East Grand Forks staff backs 3‑year renewal with True Cheek as council weighs hiring in‑house inspector

City staff recommended the East Grand Forks City Council renew its contract with True Cheek for building‑inspection services while the council considers whether to hire a full‑time municipal inspector.

Nancy Ellis, a city staff member who oversees inspections, said True Cheek has provided "really a good service for the city. They're very thorough," and that the firm’s two staff are available by phone and email five days a week. She said True Cheek is proposing to hold its fees steady for the first three years of an extension, with a contractual reopener after year three.

Councilmember Dale Helms cited last year’s payments to the firm and urged caution about a long term: "I still think that I would like to see us look to have our own own inspector," he said, noting the city paid True Cheek about $72,948 last year. Helms said he is concerned a five‑year contract could lock the city into a long arrangement if problems persist.

Finance staff presented the historical numbers the council requested. Carla walked through a spreadsheet showing the office’s revenue and expenses and told the council, "In 2025 the balance was we had $157,000 of expenses and we had $59,000 in revenue. So that we had a loss of $97,000," with roughly $81,000 in personnel costs and $72,000 paid for professional services.

City staff also provided a ballpark estimate of in‑house costs. Reed Hutton said that comparable salaries and benefits would likely put the low‑end cost to the city for a full‑time building official in the neighborhood of $110,000 and the high end at $140,000–$145,000 per year.

A local business owner, Roger Scaven, addressed the council during public comment and sharply criticized one inspector the business interacts with, saying the inspector "is one of the worst people I've ever had to deal with" and that the inspector’s requests had delayed his permit about three months. Scaven gave several examples he said were outside typical plan‑review practice, including requiring a drinking fountain and detailed shelving plans.

After discussing options and requesting additional data on turnaround times and the statewide availability of full‑time inspectors, staff said they would proceed with drafting a three‑year extension for the council while compiling comparative staffing and performance numbers for a future meeting. The council scheduled further consideration of the item for next week.