Medina - The City of Medina Building Department honored as the 2018 David A. Smith, Jr. Award for Building Department Excellence by the Ohio Department of Commerce Board of Building Standards.The award was presented to the City of Medina Chief Building Official Dan Gladish at the Ohio Building Officials Association (OBOA) conference in Columbus on March 4th.
The award is named for former Board of Building Standards member David Smith who embodied the goals and mission of the Board through his long career as an engineer and building official. It was created to recognize the work of certified building departments exemplifying the board’s vision to be a national leader in promoting a safer built environment for Ohio’s citizens through knowledge, training, service, and technology.
There are approximately 400 full-service building departments in the State of Ohio, and of those, fifteen were nominated for this year’s award, including the City of Columbus, City of Wooster, Delaware County, Hamilton County, and Montgomery County. The winner was selected after a review of each department’s performance, contacting building contractors and designers who work in the communities, and conducting “secret shopper” calls to the department.
In his acceptance remarks, Gladish thanked Medina’s “dedicated nine-person Community Development Department Team”.He added, “Our mission is to preserve, promote, and support our community by providing efficient and friendly customer service to the residents, business owners, developers, and contractors through our expertise, continuing education, training, technology, innovation, responsiveness, and resourcefulness.”
Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell added. “As Mayor, I am proud and honored that the Medina Building Department has received this award. The Community Development Department for Medina is comprised of the Building Department, Economic Development, and Planning and Zoning Departments. They all assist and complement each other to create a one-stop location for businesses, residents, and contractors. We have strived for past nine years to improve our services and processes to move projects through effectively and efficiently. This award shows that the businesses and residents we serve acknowledge and appreciate what we do.”
Photo courtesy of The City Of Medina
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