Town building commissioner returns

Code enforcement has been added to the Hagerstown building commissioner’s duties, and the man who held the job briefly at the start of 2024 has returned to that position.

Terry Ford became building commissioner on Jan. 1 and resigned in March. He has returned to the position. He had gone to work in a similar position for the Town of Centerville but is no longer working there.

Hagerstown added code enforcement responsibilities to the position, said Brian Longbons, a town council member who serves on the town Advisory Plan Commission. Ford will work as the staff officer for the Plan Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Town Council President Allan Bullock said the building commissioner will have an increased focus on unsafe buildings. He will report directly to the Town Council which, in the past few months, has discussed concerns about unsightly properties.

As code enforcement officer, Ford will take over issuing citations to property owners and residents for violations of town ordinances governing overgrown or junk-filled yards, vehicles that haven’t been moved for weeks, barking dogs and the like. In the past, some of those duties fell to town police and the clerk-treasurer.

Ford said he will mostly respond to complaints rather than go out looking for code violations, “unless there is something brutally egregious” that must be addressed. He plans to keep regular office hours, open from 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday in Town Hall. He will be paid for about 30 hours a week.

He and other town officials met with the town attorney July 11 to review town laws and policies with an eye to making sure they give him the authority to take enforcement actions in line with state law.

The former building commissioner, Bob Bullock, had been paid about $10,000 yearly. Ford had been hired in at about $14,000. He returned to Hagerstown employment on April 29 and will be paid $28,288, according to Julie J. Neal, clerk-treasurer.

In business on July 1, the town council agreed to pay consulting engineers Triad Associates $20,000 for a study identifying how many water meters will be affected by the town’s plan to start replacing water lines in town. The project is expected to cost more than $2.5 million.

The town applied for a $700,000 state grant to help pay for the work. A federal law requires the town to notify owners if lead is found on lines carrying water into their properties. The town’s grant application had to be revised to show how many water meters could be affected, Longbons said.

The town expects to learn in August whether it will receive the state grant. If not, the town could reapply later this year.

The council’s next regular meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, in Town Hall, 49 E. College St. The public may attend.