Town introduces new building administrator and clarifies roles with outsourced building official

Interim Town Manager Lisa Fraser introduced Steve Freeman as the Town of Melbourne Beach's new Building Administrator at the Planning and Zoning Board meeting on Dec. 2. "This is his second day here at the town, and he's jumping in with two feet," Fraser said, and asked Freeman to meet the board to align on what reviewers expect from site-plan submittals.

Steve Freeman, who said he has "about 30 years invested in the construction industry," told the board he will process permit applications, schedule inspections and serve as the staff liaison between the building department and town management. Fraser explained that the town uses an outsourced consultant, Cap Government, to provide the certified building official and inspectors; Cap Government will continue to provide the licensed building-code services and certified floodplain managers.

Fraser and Planner Corey O'Gorman clarified that most land-development-code responsibilities — for example landscaping, lot-coverage checks and zoning interpretations — remain the planner's duties, while the town engineer handles structural concurrency issues and stormwater/drainage review. The board questioned who verifies pervious/impervious-area calculations on site plans; O'Gorman said planners sometimes run simple checks but do not routinely re-calculate a contractor’s detailed figures and that the engineer evaluates impervious area for drainage and treatment volumes.

Fraser said the town will provide a handout outlining responsibilities and will tighten submittal processes during the current staffing transition. The board did not take a formal vote on the administrative changes; the presentation served to introduce Freeman and clarify operational roles.