WAILUKU – The county will hold a technical workshop for architects, contractors, engineers and other building professionals to enable them to secure county permits faster.

This Permitting for Professionals Workshop is scheduled for Dec. 9 at Maui Economic Opportunity at 99 Mahalani St. in Wailuku.

The workshop is limited to the first 100 participants to register. Entry is $25, which includes light refreshments and lunch.

The workshop will focus on improving the permit submittal review process, reducing processing time and avoiding common mistakes that end up delaying the approval of projects.

“Although we are looking at developing new industries, the construction industry is still a huge part of this county’s economy,” said Mayor Alan Arakawa. “This workshop is geared towards getting these construction projects flowing again by removing obstacles and common mistakes made when people apply for permits.

“By working together we can get construction industry off the bench and back to work.”

The workshop will be coordinated by the Permit Process Improvement Team, a multi-departmental working group headed by Managing Director Keith Regan and Executive Assistant Randy Piltz.

“We believe this workshop will assist us in moving forward with our plans to improve the permitting system here at the county by taking a more comprehensive and pragmatic approach,” said Regan.

“We are focusing on both process improvement and education as keys to improving our permitting system overall. This workshop will help us address the educational component and help our professionals gain additional understanding of our processes.”

“Having been in the private sector, I can tell you that I know the frustration that’s out there,” said Piltz. “But it doesn’t have to be that way, and we’ve been working very hard to fix it.”

Officials from the Department of Water Supply, Public Works, Fire and Public Safety, Environmental Management, Planning, and Housing and Human Concerns will lead presentations, as well as the state Office of Environmental Quality Control.

Although this permitting workshop is open to the public, the county urges workers in the building industry to attend, as much of the information is technical and would best be absorbed by engineers, planners and other professionals.

Register by mailing a check payable to Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers, Maui Chapter, P.O. Box 4119, Kahului, HI 96733. A registration form may be downloaded at mauicounty.gov/ppitworkshopreg. The form and payment must be received by Nov. 25, 2011.

For information, contact Wendy Taomoto, County CIP coordinator, at (808) 270-7855 or e-mail wendy.taomoto@co.maui.hi.us.