NPB Public Services director retires (WD) August 3-9, 1994AUGUST 3-9. 1994 - Paaa 15
NPB Public Services Director retires
Charles O'Meilia, `Dean of Building Officials'
71-year old Charles O'Meilia handed
as t over the reins to his Deputy Director Tom
{ � i Hogarth last Friday after serving the Village of
.' North Palm Beach for 26 years.
In 1968, O'Meilia, a chemical
��SY*� r•.t4 engineer, was named the temporary head of
public works for the village. He stayed on to
+• ' :�help with the growth an°lam
d development of North ,k
eta Palm Beach, overseeing everything from
" pothole patching to construction of Old Port
Cove, and his strictness is legendary. A sign in
his office proclaimed "Thou shalt not build
without a permit!" "If there's a problem, it's
usually with a subcontractor," he said. "Most
contractors are well -trained and know what
they're doing."
O'Meilia is most proud of North
Palm's five -day -a -week garbage and trash
collection. "We have the finest refuse
collection system anywhere in the world," he
said _' Since the collecting is done at the back
door. of each residence, no garbage cans are left
in front to detract from the village's
appearance. O'Meilia fought to keep the
collection system when it was proposed to turn
the picking up over to a private concern.
Former Town Manager Ray Howland
said,"You could always count on Charlie to get
things done."
O'Meilia has also spent years helping
improve the Southern Standard Building Code
which governs construction in Florida and
many other Southeastern and Southwestern
states. Bill Tangaye, CEO of the Southern
Building Code Congress International in
Birmingham, said O'Meilia is "the
quintessential building official. Charlie walked
through a minefield" (when he chaired a
committee for four years to write improved
high -wind standards for structures) "but Florida
adopted the standard." Now the American
Society of Civil Engineers is interested
O'Meilia said Hurricane Andrew had
one positive effect. "It resulted in code
upgrades such as improved nailing of wooden
sheathing. Codes are to ensure a minimum of
health and safety."
The retired director plans to stay
active in the Southern Building Code Congress,
but other plans include more focus on baseball,
trips to Ireland and New Zealand, and local
code consulting.