The Shadow
COVINGTON, VA — Official city documents received through a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show the City of Covington is mired in controversy and legal risks from operating without a certified building official for almost 3 years since July 2021. The situation has deteriorated under the current appointee, Michael Mines, who despite training, has not passed the necessary certification exams as required by Virginia law.
According to a recent official warning issued March 12, 2024, from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Mines does not possess the required Virginia-issued building official certifications, crucial for ensuring the enforcement of building codes and safety regulations. The city has not only failed to ensure that its building official is certified but has also exceeded the statutory time limits for obtaining such certification, resulting in multiple compliance violations.
“The locality [Covington] should consult with legal counsel regarding the liability exposure issues,” stated Sandi Morris, Director of the Virginia Building Code Academy. ”This includes where a civil case names the locality and/or the building official as a defendant, or where the building official brings forth a criminal case under the USBC notice of violation section, and thus raising the legitimacy, authority, or certification of the enforcing official.”
Virginia Law explicitly states that candidates must secure certification within one year of employment. Mines, who stepped into the role in September 2022, failed to meet the September 2023 certification deadline. Almost seven months have now lapsed and even with the March 12 notice from Morris stating, “there is no language other than military or extended medical leave in the VA Code that allows for waivers or extensions to the 12-month certification requirement”, the City of Covington has failed to adequately address this issue. However, Mines wasn’t the first to not possess the required certifications.
Jay Crowder briefly worked as the City’s Building Official from Oct 2021 to January 2022, and while he did not hold the required certificates, he was allowed 12 months to acquire them. However, he resigned in January 2022 for being unable to ethically follow what the city was directing him to do. “The Virginia Codes that I must go by, I’m being told [by the City Manager] to basically break them by telling me I can’t enforce them when they need to be enforced,” Crowder said in an interview with the Alleghany Journal in January 2022.
The lack of a certified building official poses severe risks to all contractors, homeowners and stakeholders that have had any construction or renovation work performed in Covington in the last three years. Without proper oversight, buildings may not comply with safety codes, potentially lead to unsafe living and working conditions that could result in structural failures or other hazards.
Moreover, this oversight failure exposes Covington to both civil and criminal legal challenges. Civil cases might contest the validity of inspections and building approvals conducted under uncertified staff’s watch, potentially leading to nullifications and legal disputes.
For example, the recent renovations at the 410 Main Street property were incorrectly permitted for several months by an uncertified building official who himself violated multiple instances of the law. The city and building owners now face potential criminal liability if building standards are implicated in any accidents or structural failures. This behavior also seems to underscore a continuing pattern of apparent favoritism and unethical and illicit conduct within the city administration, as highlighted by Crowder’s resignation.
Not only does the effects of a non-compliant city building department have direct implications on city and commercial buildings, but homeowners too. Insurance challenges are a major concern, as claims related to incidents in improperly inspected buildings might be denied. The real estate market in Covington could be negatively impacted as well, as properties that were improperly permitted or inspected by uncertified officials could complicate the buying and selling process by failing to show any additions or enhancements were properly permitted and approved.
Mayor Sibold stated in April 2024 to the Virginian Review that he was aware Mines was not certified as a building official and seemed to not be confident in Mine’s ability to pass the exams. Sibold stated that they tried to get the Bath County official to fill in while Mines was in violation of the Virginia Code, but that wasn’t feasible. Sibold continued by saying the city had contracted CHA Consulting in February 2024 to handle the interim building official’s duties, apparently to issue building permits, conduct inspections and issue building approvals.
However, the FOIA request also asked for all contracts, records, invoices, and reports, along with all permits, inspections, and building approvals performed by CHA since their hiring in February. The city failed to produce any supporting invoices, permits, or inspection records. The city noted in its May 8 FOIA response, “CHA engineers have reviewed the 410 On Main building, the report has not been received yet.”
This response raises serious concerns, as it appears CHA has only reviewed one property out of all new and ongoing projects throughout the entire city since February. Furthermore, the contract with CHA does not mention performing building official duties, rather it only retains the Engineering firm to provide certain architectural and professional engineering services relating to “professional engineering, land surveying, transportation, architectural and environmental services,” with no mention or ability to issue building permits, carrying out inspections, and granting Certificates of Occupancy.
However, if CHA does provide building official services, that would be a clear conflict of interest if CHA is performing architectural and engineering services to the city but also permitting, reviewing, and approving its own work.
Finally, consulting and engineering firms usually have hourly rates ranging from $150 to $300 per hour. Because Mines is technically unable to perform building official duties, not only is the taxpayer bearing the cost of his full-time salary while Mines attempts his certifications, but potentially an additional expense of $1,200 to $2,400 per day in additional costs from the engineering firm.
In correspondence with the Covington City Manager, Allen Dressler, and Building Official Mines, Morris did not mince words about the gravity of the situation: “Given the length of time the locality has been without a certified building official it is imperative that action be taken immediately to gain compliance to the Uniform Statewide Building Code and VA Certification Standard. Steps need to be taken immediately to address the lack of a certified building official in Covington.”
