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Community development staff report highlights busy year, blight enforcement strains and ordinance updates
Summary
Gratiot County Community Development presented its 2024 annual report; staff told commissioners inspection activity rose while permitting fluctuated, and said blight enforcement hours and legal complexity are straining capacity.
Gratiot County’s Community Development Department reported to the board Wednesday that inspection workloads rose in 2024 while permitting activity remained variable, and staff urged changes to the county’s blight enforcement program to reduce time demands and clarify liability.
Department head Tony Miller and Deputy Permits Officer Deandra Messer presented permit and inspection statistics covering building, soil erosion and blight enforcement. Inspecting staff said permit volumes have been up and down over the last four years; inspections rose last year in part because of turbine closeouts and new solar projects as well as the department taking on additional inspections for the City of St. Louis.
Messer, who oversees the county’s blight enforcement service offered to participating townships, told commissioners the office logged more hours on blight cases in recent years and that amendments adopted in 2024 were intended to streamline enforcement. She said townships may submit up to two complaints per year under the intergovernmental agreement; the county limits its intake so available staff time is not overwhelmed. Messer described a complex Sumner Township case involving a deceased property owner that required counsel and a suggestion to pursue probate to allow corrective action, and she said not all complaints proceed quickly because of difficulty contacting property owners.
County prosecutor and other commissioners supported staff’s assessment that the program, originally piloted with higher fees, does not currently cover the hours required. Deputy Messer said the current fee structure provides roughly 22 staff hours per complaint but actual work averaged about 25 hours per complaint in the recent year; staff recommended reviewing the fee and intake limits. Miller also described SESC (soil erosion and sediment control) activity, noting Part 91 obligations to protect waters of the state and the heavier inspection load tied to large projects such as turbines and solar fields.
No formal board action was required on the annual report; commissioners thanked staff and asked for follow‑up on recommended adjustments to blight fees and capacity.
