Escambia County board approves contractor exam requests, moves several matters to disciplinary review

The Escambia County Contractor Competency Board on May 17 approved requests from four applicants to take certification exams or obtain license reciprocity and took multiple disciplinary steps, including moving a probable-cause complaint to a disciplinary hearing and suspending permitting privileges for one roofing contractor for one year.

The board unanimously approved Alec Myers’ request to sit for the master plumber with gas examination after staff presented his experience and a Department of the Navy apprenticeship certificate that the applicant said totaled four years of training (Speaker 11). Staff noted that military pipe-fitting experience may not map exactly to commercial plumbing, and the board accepted the certificate as partial substitution for the four years normally required (motion by Speaker 13; second Speaker 14). Speaker 9 presided over the vote.

The board also unanimously approved demolition contractor applicant Taylor Vickers and building-contractor applicant Samir Gaboun, each after staff presented experience verifications and applicant statements in support of their applications (motions and seconds recorded on the record). The board granted reciprocity for Timothy (Tim) Dillard’s residential contractor license from Santa Rosa County after staff presented his competency card and test scores.

On disciplinary matters, the board voted to move a probable-cause finding against Hunter E. Roberts d/b/a Provision Contractors LLC to a disciplinary hearing. Staff had opened a probable-cause hearing after a homeowner complaint alleging unpermitted roof and structural work; the board approved moving the case to a disciplinary hearing after public testimony and investigative exhibits were accepted into the record (motion carried by voice/raised hands).

Separately, the board found one respondent in violation in a separate disciplinary matter involving final-inspection failures for a roofing project and voted unanimously to suspend permitting privileges for one year; the board also resolved to forward a recommendation to the appropriate state licensing board for further action. In another case where a contractor acknowledged failing to pull a required permit for a shower installation, the board found a violation but voted for no further action after members described the incident as an individual, teachable lapse.

The board moved several other contractor complaints — including matters involving Apex Plumbing LLC — into evidentiary record and scheduled further review or continuation for a later meeting.

The meeting began with routine procedural items, included a public-comment slot (one commenter, Larry Downes Jr.), and ended after the board completed its agenda and adjourned. The board’s actions are limited to permitting privileges within Escambia County; staff noted that some matters may be referred to state licensing authorities or to criminal proceedings when applicable.

Actions recorded at the meeting include motions to accept experience substitutions and exam requests (all approved), a motion to move a probable-cause complaint to a disciplinary hearing for Provision Contractors LLC, a motion to continue board review of cases connected to Apex Plumbing pending court developments, a one-year suspension of permitting privileges for a roofing respondent, and a finding of violation with no further action for a contractor who admitted failing to pull a permit.

The board did not announce any date for the disciplinary hearing for the Provision Contractors matter at the close of the session; staff will provide scheduling information and the record of evidence for follow-up proceedings.