The Rowan County Fiscal Court has filled two new positions, one of which will be important for those looking to buy or build a home.
Justin Caudill will be the new building inspector for Rowan County, with the main purpose of making sure contractors are building homes or additions to national and state standards.
Judge Executive Harry Clark said the focus of the building inspection program will be residential housing and to encourage house building in the county. He said the program is something that surrounding counties already have.
“Where the real problem was, people were coming from either outside of the state or outside of the county. This is nothing new to some of our surrounding counties, they have building inspectors. So, when people were moving in here and they were buying a house, and it was a new house for example, they thought that they were building a house that was built to code. But in reality, no one has ever inspected that house.” Said Clark.
Clark said that Caudill is qualified for the position because he is an experienced builder, and has firsthand knowledge to communicate with builders and make sure residential housing is done correctly.
“I think it is very important for this individual to have that credibility, to be able to go out, and understand what the builder is going to do. And help them with the process, we want to help them with this process. We just want to make sure that the people who is buying a home, are getting what they’re actually paying for.”
The other new hire is an in-house fiscal court facilities maintenance person. Clark said the position will save the county money by allowing for facility repairs without needing to contract out for every problem.
Both new workers will begin work on August 7, and the building inspection program is tentatively set to begin in January of 2024.