Pateros teams with Okanogan County for building permit review

PATEROS – The Pateros City Council met in special session on May 22 to approve a resolution for an interlocal agreement between the city and Okanogan County so the county’s building department can assist with a Pateros building permit inspection.

The building in question is the new commercial/residential structure planned by Chris Anderson, owner of Rock Garden Holdings, on a block of commercial property between Commercial Avenue and Lakeshore Drive. The three-story building will include eight living units on its upper floors.

The county building department will help Pateros building inspector Barry Hansen with the review of the building permit.

Okanogan County building inspector Dan Higbee advised Pateros City Clerk/Treasurer Kerri Wilson that he does not have adequate staff to complete the inspection by the end of May as requested by the city. Per an agreement between Anderson and the city the project is on a calendar time frame to be completed in November of this year.

Higbee said it would take the county at least 30 days to complete the permit review with the staff limitations available so he recommended bringing in BHC Consultants, LLC, a Seattle company, for the plan review only if they can complete the job by the first week of June and keep the project on schedule. The company Higbee recommended does frequent work with Forte Architects of Wenatchee who designed Anderson’s building.

Bringing in the plan review specialists will involve a second contract that the council must approve, and Wilson suggested that contract also be greenlighted by the city to keep the project on track. A second special council was scheduled for May 24 to address the new contract.

After approving the resolution, the council met again on May 24 to approve a professional services agreement for plan review services with BHC Consultants, LLC.