New hires for Post Falls construction
POST FALLS — Construction is booming again in Post Falls and the city’s administrators are trying to add staff to meet the demand for building permits.
“It was just a crazy season this year,” said Teresa Benner, human resources director for the city. “And we expect to be busy again next season.”
Benner said she has been working with the city’s public works department to determine what staffing needs it has, and has proposed re-establishing a permit technician position that was furloughed in 2007 and promoting a planning administrative assistant to a planning specialist position.
The permit technician will pay $14.81 per hour, which amounts to $30,804 per year. With benefits the new position will cost the city $51,533.53.
The promotion from planning administrative assistant to planning specialist will cost the city an additional $2,150.50 per year, according to Benner.
The department furloughed about five positions when the construction industry took a nosedive in 2007.
“It was hard to let those folks go,” Benner said. “It’s nice to see that business is now coming back.”
According to City Administrator Shelly Enderud, permit activity has been increasing rapidly over the past few years.
In 2011 the city issued a total of 719 building permits, and it has steadily increased by more than 100 permits a year since then — with the exception of 2014, when permit activity dropped to 2011 levels, totaling 764 permits.
So far this year, the city has issued 1,170 permits.
“And we still have the month of December to go,” Enderud said. “The numbers are really starting to come up now.”
Enderud said the city is pleased to see the commercial activity occurring this construction season, and she expects to see that continue.
She said Northwest Specialty Hospital expanded, as did Kootenai Health with a $10 million expansion.
A retail strip mall was built on the northwest corner of Mullan Avenue and Cecil Road. Tedder Industries is in the process of building a new facility. Advanced Thermoplastics and Advanced Moldings are also a part of the growth this year, Enderud said.
On top of all of those projects, Enderud said the Post Falls School District passed a bond to build a new school.
“We have been working with them on a few of their projects,” she said.
Enderud said the city may also be looking for an engineering intern soon to help out that division, which is also working hard to keep up with the construction demand.
She said staff has yet to work out the details of the internship because they want to make sure they don’t overstaff the department.
“We don’t want to overstaff the department and have to lay people off once things start to level back out in the next couple years,” she said.
The positions will start sometime after the first of the year to give the employees time to train and get the proper certifications before the next construction season begins.