McNeal nominates McCain to be new inspector

Dan Amoruso has withdrawn his name from contention for the city building inspector's job and Mayor Joe McNeal has announced that he will nominate Mike McCain for the open position, instead.

The building inspector's post, officially called the Building Official, has been open since McNeal became mayor. City council had delayed approving McNeal's nomination of Amoruso amid concerns that he did not have all of the certifications necessary for the position, although both the law and city tradition allow one year for him to obtain them after taking office.

McCain, a 43-year resident of Mountain Home and a local contractor, has both of the certifications.

But while McNeal was prepared to stick with his nomination of Amoruso, the owner of K&B Construction withdrew his name from consideration late last week because his son had unexpectedly been called up for a training rotation with his Utah National Guard Special Forces unit.

Amoruso had originally planned on turning the business over to his son, Dan S., while he took on the inspector's job, but the activation of the Special Forces unit has precluded that, Amoruso said.

"We knew the training requirement was there, but we just didn't think it would happen this quickly," he explained.

"I'd like to thank the mayor for his support and all the other townspeople who supported me. I have offered to place myself at the mayor's disposal if needed," he said.

McNeal thanked Amoruso for offering his skills "as a public service to our community, and going through the sort of scrutiny that comes with public service," noting that the circumstances leading to his withdrawal from consideration for the post "were beyond his and my control."

McNeal said Amoruso and several other people had suggested McCain as a possible replacement.

"I expressed to Mr. McCain that now that he has been nominated for a public position, his life will not be the same. He and his family will now be under scrutiny."

McCain, the owner of Precision Construction of Mountain Home, has a wife and two adult daughters. He has more than 28 years of experience in the construction business.

His nomination will be presented to the city council Monday.

Until a new building inspector is named the city has been using the county inspector to provide those services.