The city of Owensville officially welcomed Robert “Bob” Reese of C & D Construction Consultants of Bland as the new building inspector following unanimous approval April 6 of an ordinance by the Board of Aldermen.

Bob Reese of C & D Construction Consultants joined City Engineer James Kolbe at last Monday’s meeting prior to the board approving the eighth bill of the year, enacting Ordinance 1506.

The ordinance authorized an agreement for Reese to provide building permit review and inspections for the city — a need that surfaced during the city’s abandoned houses project.  The project aims to address structures that have been abandoned and left in dangerous conditions, according to City Administrator Randy Blaske.

“These vacant dangerous buildings provide a haven for criminal activity, harbor rodents and other animals, pose safety hazards for children or others who may be near or who enter the structures and pose hazards to nearby properties, sidewalks and roads,” Blaske said in a letter published in the Gasconade County Republican last July.

A total of 12 properties were originally identified with some in the process of being corrected once contacted by the city regarding the property needs.

Few remain with unresolved issues, which the city hopes to have addressed without legal intervention required.

The hiring of Reese will provide the city with the ability to move forward in the process of getting the issues resolved — up to and including future legal action, if needed.

Blaske previously shared that the inspector is willing to work with property owners when possible, however, some properties may be in such condition that they cannot be brought up to code. In those cases, the city would take steps to “raze the buildings and clean up the nuisance properties” following all legally required procedures.

The city agreed to pay Reese $1,200 per month for services to include review of building permit applications, issuance of permits, inspections as necessary, communicating to the applications if code requirements or corrections are needed, final inspections with findings noted for the city, Planning & Zoning requests, reviews and consultation with the city engineer, attendance at Board of Aldermen and Planning & Zoning meetings as needed and enforcement of ordinance compliance and codes regarding dangerous and abandoned properties.

The company is required to respond within 24 hours following notification of any new application or request and provide monthly reports.

Reese was offered employment as the city’s building inspector via a consensus vote by the Board of Aldermen Feb 2.