The Natural Resources Committee approved two operational changes affecting permitting and public mapping.

Building inspections: Staff recommended contracting with General Engineering Company (GEC), a Portage-based firm, to provide Unified Dwelling Code inspections for residential projects. Staff said owners would pay inspection fees directly to the contractor rather than county staff collecting fees. Committee members asked for the RFQ to be placed in an administrative folder for future reference; the motion to approve GEC as the county’s inspector was made and approved by voice vote.

GIS and parcel mapping: Staff explained the public parcel map was struggling to load 2025 aerial photos and multiple map layers; MSA and county MIS staff identified a large scheduled file causing load failures and proposed blocking it while deploying a monitoring system and individual Esri seats. Staff said the land information grant package for 2026 totals $77,888 and includes about $26,600 for parcel mapping and roughly $30,200 for Esri licenses and monitoring services for a three-year period. As staff explained, "It goes directly to them," confirming that inspection fees paid by landowners will not be retained by the county. The committee approved the grant/administrative approvals by voice vote and directed staff to proceed with documentation and contract execution.

What happens next: staff will place the RFQ in the admin folder, execute a contract with GEC to cover inspection services through Dec. 31 (with renewals and annual administration as needed), deploy the Esri licensing/monitoring solution and continue coordination with MSA and Esri to restore 2025 aerial photos to public view.