'Sorry for the embarrassment,' says Killens

In one of the most unusual and embarrassing cases ever for the City of North Bay; the City’s Chief Building Official (CBO), Shawn Killens started construction on his personal property without obtaining a building permit.

Killens formally apologized to council at Monday night’s regular meeting publicly stating he was “sorry for the embarrassment and harm that I have caused to the Corporation’s image regarding the construction of my sundeck.”

Killens in a prepared statement said he wanted to make amends, and express his regret for something as “silly” as what he did. He also said he made a mistake and appreciated the opportunity to address Mayor Vic Fedeli and the rest of City Council.

The CBO claims the intent to attain a building permit was always there, but construction on his property began sooner than he had anticipated.

“I certainly would never circumvent that process, I failed to process the application in a timely fashion and the work got started prior to the permit being issued,” Killens explained.

Mayor Fedeli and council were quick to graciously accept Killens’ apology.

“You could tell by his (Killens) demeanour how sincere he was in his apology which we accepted,” Fedeli said.

Fedeli tells the people of North Bay that there’s a message behind this incident.

“Everybody needs a building permit to build anything -- to do any work. Including shingling your roof of any building that’s over 10 by 10.”

Killens has paid a fine and acquired the required permit.