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Interim director sees progress at county permit center

Better communication, reframing of mission cited as keys in revamping process

By Jake Thomas, Columbian political reporter
Published: June 14, 2018, 8:20pm
3 Photos
The Clark County Permit Center entrance.
The Clark County Permit Center entrance. (The Columbian files) Photo Gallery

Three months after a consultant released a report outlining the problems in the Clark County Permit Center, Interim Community Development Director Mitch Nickolds said he’s off to a good start revamping the permitting process.

Speaking before the Clark County Council on Wednesday, Nickolds said he’s consistently heard from permit center customers that they don’t want to fight a “never-ending battle of back-and-forth” to get a permit. He said he’s now seeking to set customers up for success.

“In our strategic recommendations, there are a lot of low-hanging fruit: things we could implement rather quickly with minimum process changes,” said Nickolds, who took over as interim director in April following the sudden resignation of Marty Snell. In March, Citygate Associates released a report that found that the permit center, which approves construction and remodeling projects, was slow, difficult to navigate and mired in distrust.

Nickolds stressed that better communication, internally and externally, was key to improving the center.

He said that so far, staff have updated checklists to help customers. He said he’s looking to hire another plans examiner to ask customers clarifying questions to better process their applications.

He cited an example of a customer who kept coming back to the center after repeatedly submitting the wrong information and had been given a “literal” book to find the correct information.

Nickolds said that the customer was more recently given an approved application (with sensitive information redacted) as an example of what was needed. He said that staff are preparing examples of other applications to help better communicate expectations to customers. He also said he’s working to better direct customers’ inquiries, especially on more complicated permits.

More broadly, he said that he’s reviewing the efficiency of the permitting process, removing duplicate or “non-value-added steps” while also forming a stakeholder group to oversee the effort. He also said that he’s looking into using data to measure how well the center is functioning and is creating a dashboard so that customers and others can track improvements.

During the meeting, the council seemed pleased with Nickolds’ progress. Councilor Julie Olson said that it was refreshing to see the permit center’s work being reframed from catching mistakes to helping customers through the process.

The consultant’s report noted pressure on staff was also adversely affecting the permit center’s operations. When asked by Olson how staff was responding to initial efforts, Nickolds responded positively.

“People are feeling better about doing their work,” he said. “The pressure is already falling off.”

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Columbian political reporter