LYNN — Going forward, the function of building inspections has been made an in-house operation at the Inspectional Services Department (ISD), according to the Director of the Inspectional Division Zosia VanMeter.
VanMeter explained that back in February, the city opted not to renew its contract with the third-party vendor SafeBuilt, a community development and infrastructure services company that aims to support local communities and developers, according to the company’s website. The city had previously begun working with SafeBuilt in 2021.
The Inspectional Services Department now has a team of four in-house building inspectors that handle the permitting and inspection needs of the Building Department.
She then spoke on the development and the way she anticipates change going forward.
“This decision was made to further foster collaboration between all of our inspectors, including health and trade, as well as deliver a better end-product to our constituents. Our goal in ISD is to provide excellent customer service to the City and this reorganization piece has given us tools to do just that — from the building inspector who answers the phone when an inspection is requested to building inspectors being available in-office when folks stop in with questions,” VanMeter said.
She added that despite opting not to renew the contract, the city is still working with SafeBuilt for the review of larger commercial projects.
