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County Set To Close Molino Building Inspection Office
April 17, 2012
The Escambia County Commission is set to close the Molino Building Inspection Office. Lloyd Kerr, Development Services director, is recommending the closure to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
According to the recommendation, an economic downturn had led to a decrease in permitting revenues; the county’s building inspection fund lost about $612,000 in 2011. The closure and elimination of two permanent positions will save the county about $100,000.
Services will be relocated to the Central Office Complex at 3363 West Park Place in Pensacola, about 17 miles away from the current Molino office.
“This would be a huge mistake and greatly affect the northern end of our county in the near and distant future,” said Paul Mack of Mack Custom Homes of Cantonment. “The past few years have been hard on everyone, but when things get better, and they will get better, the only direction our county can grow is north.”
The Molino Building Inspection Office has been located in the county-owned Escambia County Health Department building at 3470 North Highway 29 since 1989.
“If the only goal for this closure is to reduce the payroll by two employees it seems that it would be just as effective to leave the Molino office alone and eliminate the two positions just as if the Molino office closed,” Mack said, referring to the fact that the Molino Building Inspection Office is located in a county-owned building.
Pictured: The Escambia County Central Office Complex. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
21 Responses to “County Set To Close Molino Building Inspection Office”
I work for a Home Builder that buys at least 50 permits a year from E.County and I cannot stand dealing with any one at the Downtown office. Closing the Molino office would be a terrible idea.
Mack Custom Homes hit the nail on the head eleminate some of te downtown staff, This shenanigan they are pulling now with this new head inspector I fiqured will cost the county about 75k after everything is washed out. Site inspectors need to go, Plan review way to many on staff. Escambia County is going to have to face the fact that these numbers are real not just somthing we pulled out of the sky, It is real numbers . Cut downtown way over staffed, what do these small business guys do look at your finanancials and adjust accordingly
Keep the office open,save north end taxpayers a little gas and time,the downtown office is slow and not customer friendly.
While on paper, it may look like a good decision, I agree that this may be a mistake.
I live in north Cantonment. I went down to the Park Place office when we were repairing our shed roof. Since we ended up replacing the plywood and shingles, I was told that I needed a roofing permit. So I asked for one. I had spoken to someone who told me to bring my materials list, which I did. After a while and a few stops to different windows/desks, I had my permit.
When the inspector from the north end came out, he asked me where my permit was to replace the decking (the plywood). I told him that I had gone to the Pensacola office (didn’t know that there was one in the north end and the people on the phone never mentioned it!) and this is what they gave me. They never asked if I was replacing the decking.
Faced with the proposition of having to reschedule the inspection and go downtown again around the holidays, the inspector from the north end was so understanding and called the local office and helped me add it to my permit.
I actually called to the central office and complained. If you are going to require that the average homeowner take out a permit to repair his own property, the least that you can do is help us out with information. The response was that generally contractor’s know this stuff! Yea, well, not all of us are contractors.
No wonder Escambia County looks the way it does when it is such a hassle to get correct information and buy permits just to fix up your own property!
Do a customer satisfaction survey and see where the best service is coming from and then make your budget cut decisions from there. My opinion.
Are they gonna keep the north end inspectors? I’ve heard rumors that they are possibly being let go? I know for a fact the north end inspector has been great to the building community. I have seen this man go out in his own vehicle and do inspections on the weekend so contractors can pour concrete early Monday morning. Now tell me how many people in Pensacola would do that? People in the north end look out for one another. If more people would keep that moral about them maybe this county wouldn’t be in the situation it is in. Let’s just throw our people, WHO HAVE LIVED, WORKED, AND PAID TAXES HERE, on their tails why we bring someone across the country to run them out and take their places while making fours times their normal salary. I’m not a politician but I wasn’t raised a fool either. Something is pretty screwed up in this county.
Just when I think escambia county is coming out of good old boy work habits they pull this.you want to know the truth visit both offices. Once will be enough.the north end you feel like your at home the south end is like going to battle ask any contractorl. I’m here to say who ever come up with this has lost their mlnd
Just saying!
