Ocala Contractors Board of Examiners and Appeals Meeting Summary - May 14, 2026
Ocala Contractors Board of Examiners and Appeals Meeting Summary - May 14, 2026
The Contractors Board of Examiners and Appeals met on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers. The sole agenda item discussed was a new business case involving an uncompleted building permit for a billboard sign. The meeting concluded quickly with a board decision.
New Business
- Case No: CON25-0043 — City of Ocala vs. Diamond’s Electric Signs Inc.
- Location: 3030 W Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala, FL
- Violation: Section 22-151(A)(12) of the City Code: Proceeding and/or completing contracting work without proper permit finalization.
- Staff report: Inspector Jeffrey Guilbault testified that the permit (Sign Permit No. 24-0135) expired on July 5, 2025. Only a footer inspection had been completed; electrical, structural, and architectural reviews were never finished. The contractor was contacted multiple times via email and phone but did not respond. The billboard exists and is operational, as confirmed by staff and Google Street View imagery from December 2025.
- Board deliberation: Board members questioned whether photographic evidence was required; staff clarified it was not mandatory. The board found the violation valid.
Key Outcomes
- Motion and vote: Board member Edward Ferrentino moved to accept staff recommendation, which included a fine and a letter of reprimand. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously (no opposition noted).
- Additional motion: The board voted to accept all evidence and testimony into the official record. Motion carried.
- Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned after the case was resolved.
Public Comments
- No members of the public spoke during the public comments period.
Staff Comments
- Staff confirmed that no other cases were presented and rested.
Next Meeting
- The next regular meeting was not specified during the session.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. Here. Ms. Dicker. Mr. Harris approved the concept. Here. Published date of May 1st. Swear answers. I do. So for the record, uh environmental record. Tonight on the contractor's board. Type dash 003. So you fibers electric sign. 3015. 12% contacting work for WASC for this case. Our permitting department was scrubbing some permits and having us uh try to get in contact with the contractors to get them to uh wrap up their permits or reactivate their permits. Um so this permit is for a sign. Um sign permit number 24-0135. This permit is still active as of today, and just for the record, that permit expires on July 5th, 2025. Oh sorry, that permit expired on July 5th, 2025. Um there's also some electric permits that were under a different contractor. However, this contractor was a sub on those permits as well. Those permits have all been filed out. Um the only inspection that was passed for this sign was a footer inspection that was done by uh inspector Greg McClellan. The electrical planning and structural review was never completed, and I have attempted multiple times to contact the contractor via email and phone, which I got from their permit application, and I have not heard back from this contractor. I don't see a billboard in your evidence. So this is the billboard in front of Rainey's. I can appreciate that. Gotcha. But I don't as far as having evidence that a billboard exists and doesn't have a permit or wasn't inspector or anything, I don't know. Well, it does have a permit. Um if they just port a few words in the case. I don't know how uh I don't know how that would play into the board's motion here. You said this contractor was on other just random other permits or yeah, it looks like all of the electric permits were tied to the sign permit. Um it's a large billboard with like you know the electric and the changing of the pictures and all of that. Um all of those permits have been finaled. Okay. However, for some reason the signed permit has not. And a lot of those permits that I was given from permitting, they were all signed permits. So I I they're not all the same contractor, but they're a variation of the contractor. Yes, that's the billboard. All right, so real quick for the record, I'm just gonna ask uh Inspector Gilbo if this um in a Google street view, and I'll bring it to the board for your visual as well. Is this the billboard that's in question that's in violator? Yes, it is. Okay, perfect. My apologies. That's okay. So this street view is from December of 2025. If you'd like to pass it to the board members, this billboard is the one that is in question.
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