SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO AM) City Permits Chief Ron Bell is finally retiring after 39 years of approving construction for some of the most iconic buildings in Sioux Falls.
His last day is Friday March 9, 2017.
He says the most interesting project in all his years was probably the Washington Pavilion.
"When you take an abandoned school and you change that into to a state-of-the-arts arts center...I think my plan review letter on that was 20 pages long," Bell tells KELO Radio's It's Your Business Show with Bill Zortman..
There have been so many projects for Bell and his team over the years: the Sanford Premier Center, the Pentagon, both heart hospitals, and the Avera Cancer Center.
"All those were very, very technical code requirements in those. and it's been a real pleasure working with the design professionals and the architects for all these years," says Bell.
There were a couple of times through the years that voices were raised as companies and contractors worked through Bell's office to get their projects approved, but Bell developed a reputation in the building industry as a straight shooter and a thorough professional.
Bell wants to give a shout out to all the inspectors and specialists on his staff, calls them the best in the business.
Filling Bell's big shoes will be Butch Warrington, who has worked alongside of the boss for the past 18 years so knows the system. Warrington says he doesn't plan to change anything.
What's Bell going to do in retirement? He says he plans to join Great Life - that at least means a lot of golf.
