Area Plan Commission authorizes director to sign Cloud Permit contract after iWorks implementation problems

The Clinton County Area Plan Commission on a 4–0 vote authorized Director Elizabeth (Liz) Stitzel to sign a contract with Cloud Permit to replace the county’s long-running CityForce/iWorks permitting software.

Stitzel told the commission the county has used CityForce since 2014 and that iWorks, which acquired CityForce two years ago, "is not able to provide the functionality that we need" for offline inspections in parts of the county that lack reliable cellular or Wi‑Fi service. She said iWorks "had initially told us they were going to get rid of all of our data in May," and that county and city staff had negotiated to obtain a copy of the data and get iWorks to postpone deletion while a replacement is found.

Stitzel said the county has evaluated multiple vendors and that Cloud Permit "is looking like they're able to check all of our boxes." She estimated a three‑ to four‑month process to migrate and said there may be increased transition costs. She also said the one‑time setup and maintenance fees would be split 50/50 with the City of Frankfort and that she is negotiating contract language — including dispute‑resolution venue and technical guarantees — before signing. "I won't sign a contract without seeing that demoed," she said, describing an on‑site or county demo to verify offline functionality.

A motion to authorize Stitzel to sign was made, seconded and approved on a roll‑call vote recorded as 4–0 in favor. Commission members who voted yes were recorded in the roll call as Grant Moller, Dan Sheets, Chad Colby and Jeff Shinaberry.

The commission’s authorization commits the Area Plan Commission to a contract that staff described as an initial three‑year term that would roll to year‑to‑year thereafter. Stitzel said she will notify members by email either when she signs the contract or if outstanding issues require further action.

The commission did not approve the final contract language at the meeting; Stitzel said staff (including Jay and Alicia) would continue negotiating specifics before execution. The timeline for the migration remains contingent on final contract revisions and a successful offline inspection demo.

The commission will receive reporting on procurement and migration progress as staff finalize the agreement.