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Kelso poised to revamp building-permit process

Thursday, February 21, 2008 5:45 AM PST

By Amy M.E. Fischer

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The city of Kelso is investing $46,000 on permit-tracking computer software that's expected to eliminate record-keeping flaws state auditors found last year and make the permitting process easier on developers.

"We really have no choice but to do it right," City Manager Paul Brachvogel told the City Council on Tuesday.

July's audit of the city's financial transactions for 2006 revealed the city was issuing building permits to people before sending them to a separate department to pay for them. The city had not been checking to see whether the permits issued matched up with the cash collected, the audit said.

The audit findings were "a direct result of the dysfunctionality of our current software," which is Filemaker Pro, said Community Development Director Mike Kerins. "The thing is just trash. It's not something a city of any complexity should be using."

The new InterLocking-brand software is used by a dozen cities in Washington, including Ridgefield, Port Townsend, Bremerton and Yakima, Kerins said. The intuitive, user-friendly system can be upgraded and expanded and will last for decades, he told the council.

"This is absolutely vital. I think it will make a hands-down, 180-degree difference in how we are able to manage projects," he said Wednesday.

"I don't think people are really going to appreciate the impact it's going to have until it's up and running."

The InterLocking software will allow city staff to track the plan-review process, upload project reports, find deadlines and timelines and generate to-do lists. It also can handle code enforcement and licensing data. After employees are comfortable with the system, developers will be able to access their projects on a Web site using a password, Kerins said.

That way, "we don't get these calls day in and day out, wanting to know what's going on," he said.

The InterLocking software should be running by the end of this year, Kerins said. Before launching the new software, the city must revise its permit review ordinance and subdivision and zoning ordinance, which requires a consultant's help, Kerins said.

Changes to the zoning ordinance and computer software will provide a "healthy regulatory environment" while the city rewrites its Comprehensive Plan, which will serve as a blueprint for the city's long-term future, Kerins said. The zoning ordinance will be revised again after the Comprehensive Plan update is finished, a two-year process that begins later this year.

The total cost to revise the ordinances is $44,000, Kerins said. The state has awarded Kelso a $75,000 grant for the ordinance changes and software, the combined cost of which is roughly $90,000. That means the city's share of the cost is $15,000.

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Awesome wrote on Feb 21, 2008 8:05 AM:

" That is awesome! And it makes perfect sense for Kelso now that the largest building boom in the nation is now over with and new home construction is now the slowest in 15 years. What will Kelso invest in next? Better AM radio broadcast towers? Forward-thinking leadership for the win.... "

Citizen wrote on Feb 21, 2008 9:05 AM:

" To Awesome: FYI - you know NOT of what you say. Kelso, after experiencing many problems, is not only poised for great growth, it is actually seeing great growth. City staff has NEVER been as busy as they are now. It's time to keep your eyes peeled for all the new additions to the city! Thank goodness for the additions of terrific new staff - they'll be earning their wages in the months and years to come! "

Busy? wrote on Feb 21, 2008 9:47 AM:

" Busy? Busy with what? What are these big projects and where is this "great growth" of which you speak? Personally, I see a town that mostly does not have a modern sewer system with sidewalks and curbs. I see vendors leaving the mall and being replaced by a used car lot. Basically, I see a town plagued by drugs and poverty (the statistics support this btw). What I don't see is any new industry moving into the area. Without the industry and jobs, why should the people move to Kelso? The old reason of cheaper housing compared to Portland is rapidly evaporating as the housing prices plumet in Portland-Vancouver. So again, where is this growth coming to come from? "

To Citizen wrote on Feb 21, 2008 2:36 PM:

" Citizen: Didn't you get the memo? Knowing nothing about what you say is a pre-requisite for posting down here. ;) "

Okay dokey wrote on Feb 21, 2008 3:29 PM:

" So you accuse me "knowing nothing" yet offer no rebuttal to my claims that the Kelso leadership does a poor jub of looking ahead and prioritizing tasks. I guess I win this debate ... And it is "prerequisite". You might want to check your spelling before you tersely imply other's posts are lacking in intelligence. "

Sick of it wrote on Feb 21, 2008 3:50 PM:

" Now if they could only hire staff in their building department who know what they're doing, instead of giving blatantly false answers about what's required by the building codes. As long as the city's only building inspector has an attitude that homeowners don't know what they're doing, and shouldn't be working on their own homes, Kelso will continue to see problems from this office. "

Current city worker wrote on Feb 21, 2008 7:17 PM:

" The city does not need to spend any money at all, Some individuals just need to do the job that they were hired for instead of telling yet another lie to cover the last one over and over. I wish all of the tax payers in Kelso could see what is really going on. "

To Okey Dokey wrote on Feb 23, 2008 8:43 AM:

" Okey...people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Nice jub. "

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