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It’s sort of silly to point out that Redwood’s Building Official Ken Kammerer took advantage of the city’s early retirement program last week.
After all, Kammerer, 68, has been eligible to retire for years.
“It’s been too much fun,” he said last week, on one of his last days before retiring Friday.
“I could have retired, but I’ve enjoyed it, and have good health, so I thought I’d stay on for a few years.”
When he was attending from Wabasso High School, Kammerer loved doing perspective drawings and building plans with T-squares and pencils, and originally wanted to go into architectural drafting.
“That didn’t work out, and I went into plumbing for 27 years. I’ve been with the city for the last 17 years.”
As the city’s Building Official, Kammerer oversaw all residential and commercial construction within Redwood City limits, and going out an additional two miles.
It’s the Building Official’s job to make sure every building in town follows common international building and fire codes.
I’ve been in just about every building in town over the years,” he said.
The worst experience, he said, was about a dozen years ago, when the entire back end of a downtown store collapsed from age and disuse.
Kammerer said the most rewarding part of being Building Official has been watching buildings go from blueprints to finished structures.
“I review all the plans to make sure they’re code compliant. The codes change on a three year cycle,” he said.
A big part of being Building Official is just keeping up with all the changes in building materials, codes, and safety procedures.
“I spend a lot of time on my computer, doing research,” he said.
Kammerer said for the most part, contractors don’t bother to keep up with all the latest changes in building codes.
“They depend on me to keep them up to code,” he said.
How much time does Kammerer spend in the office compared to getting out in the field?
“It’s about a 50/50 split,” he said. “For the average house, I’d inspect it 10 or 12 times,” he said. “For a big commercial project, I might visit it 20 times.”
Kammerer’s favorite part of the job was getting out of the office and meeting with contractors and residents.
“On the whole, the people have been good to work with, although once in a while someone gripes.”
It’s sort of silly to point out that Redwood’s Building Official Ken Kammerer took advantage of the city’s early retirement program last week.
After all, Kammerer, 68, has been eligible to retire for years.
“It’s been too much fun,” he said last week, on one of his last days before retiring Friday.
“I could have retired, but I’ve enjoyed it, and have good health, so I thought I’d stay on for a few years.”
When he was attending from Wabasso High School, Kammerer loved doing perspective drawings and building plans with T-squares and pencils, and originally wanted to go into architectural drafting.
“That didn’t work out, and I went into plumbing for 27 years. I’ve been with the city for the last 17 years.”
As the city’s Building Official, Kammerer oversaw all residential and commercial construction within Redwood City limits, and going out an additional two miles.
It’s the Building Official’s job to make sure every building in town follows common international building and fire codes.
I’ve been in just about every building in town over the years,” he said.
The worst experience, he said, was about a dozen years ago, when the entire back end of a downtown store collapsed from age and disuse.
Kammerer said the most rewarding part of being Building Official has been watching buildings go from blueprints to finished structures.
“I review all the plans to make sure they’re code compliant. The codes change on a three year cycle,” he said.
A big part of being Building Official is just keeping up with all the changes in building materials, codes, and safety procedures.
“I spend a lot of time on my computer, doing research,” he said.
Kammerer said for the most part, contractors don’t bother to keep up with all the latest changes in building codes.
“They depend on me to keep them up to code,” he said.
How much time does Kammerer spend in the office compared to getting out in the field?
“It’s about a 50/50 split,” he said. “For the average house, I’d inspect it 10 or 12 times,” he said. “For a big commercial project, I might visit it 20 times.”
Kammerer’s favorite part of the job was getting out of the office and meeting with contractors and residents.
“On the whole, the people have been good to work with, although once in a while someone gripes.”
What part of the job of Building Official could he do without?
“I don’t really enjoy the zoning part,” he admitted.
Kammerer was also on the Redwood Falls Fire Department, retiring after 30 years.
Kammerer has also served as the city’s fire marshal since 1965, making sure buildings in town all follow the fire codes.
In addition to his responsibility to the city, Kammerer was also appointed by the governor to the state plumbing board.
“I helped make the rules for all the plumbing in the state of Minnesota,” he mentions offhandedly.
He’s also a member of the state construction code advisory panel.
Kammerer plans to spend his retirement golfing, putzing around the house, and delivering vehicles around the country for Kohls-Weelborg Ford.
“I can make little vacations out of it,” he said.
If there was one thing Ken Kammerer could correct about his job, what would it be?
“It’s not as easy as everyone thinks! Everyone thinks there’s nothing to it, but it takes a lot of studying to keep up,” he said.
