Spring SoDACE Meeting Held in Pierre By Dave Smith, City of Sturgis Code Enforcement Officer, SoDACE President and Brittany Smith, City of Philip Deputy Finance Officer, SoDACE Immediate Past President The SD Association of Code Enforcement (SoDACE) held its annual spring training and conference May 3-4, 2016, in Pierre. The meeting was once again well attended – 46 attendees representing 34 cities and towns throughout South Dakota as well as North Dakota. During the first day, attendees were provided with two hours of training from Heather Lazar of Safeguard Properties. Lazar provided the membership and attendees with information on vacant and foreclosure properties. She discussed how these properties affect Code Enforcement as there are many negative impacts of property abandonment which affects the constituents and neighborhoods as well as the lenders. Safeguard Properties is available to assist when dealing with these properties as they provide resources to ensure that the properties are being maintained while complying with the local code. This session was highly informative and useful.
SoDACE president Dave Smith (right) presents the SoDACE Code Enforcement Officer of the Year Award to Geoff Fillingsness of Beresford.
After lunch, attendees were provided information and training from Greg Carr, 1st Vice President of AACE, from Arvada, Colorado. Carr’s presentation, “It’s Not a People Problem–It’s a Plumbing Problem” gave incite on how to work 80% faster in our jobs and help unkink and straighten the pipe (processes) that are kinked and clogged. He also discussed how to improve the organizational processes and address the common service delivery challenges we face in local government. The evening dinner and social included recognizing Geoff Fillingsness of Beresford as this year’s Code Enforcement Officer of the Year. He was nominated by the Mayor of Beresford who explained that he is always up for a challenge. This was evident through the letters of support received, noting what an asset he is to not only his hometown, but other surrounding communities. He also serves on the SoDACE board and is very instrumental in promoting code enforcement across the State. The saying goes… “Every community needs a Geoff.” Congratulations again, Geoff! The Thursday morning session was filled with an active shooter training course. This was presented by Sargent Kevin Burke with the SD Highway Patrol. The content included past incidences that involved various governmental personnel around the United States. Attendees were provided different tools and tips on how to respond during these types of situations. The training ended with a number of the attendees performing various mock incidences (pictured at right). JUNE 2016
On behalf of the SoDACE board, we thank you for your continued support of our association and allowing your public employees and officials to attend our trainings. More information about the association can be found on the SDML website, www.sdmunicipalleague.org, under the Affiliate Organizations tab. 17
