the building department. In January alone there has been 23 permits with a valuation of $11.7 million.

Pursell started out working on finishing drywall, painting and trimming until he decided to take his chances and move west to Williston where he found himself meeting with newly acquired Williams County Building Official Michael Sizemore.

"Luckily, Mike saw something in me and took me under his wing," Pursell said. "Mike trains me to become the best inspector I can be."

Since his hiring, Pursell continues to study and advance his knowledge on building codes. He plans to acquire certificates for the International Code Council and the North Dakota Building Inspector to further his knowledge as a building inspector. Pursell plans to stay with the building department for several years to come. His experience living in a large city helps him in his work, being able to check every detail without feeling rushed. He has his work cut out for him, inspecting structures through their construction process, checking for correct installation of reinforcing bars, framing, smoke detectors, stairs, guard rails and, most recently, the updating of addresses.

"Instead of making this just a boom town, I like helping to make it a habitable, nice place to live," Pursell said. "I'm growing as the town grows and as the building department grows. I like seeing contractors wanting to bring families into single-family units and the community becoming family oriented." Read more

Pool Shocks Prompt Ottawa, Ill., Building Department to Get Tough on Inspections

Last summer some people expecting only relaxation from a newly installed swimming pool in Ottawa, Ill., also got electrical shocks. There were two problems, according to Ottawa Building Official Mike Sutfin: first was an ungrounded equipment installation; and second was that neither the contractor or pool owner had called for an inspection—something that might have corrected the first problem. In response, the city's building department recently gave a presentation to 40 contractors and used the pool shocks to underscore why construction inspections are important—and why the city is ready to get tough if they aren't requested. Continue reading story