Once Foley’s entertainment development goes vertical, more hands will be required on deck to perform different tasks such as building inspections.

The adopted building code for the city allows an approved agency — a third party inspector — to perform inspections in conjunction with the city. The city of Foley’s City Planner and Building Official Miriam Boutwell explained this process is used for large developments like condominiums and the like.

This agreement will not pause any construction, as the inspectors will work non-office hours to complete this construction. Anytime the third party inspectors are needed, they will be able to perform inspections — day or night, 24/7.

“This is an approved method to allow the developer to move quickly on their project,” Boutwell explained.

The building codes require certain inspections throughout the process. The contractors have awareness of these inspections and the city has an inspection form they use in house.

“In a nutshell, our procedure is as follows: we receive a request from a developer and they provide credentials for our review,” Boutwell said. “This information is also reviewed by the city attorney; a written agreement is drafted. The city staff meets with these inspectors to assure understanding of our expectations. The agreement is then signed and construction begins.”

The city is at the last stage of the agreement procedure. The agreement is ready for signatures and once it is completed, the third party can take over the inspection process.

“The city will still perform the plan reviews on the construction plans and issue permits,” Boutwell explains. “Our chief building inspector will be notified weekly of the construction status and we will perform random inspections throughout the process.”

The city will do the inspections for a Certificate of Completion and a Certificate of Occupancy. An approved engineer/architect will seal all inspection reports.

The city of Foley fire department, engineering department and environmental department will all perform their own inspections.