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Member of church OK'd its permits for county Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Applegate Christian Fellowship's children's amphitheater was built without a permit, according to county officials. The bus barn in the background was built partially on a neighbor's property. The county is investigating all of the church's building projects since the mid-1980s. Former building inspector is father of Applegate pastor's wife; kinship surprises, bothers county officials By DANI DODGE A review of building permits issued to the Applegate Christian Fellowship Church in Ruch over the past 17 years shows that most were signed by the pastor's father-in-law - either as the applicant or the building inspector, or both. Todd Meador, who signed the permits, is the father of Tammy, the wife of Jon Courson. Courson founded and still leads the church, which is the largest in the Rogue Valley. Meador, 58, worked as a construction foreman for the church from 1984 to 1991. He went to work as a building inspector for Jackson County in January 1992. He resigned from the county last year. Top county officials, both elected and hired, said they were not aware that Meador was connected to the church by marriage and membership and at the same time signing off on building permits. County Commissioner Jack Walker said, however, that the close relationship "certainly sheds more light" on building permit problems at the church. "It's just not right," he added. The Ruch church has come under scrutiny recently because a number of structures, such as the children's amphitheater, did not have permits before being built, and a bus barn was built partially on a neighbor's property. The county has told the church it needs to move the 3,000-square-foot garage or tear it down. As those issues are being investigated, neighbors are voicing concerns about the traffic generated as 3,000 to 4,000 people come to worship there every Sunday. Environmentalists are raising questions over alleged encroachments onto the flood plain without permission or study. The county is investigating whether the original outdoor amphitheater, which Meador was in charge of building back in 1984, should have had a permit. A state audit in December chided county officials for sloppy record-keeping after finding problems at the church, one of the four building sites investigated. State inspectors found numerous possible building code violations at the church, including using a building for offices that only had a permit to be used as storage. Inspectors also said bridges over Forest Creek had been built without plans or permits. Courson could not be reached for comment. Meador's daughter married Courson in the mid-1980s. Meador was the paid church construction foreman and representative to the county's building department for the church from 1984 through about 1991. Being the representative allowed him to apply for and sign the church's permit applications. Meador said that although the outdoor amphitheater is being questioned now, back in 1984, he was told it didn't need a permit. "In fact, I went to the county and asked if I needed a permit and they said it was a landscape feature and didn't need permits," Meador recalled. Meador was hired by the county as a temporary inspector in January 1992; he was promoted to full time later that year. Two ex-building department employees said that in addition to signing the permits, Meador overruled their permit denials at the sprawling 81-acre church. "I did an inspection out there and didn't pass it and he went out and OK'd it ... the same day," said former building inspector Ted Erwen. Meador vehemently denies ever overruling anyone else's denial of a permit for the church. "I never would think of overriding a code violation, ever," Meador said. "I'm supposed to resolve those issues and get them corrected." Despite being overruled by Meador on the one church inspection, which Erwen said he denied for "minor stuff," Erwen said Meador was a good inspector who did quality work. From 1992 to 2000, Meador signed off on five of the seven building permits issued to the church - either approving the final inspection or conducting interim inspections. The two he didn't sign were related to installing heat pumps and water heaters. In fact, days after he was first hired, he signed the final inspection on the retreat lodge and 20 cabins he had built at the site. On the document, his signature appears as the applicant and his initials give the project final approval. By the time he left the county in November 2000, Meador was the county's chief building inspector. He resigned along with the other two top building department managers. At the time, the other two, Dale Bohannan and Pat DeBenedetti, were being investigated for ethics violations. Meador was not investigated. Only DeBenedetti was found guilty of any violations. Meador now works both as the Jacksonville building inspector and in a private company with his two former Jackson County colleagues. He also does "pro bono" work for the church because it is "my church," he said. Meador said his judgment as an inspector was never swayed by allegiance to his church or his family. "It never crossed my mind to do anything but be aboveboard and correct," he said. "Everything has been to the best degree of professionalism." Deputy County Administrator Dave Kanner expressed surprise when told by the Mail Tribune that Meador was related by marriage to the church's pastor and doing inspections at the church. "I would think there would be rules against that," Kanner said. "It sure doesn't sound good." But there are no