David Meyer has been hired to administer the Levy County Development Department. The agency deals with building and zoning matters.
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
An experienced contractor and former assistant Building Official for Alachua County known for his diplomatic skills has been hired to administer the Levy County Development Department.
David Meyer ran his own contracting business for 37 years before becoming an inspector in Alachua County. He was Alachua County’s second in command from November of 2016 until he accepted the Levy County job.
Meyer has applied to the state for his provisional license that will enable him to run the county’s building and zoning operations until he takes his two remaining state tests to become the Building Official. He is working through Universal Engineering until he gets the provisional license. Universal Engineering will serve as the county’s Building Official providing approvals as needed until Meyer receives his provisional license.
He said is currently certified to do inspections for residential one and two, commercial, plumbing, and standard mechanical. The only inspection certification he lacks is commercial electric.
The Building Official certification requires taking three tests. The tests are the most difficult in the construction trades. He has passed one test already. He didn’t need the other two tests when he was serving as assistant Building Official in Alachua County, but with his new job, he needs to take the remaining two tests.
He knows what he is facing when it comes to the Building Official tests.
“It’s been designed to fail. From the classes I’ve taken, they said there’s an 80 percent failure rate,” Meyer said. “You got to earn it. It’s an important job. You have a lot of responsibility. I have no problem with it.”
When his provisional license arrives, he will have two years to get licensed as a Building Official.
County Coordinator Wilbur Dean said he doesn’t think Meyer will have any problem passing the remaining tests to become the Levy County Building Official.
“I looked at all the stuff he’s got, all the certifications. It’s quite obvious that he’s proficient in his field to take those tests,” Dean said. “He did a good job in his interview. I like how he operates. He’s very hands-on. He had good reviews from local contractors who had worked with him that had businesses in Levy and Alachua counties. They said he’s thorough, he’s fair and he will listen. You know his expectation when he gets there.”
Dean said Meyer was the troubleshooter for Alachua County when a conflict arose between an inspector and a contractor. He would find a resolution. Dean added that Meyer has already asked for a couple of minor changes to the Development Department to make permit applications more online-friendly.
Meyer said his approach to dealing with contractors is to be professional, require them to stick to the rules, but to be reasonable.
“I’ve dealt with some pretty pain-in-the-butt inspectors when I had my business. I just decided I wanted to treat them the way I wanted them to treat me,” he said. “It’s worked out well. I know a lot of builders here because they were building over there (in Alachua). It’s amazing how word spreads in this community.”
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Board of County Commission Regular meeting October 20, 2020; Posted October 26, 2020
