Building services go to county

ST. PETE BEACH -- The city has hired the county to provide building department services while St. Pete Beach searches for a new building official.

Mike Knotek, the building services administrator and onetime director of community services, resigned last month, and his resignation took effect Friday.

City Manager Mike Bonfield expects to hire a new building official in four to six weeks, but in the meantime, the county will issue building permits and conduct inspections on projects within city limits.

Bonfield emphasized that the reliance on the county is temporary. He also said property owners on the verge of starting new projects might prefer to wait a few weeks so they can work exclusively with city officials throughout the project.

"If you can, I think it would be better to wait a month," Bonfield said.

Thirty or 40 people have already applied for the building official job, Bonfield said. Those applicants include a dozen or more job candidates who have the certification required to do the job.

Knotek resigned last month and expressed disappointment about the direction the city is headed. Knotek was formerly head of the city's largest department until Bonfield reorganized city staff when he became city manager last year.

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