I like what SW said! Maybe we need to form another County…Northern Escambia County! I am tired of Pensacola taking and not giving back!
Maybe the north part of Escambia County should break away from the southern part?
Let’s see where the turnip tumbles; close the north end library that hasn’t been finished yet, close the FSA building, close the permit office….are they trying to eliminate any reasonable growth and efficiency in northern Escambia County? I want new County Commissioners…they had no trouble spending money in Pensacola for a ballpark for goodness sake!
Please answer as to why you felt the need to build a new building on Fairfield when our economy was in the shape it is today? Seems the Pace office was suitable.
So now you plan on deleting the north office employees which by the way are two absolutley outstanding county employees who go the extra mile to fit the needs of our contractors!
Just last week I called the FF office seeing where our faxed permit request was and was told “we didnt get it” however had i sent it to the Molino office (which i normally do) I would have received it the same day-
Please let’s brainstorm some other means of reducing costs simply because this will NOT create Efficiency I can assure you!
Great time to sell since the parking lot was resurfaced just recently….
You can’t get any help from the Pensacola permit
Palace The people their all have God complex’s.
I agree that this office is very important to the north end but whenever cuts occur this is where it usually happens. Here in the north end there is more potential for construction than anywhere else in the county but very little is being done to enrich this area. Hopefully a new county commissioner for our area will make a BIG difference. We need representation up here or we cannot grow. We want to remain rural but it is ridiculous to completely ignore this section of the county.
That’s the answer to everything.. close northern end offices. Doesn’t matter that they r nicer and more helpful than the southern end offices. The economy has been bad for everyone, but that doesn’t mean close OUR NORTHERN end offices. We need them. Call Mr. White and get this vote resended. We need our offices up here too.
I don’t know why they hired a guy from Mich. when our intern inspector was doing a great job. Yes, that’s right… lets spend MORE money to train this new inspector and get his license, then permenately hiring the person who’s doing the job.
If the Escambia County Health Department building at 3470 North Highway 29 is not being closed and sold, then there is no savings to the county other than positions eliminated.
Eliminate the same positions from the main office staff instead.
Where the county spent big bucks for non-native palm trees.
NORTH END RESIDENTS GET ON THE PHONE NOW AND CALL{ COMMISSIONER WHITES PHONE NUMBER TODAY} THIS VOTE WILL HAVE A SERIOUS IMPACT ON YOU. They want to close the north end office but they go out and hire a HEAD BUILDING INSPECTOR from Detroit who does not even have a licenses to build in FLORIDA , We have to foot the bill for this guy to take 3 test to get licenses to build in Florida This guy is going to make over a 100K a year and does not have licenses. The COUNTY had a guy who was more than qualified to take the position and has been running it while we are changing dept heads and this would have saved the county around 75k a year what are they thinking. Im afraid politics are rearing its ugly head it will be brought to the forefront before long.Randy Oliver is walking a very thin LINE and he knows whats going on. He is playing the cards of politics so he will be held responsible one day
The Molino office is more helpful that all the other offices put together. Laura does her job well and goes out of her way to be helpful. Eliminating this office would be a serious mistake and we would lose one of the few people that actually knows what is going on at the inspection department, Shut down one of the offices in Pensacola since their is already a main office there. DUH!!!
This is a big mistake, working in contracting as long as I have we get quicker response and more accurate advise from the Molino office than you can get at the Fairfield office.
Why don’t they close the West Park Place they would save more money that way they always close every thing else why not close all of Pensacola’s offices and leave all the others open. Pensacola is where all the great amount of money is wasted
As usual the north end suffers, and the County Commissioners get to keep blowing money on ballparks and luncheons.
The two ladies that work in the Molino office are very helpful. I got more good advice there in 20 minutes then spending all day downtown. I hope if they DO close this office they keep those two ladies on staff, as they are really exceptional.