state rules against it. State ethics rules apply only to cases in which the conflict of interest results in financial gain for the public official - that's something hard to prove when it comes to a nonprofit entity such as a church, said Pat Hearn, executive director of the state's Government Standards and Practices Commission. The state building codes division doesn't address conflict-of-interest issues, said Peggy Collins, the state's chief building program administrator. She said her agency didn't even consider conflict of interest when it reviewed problems in Jackson County's building department last year. "Most jurisdictions are careful and try to avoid a conflict of interest like that," she said. "They will contract with a local jurisdiction or get someone else in the office to do the inspection. "Most jurisdictions have policies." Bohannan - the former building official who supervised Meador and has since gone into private business with him - said he was fully aware of Meador's situation. He said there were no problems with Meador inspecting work at the church. "Not a conflict," Bohannan said. "Everyone is related to someone. That's not going to be a conflict." But Deputy County Administrator Kanner said that just because it's technically legal doesn't make it right. "The fact that it's legal doesn't mean it doesn't raise the questions," he said. "Should he have done it? The answer is no. It's poor form. Very poor form." Kanner said that after the state found problems with the building department, the county hired Bob Gilmore, a former Portland building inspector, to "tighten up" the department. And indeed, Gilmore said things will change. He said inspectors shouldn't be inspecting properties where they have a personal interest. "It isn't a good practice," he said. "I haven't found many policies the county has to govern that kind of activity and we will try to handle that." In the meantime, everything at the church is now under review. Hearings in the future will deal with the children's amphitheater, the flood plain and the bus barn. "We are reviewing everything they've done for the last 12 years," Kanner said. "We are going through every plan and building permit to see things that need to be remedied out there." Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Church faces several 'code violation issues' In a letter to the Applegate Christian Fellowship's attorney, the county outlines what the church must do to "resolve numerous code violation issues." The letter states the church must: 1. Move the bus barn. The barn was built over a property line and on a different Applegate Fellowship-owned lot than was approved. The process will include submitting plans and obtaining permits for placing the 3,000-square-foot building in its originally designated location. The church will have to get a certified property line and flood-way survey. 2. Flood-plain review. The church must submit "an adequate and complete elevation certificate for flood-plain review" and establish a plan for what to do with structures, such as the children's amphitheater, that may not get approval after flood-plain review. Flood-plain laws are designed to ensure that structures within the flood way will not create increased flooding downstream of the structures. 3. Get permits for two bridges over Forest Creek. But first, the church will have to resolve a property line dispute with its neighbor because one of the bridges may be on the neighbor's land. The bridge plans must include full engineering plans. In response to a question from the Mail Tribune, Abner Sumrall, an associate pastor at Applegate Christian Fellowship, said the church is investigating the issue of permits and property lines. He said church officials expect to be able to comment on the situation in a few weeks. "Basically ... we are trying to gather information," Sumrall said. "We are looking at different allegations and pulling original permits ... so we have our information together." Church history Jon Courson was 23 when he came to the Rogue Valley in 1986. Fresh out of Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., Courson was asked to visit three couples who had been conducting services with his sermon tapes at a Bible study in the Applegate Valley. That visit grew into teachings, which grew into services that included baptisms in the Applegate River. The services moved to Cantrall-Buckley County Park, then the Grange Hall, the old Western Auto building on Highway 238, and finally to the current site at 7590 Highway 238 in Ruch. The church applied for its first construction permit on the current site - a minor land partition - in 1981. In 1982, it got approval for the main church building. The grassy garden-like outdoor amphitheater was completed in the mid-'80s. The retreat center and 20 cabins got final approval in 1992. The bus barn was added in March 1999. The children's amphitheater was added in April 2000. In addition to the main buildings, there are 15 other structures on the church's site, including barbecue stands and two coffee stands. Most have permits, but some do not. Courson's evangelical teachings and charismatic style now draw between 3,000 and 4,000 people to the church each week. There is a memo inserted into the church's file in the building department at the county. "... DO NOT issue any further permits concerning development of the Applegate Christian Fellowship properties. This includes any plumbing or electrical where a building permit may already be issued. "They have several outstanding compliance issues which need to be resolved before we issue permits." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.