REQUEST FOR DIRECTION

TO: Mayor and Council Date: March 3, 2021

FROM: Kim A. Leibel, Manager of Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 Building and Protective Services, in collaboration with Andrew Young, MCIP, RPP, Chief Administrative Officer

SUBJECT: Proposal to Secure Additional Building Official Services to support the District of and neighbouring local governments

RECOMMENDATION: That Council endorses hiring a second qualified Building Official (exempt position) to provide additional building official and inspection services to support the District of Invermere, subject to: securing suitable building inspection contracts with the Village of Radium Hot Springs, Town of Golden, and the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) to help finance the position; and, drawing funds from the District of Invermere’s reserves for the 2021 Budget year to help finance the position in 2021, with future funding (i.e. 2022 and after) for the position to be provided in the District’s regular operating budget.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS: The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) supports the recommendation presented above.

PURPOSE: To present Mayor and Council with a proposal to secure additional building official and inspection services to support the District of Invermere and neighbouring local governments.

BACKGROUND: The District of Invermere (DOI) has a level 3 Building Official who also has a level 1 Plumbing qualification; however, that Manager already has a substantial work load. The last few months have been extremely busy for the DOI’s Building Services staff as the number of building permit applications, inquiries, and inspections has increased significantly (perhaps by as much as 100%). At the same time, the number of referrals to other District staff for comments on proposed developments has also increased. Since the beginning of 2021, the Building Department’s turn- around time to issue a building permit has been about 4-6 weeks. In the past, the turn around time was significantly less (e.g., 2-3 weeks). The increased processing time has led some building permit applicants to express concerns about delays in the issuance of permits. District staff are concerned that some parties may start their construction projects without a valid building permit, which may well result in further processing delays that impact even more applicants. District staff can spend anywhere from 1 to 6 hours – and sometimes longer – to process one building permit application from start to finish. It should also be noted that if changes or corrections to building plans are required the permit approval process may take longer.

Until recently the DOI’s building official provided vacation coverage to the Village of Radium Hot Springs (VRHS) when its building official was away. The building official with the VRHS has now retired. The DOI has secured some part-time building plan review services from that same person; but the delivery of those supplemental services is expected to decrease as they move into full retirement. It is understood that that building official will continue to provide part-time contractual services to the VRHS; however, the delivery of those services is also expected to decrease over the next year or so.

It should be noted too that all municipalities in require their building officials to be qualified pursuant to the Province of BC’s regulations. Until early 2021, the DOI’s Bylaw Enforcement Officer could conduct some basic building inspection services under the supervision of the District’s Manager of Building and Protective Services; however, because that individual is not qualified, they are no longer permitted to do inspections.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: In order to attract a qualified Building Official, it will be necessary to provide for a suitable salary and benefits. At this juncture the salary for the position will likely be in the $80-90 K range annually plus benefits (which usually represent about 28% of the salary). Based on these figures the total cost to support the position annually would be in the range of $102 K to $115 K. If this proposal is endorsed by Council, the District will then prepare building inspection service contracts with the Village of Radium Hot Springs, Town of Golden, and the RDEK for the time they require and to help finance the position. It is assumed in 2021 that it will take the DOI several months to recruit a second Building Official. It is therefore also recommended that funding provided by the District to help support the position be drawn from municipal reserves in 2021, and that future funding (i.e., 2022 and after) for the position be provided within the District’s regular operating budget, along with monies that are provided by the contracted local governments.

COMMENTS & DISCUSSION: The District of Invermere’s CAO and Manager of Building & Protective Services believe that the District should consider hiring a second qualified building official, as recommended. Doing so will not only provide the District with additional part-time plan review and building inspection capacity; it will also address similar short and long-term service gaps among Invermere’s neighbouring local governments (e.g., Radium Hot Springs, Golden, and the RDEK). Doing so will also provide the DOI with the opportunity to: purposefully recruit a second qualified Building Official; support additional training of existing and future Building Official staff; and develop a succession/progression plan that helps ensure the long-term retention of staff by the municipality. An additional benefit is that the DOI will not need to secure these services for itself from the RDEK, which would be both expensive and potentially inefficient due to the long travel times between the RDEK’s office in Cranbrook and the District of Invermere (i.e., about 1.5 hours each way). It would be more efficient and preferred to have additional building inspection capacity based in the to serve Invermere and its neighbours.

The DOI’s CAO has been communicating with the CAOs of the Village of Radium Hot Springs (VRHS), Town of Golden (Golden), and the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) to discuss this proposal. Each supports the proposal in the following manner: • VRHS would like to have the services of a qualified Building Official 1.5 days per week to handle plan reviews and building inspections, which would be about 78 days per year; • Golden would like to have the backup services of a qualified Building Official to provide coverage for absences (e.g., vacation) of their own staff, which would likely be 5-10 days per year; and • RDEK would like to have the backup services of a qualified Building Official to provide coverage in the Columbia Valley for absences (e.g., vacations) of their own staff. The likely number of days in this case is not known.

Alternatives: The District of Invermere Council could choose, as alternatives to the recommendation to Council, to select one the following alternatives for the 2021 Budget: 1. Continue to provide limited support for contractual services for plan reviews and building inspections consistent with the level of funding it has provided in recent years ($10K in 2021). This alternative is not recommended by District staff due to the increased volume of building permit applications the District is receiving. 2. Provide additional funding for contractual services for plan reviews and building inspections ($25K in 2021). Having these resources would help ensure sufficient funds are available for those times when building permit applications are coming in at a rapid rate and staff does not have the capacity to process them in a timely and efficient manner. This increase in budget could provide the department with 28.5 additional days of contracted services office support when needed. This alternative, however, does not provide sufficient support to address the full range of building inspection services that are being demanded in Invermere and Radium Hot Springs. 3. An alternative provided by Council.

SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS: District of Invermere staff ask that Mayor and Council carefully consider this request for additional Building Official support services to help address the increased demand for these services in Invermere, and among its neighbouring local governments in the Columbia Valley.

______Kim A. Lei bel Andrew Young, MCIP, RPP Manager of Building & Protective Services Chief Administrative Officer