ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608090091
SECTION: DISCOVER ROANOKE VALLEY PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
Name a major building project in Roanoke in the past decade or so: The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, the glass-enclosed downtown pedestrian bridge, First Union Tower, Valley View Mall, the Norfolk Southern Building on Franklin Road, the Orvis catalog distribution center in the Roanoke Center for Industry and Technology.
Now take any of the myriad small projects going on in neighborhoods across town at any given time: A bedroom addition, a carport, a front porch, a new kitchen.
What do they have in common?
Well, in one way or another, Ron Smith probably has been involved. Roanoke's chief building inspector has approval authority over almost every new construction project that's bigger than an anthill.
Smith, 49, has worked for Roanoke city government for 11 1/2 years. Before that, he inspected structures for Bedford County. Counting on-site inspections and plans he's approved, Smith figures the number of major and minor projects he's played a role in number at least 5,000 since 1985.
"Without him and the job he does in plan review, our jobs would be very hard," says Janet Perry, a city building inspector who nominated Smith as one of the generally unheralded people who make the Roanoke Valley work. "We don't have the time to do that in the field. He's a great person, and I think he deserves some respect."
Smith lives in Bedford County with his wife, Nancy, and 14-year-old daughter, Jennifer. Two other children have already left home. Byron, 22, is stationed with the Air Force in San Antonio, Texas. Drema McClung, 27, is a registered nurse who lives in Roanoke with her husband.
The Western Virginia native was born and raised in Bedford County and got into the building inspections business in a roundabout way. After a stint in the Army that took him to Vietnam, he sold tires for B.F. Goodrich Co.
He worked as a highway inspector for the Virginia Department of Transportation before moving into building inspections for Bedford County. Coincidentally, his wife works as a secretary in the Bedford building inspections department now.
Smith says what he likes most about his job is that every day is different.
"I think that the greatest enjoyment I get from this job is it's never routine," he says. "Daily, there's the opportunity to talk with architects, engineers and contractors. A lot of the problems brought to me are unique."
It's also rewarding. "My job is providing a higher level of safety to occupants of these buildings," he says.
As chief building inspector, Smith supervises seven others: four "combination" inspectors who check electrical, plumbing and structural work; one elevator inspector; one building inspector; and one "cross-connection" inspector whose job is to ensure that a building's sewer and water system doesn't contaminate the city systems.
He serves under Ron Miller, the city's building commissioner.
One of his biggest jobs was with the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, a three-year project completed in 1995. The gutting and rehabilitation of the landmark hotel brought more challenges than usual. Smith estimates he spent a total of three weeks going through every blueprint nook and cranny in the old hotel.
"When he's done, the project is really ready for construction," Perry says.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN SPEARMAN STAFF Ron Smith, Roanoke's chief buildingby CNBinspector, has approval authority over all new buildings, including
Roanoke's First Union Tower.