Report: County has 'failed to protect' health and safety of the general public.

Leelanau County’s Building Inspection Department could be shut down by the State of Michigan within the next 30 days.

In a report signed Jan. 2, 2008, the director of the state Bureau of Construction Codes, Henry L. Green, has recommended that the state Construction Code Commission withdraw responsibility for administering and enforcing state construction codes from Leelanau County and turn the responsibility over to state officials.

Based on on-scene investigations conducted in November 2007, the bureau’s report concluded that Leelanau County inspectors have “failed to conduct adequate inspections on numerous occasions.” It added: “As a result, it has been determined that the Leelanau County Building Department has failed to adequately protect the health, safety, and welfare of the general public in the built environment.”

The Construction Code Commission – a 17-member board with 12 members appointed by the governor – met Wednesday morning in Okemos and voted to accept the bureau’s recommendation. In attendance at the meeting was the current head of the Leelanau County Building Inspections Department, Robert Meyer, as well as county attorney John McGlinchy.

Under state law, Leelanau County will have up to 30 days to appeal the Construction Code Commission’s decision. Meyer is slated to attend the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners’ next regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening and brief commissioners on the county’s options. They include appealing the Construction Code Commission’s Jan. 9 decision, or simply allowing the state to take over responsibility for administering and enforcing construction codes in Leelanau County.

The latter option would effectively eliminate the entire Leelanau County Building Inspections Department and replace all its inspectors and code officials with state employees. The department employs nine people.

“In no case have we hired back the local code enforcement people,” Green told the Enterprise in a phone interview Monday. “Local government employees are not our responsibility – we’re only responsible for the program itself and we run the program with our own people.”

Green said he would not characterize the Construction Code Commission’s decision to take responsibility for code enforcement away from a county as “a common occurrence,” but Green added, “it’s not a rarity, either.” Green said that throughout 60 percent of Michigan, plumbing and mechanical code inspections are routinely conducted by state officials, not local officials.

“We send people all over the state to conduct inspections and enforce the code in various localities,” Green said. “It’s just a part of our job, and we do it all the time.”

Green’s report noted that Leelanau County mechanical inspector Steve Schwarz and plumbing inspector Scott Earl had been sued by owners of The Homestead resort in Glen Arbor for approving the installation of fireplaces at the resort in a manner that a court found to be “grossly negligent.” The installations occurred several years ago, but a suit against the inspectors was settled for $132,000 late last year. As part of the settlement agreement, the county inspectors have been forever barred from setting foot at The Homestead – the county’s largest single development.

The report also cited state Mechanical Code violations uncovered during an inspection conducted by the Chief of the Bureau’s Mechanical Division and the Senior State Mechanical inspector on Nov. 1, 2007 at the BayView condominiums in Suttons Bay. If fully developed, BayView would be the second largest development in Leelanau County.

The report stated that water heater and exhaust terminations installed at the BayView condos violated state code and the manufacturer’s installation instructions. In addition, the inspection uncovered improper installation of sprinkler heads for a fire suppression system in mechanical rooms at the BayView condos.

The report noted that the former head of the county Building Inspections Department, Robert Van Dyke, had rescinded occupancy permits at the BayView condos on May 30, 2007. At the time, VanDyke said the problems at BayView amounted to potential “life-safety” issues.

The bureau’s Jan. 2 report noted that county administrator David Gill fired VanDyke on June 4, 2007. On June 5, 2007, Gill then reinstated the certificates of occupancy at BayView after receiving a report from an engineer hired by the BayView developer indicating that there were no code violations or safety issues at the development.

VanDyke has since filed a Whistleblower Protection Act suit against Leelanau County. Among other allegations, VanDyke has asserted that he was prevented by Gill and other county officials from firing the department’s mechanical and plumbing inspectors, both Teamsters Union members.

Gill has steadfastly denied that there was ever any connection between issues surrounding the BayView condos and his decision to fire VanDyke.

“I understand that the timing of his termination was unfortunate in relation to the BayView decision,” Gill said, “but there were numerous reasons for VanDyke’s firing and they will all come out in the trial.”

Both Gill and Meyer said this week that if they believed any potential “life-safety” issues remained at BayView, they would rescind occupancy certitificates there immediately. Both said they remain convinced that the development is safe despite code violations reported last week by state mechanical inspectors.

Meyer was hired to replace VanDyke in July. Green’s report noted that many of the problems uncovered during several visits to Leelanau County by Construction Code Bureau personnel in November stemmed from actions taken long before Meyer was hired as the county’s building official. The report went on to note that Meyer had taken a significant number of steps to improve processes and procedures used by the Leelanau County Building Inspections Department since was hired.

During a visit to Leelanau County in November, the Senior State Building Inspector conducted inspections on nine other projects – including two commercial projects and seven single-family homes. The inspector noted 16 violations of the building code. The State Electrical Inspector conducted seven electrical inspections during his visit and found 14 violations.

A number of other code violations and procedural inconsistencies – some of them relatively minor – were also noted within the 150-page report.

“Honestly, I was very disappointed in the report,” Meyer said on Monday – two days before he appeared before the Construction Code Commission. “I thought maybe the guys from the state would identify a few deficiencies during their visit here and then help us put together a plan to correct them.”

Meyer expressed hope that the Construction Code Commission’s appeals process would eventually allow Leelanau County to move forward with its own, improved program.

“I think we have the potential to have one of the best programs in the state,” Meyer said.