The Douglas County commission meets in the historic courtroom on the second floor of the old county courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

Douglas County Commissioners said Wednesday a report on the county’s zoning and codes department — which, among other things, recommended that the county require contractors to be licensed — provided the direction they sought.

“I think we have something to work with going forward,” County Commission Chairman Jim Flory said. “That was what we wanted, to look forward rather than backward.”

Commissioners also said they were reassured by the leadership of Sean Reid, who started in January as director of zoning and codes. Reid provided overviews at the meeting on issues of contractor licensing and updating county codes, which were addressed in the report.

“I am satisfied,” Commissioner Nancy Thellman said. “It lays out a pretty clear course to follow over a course of time, and we’ve already seen progress.”

That confidence in Reid was well placed, said Beth Tatarko, of consulting firm Austin Peters Group, who presented the report to the commission. Reid has addressed some of the report’s recommendations since taking the department’s reins three months ago, she said.

The $9,180 contract with Austin Peters Group came about after questions arose about the many exemptions to county building codes given to a rural Douglas County project undertaken by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

The report Tatarko shared Wednesday doesn’t address what is referred to in its text as the “Kobach case” but acknowledges the incident led to the firm’s review of the department.

The report does address issues of the department’s fairness, professionalism and responsiveness that grew from the incident, Tatarko said. The report recommends 25 specific improvements the county should make.

Recommendations include:

• Establishing a one-day permit program for electrical, mechanical, plumbing and demolition permits.

• Setting new, tighter timelines for the issuance of a number of permits.

• Reviewing use of online applications.

• Modifying staffing to correspond with peak customer demand.

• Conducting an internal staff review of the permitting and inspection processes.

• Recording documentation in the county’s SmartGov system and making sure the records are “consistently documented.”

• Hosting quarterly informational sessions with contractors and scheduling follow-up workshops to improve understanding.

• Offer workshops on the permitting process for the general public.

• Publishing the methods used to determine fees.

• Providing applicants a guidebook with department policies and procedures.

Of particular interest to commissioners was the report’s recommendation the county require contractors to be licensed.

Reid said contractor licensing would help with consistency by establishing standards among builders and creating more opportunities to educate contractors on the department’s policies. It would end the competitive advantage those “working out of the back of a pickup” enjoy over legitimate contractors who pay insurance and workers’ compensation and invest in continuing education, he said.

His former employer of 10 years, Johnson County, provided a model for contractor licensing, Reid said. What made that nationally recognized program unique was an educational component in which national experts presented on building trends to inspectors, contractors, architects and planners, he said.

In response to a question from commissioners, Reid said contractor licensing would not interfere with the right of homeowners to act as general contractors on private projects on their properties.

A number of organizations provide contractor licensing, Reid said. That would relieve the county of licensing expenses, but would require department staff to verify that contractors were licensed before issuing permits, he said.

Bobbie Flory, executive director of the Lawrence Home Builders Association, was in favor of requiring contractors to be licensed. The city of Lawrence had recently taken that step with a measure that was developed with input from Johnson County, she said.

The report concludes its recommendations by advising staff to review the findings and prioritize those that could be implemented in the next 12 months. Tatarko said there was “low-hanging fruit” among the recommendations that staff could address quickly.

Commissioners were satisfied with that approach, noting the department was entering its busiest season.

“It becomes about setting priorities,” Commissioner Mike Gaughan said. “I think it’s a conversation for staff about what they have the capacity to accomplish.”

The report does find adequate the zoning and codes department’s staffing budget, but repeatedly states that many of the recommendations would require full staffing to be realized.

Assistant County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said a planning position, which traditionally was assigned to the county administrator’s staff, had been open for a year. That position would be moved to the zoning and codes department, she said.

The county was waiting for the report to provide direction for how it should be filled, Plinsky said.

In other business, commissioners:

• Agreed Thellman should schedule an informal meeting to hear from those concerned about proposed wind farm regulations. Although only one person spoke at an April 6 public hearing on the proposed regulations, Thellman said she had heard from numerous residents in the last week. County planning staff is now addressing changes to the regulations that commissioners requested.

• Approved Sheriff Ken McGovern’s request to award a contract to Advanced Correctional Healthcare to provide health care services to the county jail starting July 1 at the annual cost of $597,334. The contact does not include dental care or mental health service, which Bert Nash Community Mental Health will continue to provide.