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The Pipestone City Council planned to consider during its Sept. 2 meeting a virtual option to provide building permitting and inspection services after it was recently left with no building official.
During an Aug. 28 Personnel Committee meeting, City Administrator Deb Nelson said the city had received a letter from the city of New Ulm indicating that it would be terminating a contract with the city of Pipestone to provide a certified building official effective Sept. 7. The city was working with New Ulm because Solomon Derby, who was hired as the city’s building and zoning official in 2023, was not certified. Nelson said Derby then submitted his resignation effective Friday, Aug. 29.
Left with no building official, Nelson asked City Attorney Jason Hill if he knew of anyone who could provide the services and he recommended SAFEbuilt. The Personnel Committee, which consists of Mayor Dan Delaney, Councilor Scott Swanson and Nelson, met with representatives of SAFEbuilt by video during the Aug. 28 meeting.
Alan Greene, account manager for SAFEbuilt in Minnesota, said many cities across the country struggle to find certified building officials, especially in smaller population areas. He said SAFEbuilt started offering virtual inspections and building officials to fill that need.
He said the company has been in business for 32 years and works with around 2,800 cities and townships in 38 states and the District of Columbia. It has 46 accounts in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities area and also eight in the Rochester area, but it has no accounts in southwest Minnesota.
If the city hired SAFEbuilt, building plans could be submitted to the company electronically. Greene said the turn around time for plan review would be five days for residential plans, 10 days for commercial plans and 20 days for larger commercial plans. Contractors or property owners would then have to schedule times for a virtual inspection and use a phone with a camera to show SAFEbuilt staff members the project area.
Greene said it’s hard to get used to virtual inspections, but that it does work. He said having someone on site to inspect projects wasn’t feasible in Pipestone at this time, but that the company has added a staff member in the Rochester area where it’s working with several cities in one area. He said that could happen in southwest Minnesota as well.
“In the future, if there are enough municipalities that come on board, it would make sense for us to hire somebody for boots on the ground,” he said.
If the city proceeds with SAFEbuilt, it would pay the company 80 percent of the permit fees and 100 percent of plan review fees with a $50 minimum. If someone did need to be on site or if additional services were needed, there would be additional charges.
According to information provided during the meeting, the city’s building official fund typically operates at a deficit. As of Aug. 31, it had revenue of $76,446 and expenses of $90,680. Personnel Committee members expressed support for working with SAFEbuilt and said it could potentially save the city money because it wouldn’t be paying a local building official and a certified official from somewhere else.
“Even if we tried it for a year to see if it works, or six months, however it works, there’s that potential savings against the levy,” Nelson said. “It’s worth a try.”
Swanson requested a list of the cities in the Rochester area that work with SAFEbuilt and their contact information. Greene said he would provide that as soon as he left the Aug. 28 meeting and also prepare a sample contract for review by the city’s attorney.