Stephen Daum of Gloucester has joined the staff of Mathews County as the interim building official. He replaces Jamie Wilks, who ended seven-plus years with the county on Friday. Wilks has accepted a position as the building official for Madison County.

Daum will be working three days a week, usually Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. He will provide all of the services that Wilks provided, including inspections and plan reviews. He brings with him nearly 30 years of experience as a building professional, beginning with a career as a general contractor before going to work for the city of Newport News as an inspector with the Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

He then served five years as an inspector in the zoning department in Gloucester before being offered the position of building official in Lancaster County. He was there for 14 years, retiring in September 2018.

Wilks said that Madison County is larger than Mathews, with a population of around 14,000 people, and as the building official he will supervise an inspector, a permit technician, and an erosion and sediment control person. Madison County is adjacent to the Shenandoah National Forest, he said, with about one-sixth of the county located in the forest.

The move means a significant salary increase for Wilks. He said he and his family started planning to move to the mountains before his son graduated from high school in June, and this job offers what they were looking for.

Wilks said he felt his greatest accomplishment as the building official in Mathews was bringing consistency to the office and enforcing the building code equally with everyone, whether he was dealing with a big company or an individual. He also expressed a sense of accomplishment with the building official’s website, which he worked to expand in order to help people understand the building code and to provide safety tips.

Contractors and engineers have dropped by the office during the past week to wish Wilks luck, and he expressed pride in the relationships he developed over the years with individuals, agencies, and government officials. He said he had worked regionally to build consensus among other building officials in order to make it easier when people move from one locality to another, and that even the federal government “understands that we’re doing the right thing.”

“The county is known in the state now,” said Wilks. “They call us for our ideas on interpretations of the code. It’s rare I’ll give a quick answer because I want to make sure I give the right answer.”

Wilks said that some people get frustrated with the zoning and building codes, “but you have to have them.” He cautioned the county to not run afoul of the floodplain ordinance lest its residents are kicked out of the flood insurance program. He said Mathews has the most lenient floodplain ordinance available. The state has now exceeded the NFIP’s requirements, he said, so some things the county left out of the local ordinance will now be required.

Finally, Wilks praised County Administrator Mindy Conner, saying, “She has done a good job for the county.”

“The administration, zoning, and building work together as a team,” he said. “The big goal is safety, and I think she looks out for the county.”

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