CLEARFIELD – Code Enforcement Officer Larry Mack was approved as Clearfield Borough’s Building Code Officer without any objections from the Clearfield Borough Council at Thursday night’s regular meeting.
Mack’s approval as the borough’s BCO is still dependent upon his official recognition from the Commonwealth that he’s passed the necessary certifications. Brian Rearick of the Middle Department Inspection Agency will complete any current projects that he’s initiated while employed as the borough’s BCO.
Last week, Borough Operations Manager Leslie Stott announced that Mack had passed his BCO test on Dec. 14, 2012. In order to pass the BCO test, Mack had to earn a minimum overall score of a 70 percent. This means that out of the 60 total test questions, he answered fewer than 18 incorrectly. To certify as a BCO, Mack must complete the application of certification and submit it with certification fees.
After the meeting, council member Tim Winters released the following press statement. He said, “I would like to commend Mr. Mack on fulfilling the requirements of his hiring, albeit three-and-a-half years late. Moving forward I will continue to look out for the best interests of the residents of Clearfield Borough.”
During the public comment period, resident Linda Evans approached council with complaints about Mack before his approval as BCO. She said she’d been impacted financially on two, different occasions after trusting Mack’s advice.
First, she had installed a fence up to eight feet high after believing this was permitted. However, she had to remove the fence, because it was more than six feet high.
She also said she had foundation work completed on her home. She said this included changing the ingress and removal of a load-bearing wall. Afterward, she was advised by a third individual to read her permit. At this point, she realized Mack had only given her a zoning permit when it required a building permit.
Later in the meeting, council member Fred Wisor asked if Mack would like to defend himself against the accusations. Mack said he could not recall the specific incidents, as they had allegedly occurred more than a year ago.
“I think this is an issue that needs cleared up, but tonight is not the time to do so,” said council member James Kling. He said that Mack would need time to pull the records and to investigate the matter.
