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Building Safety Month 2023
During the City Council meeting on May 1, Mayor Dierenfeld signed a proclamation recognizing the month of May as Building Safety Month in Johnston. This year's theme is “It Starts with YOU!”, we all play a role in ensuring the safety of the places we live, work, recreate and learn.
To view the proclamation click here (PDF).
Learn more about the building staff
The Johnston building staff is an important part of our community to ensure buildings are safe to work and live in. The building staff consists of the following:
- David Wilwerding, Community Development Director
- Adam Ostert, Building Official
- Eric Clark, Building Inspector
- Eric Rehm, Building Inspector
- Sheila Kissanga, Administrative Assistant
Learn about these staff members and their important role in serving your community.
Below is a team photo of the Johnston Building Department. From left to right: Eric Clark, Adam Ostert, Sheila Kissanga and Eric Rehm.
David Wilwerding is the Community Development Director. He has been serving Johnston for over 20 years. As the Community Development Director, he ensures the entire building department staff has the tools, training, and resources needed to effectively manage the permitting and inspections within the community. He enjoys serving in his role because no two days are the same. David does have advice for residents and businesses. Maintain buildings properly with regular maintenance. He states, "It is more cost-effective to properly maintain buildings and homes than having to do a major repair after delayed maintenance."
Adam Ostert is the Building Official and has been with the city for almost two years. He has certainly excelled in his role during his time with the city. He oversees the building department, prepares the budget, facilitates the adoption of codes, makes formal interpretations of code requirements as needed, provides building code review of site plans, is a point of contact for the public and permit holders, and coordinates nuisance abatement. His job is to ensure his team has the tools necessary to ensure the structures within our community provide residents a safe place to eat, sleep, work and play, and are safe to be occupied.
Adam enjoys working with city staff, contractors and residents within Johnston. Watching the community grow during his eight months has been exciting and he looks forward to many more years. As David stated above, Adam also said, "Routine maintenance and good housekeeping will protect residents' investment and provide a safe environment for the occupants of your building, whether it is your loved ones or the public that you invite in." Adam encourages residents to contact him or his staff with questions about their property.
Eric Rehm is a Building Inspector II and has been with the city for 16 years. His role is to ensure the minimum safety standards, construction materials, and methods are upheld. While these are very detailed in the building codes, those details can greatly impact the longevity of the buildings and the safety of the owner or users of buildings, both public and private.
He enjoys his position because he is the point of contact to ensure people have the correct information to make decisions. Keeping property clean and tending to maintenance concerns is his advice to residents. Keep them clean and generally attend to repairs and maintenance concerns quickly. When adding an addition to your home or remodeling, he encourages you to call the city to ask about a building permit. Doing this before a project will save you time, money and frustration by preventing code violations before they happen.
Eric Clark is a Building Inspector I and has served the city for over a year. Like the others on his team, he has an important role in keeping the residents and visitors safe. As an inspector, he wants to ensure all structures are safe, starting with a plan review and continuing with inspections during the construction of buildings and structures.
He enjoys helping residents and contractors build safe buildings that will last well into the future. When building a new home or commercial building, Eric recommends that owners ensure there is proper storm drainage on the property. This will certainly protect their home from significant rains we have encountered over the years.
Sheila Kissanga has served the city for over a year. She enjoys helping answer residents' questions about the permit process or building questions in general. She is eager to learn and if she doesn't have the answer when a business or resident calls in, she will certainly ensure she gets the answer from someone on her team.