The Miami-Dade County building inspector was concerned.

It was the second time the inspector had brought Buckley Towers to the attention of the quasi-judicial entity charged with keeping buildings safe across Miami-Dade County.

The building "does take the matter very seriously," the former condo association president said at the time.

The result: Buckley Towers got another reprieve from the oversight group, known as the Miami-Dade Unsafe Structures Board.

Days after the Champlain Towers South condo building collapse killed at least 97 people in nearby Surfside, Buckley Towers appeared on a list of 24 residential properties in unincorporated Miami-Dade County that are deficient and have not been recertified as safe.

In twice allowing Buckley Towers more time than building officials wanted to fix its problems, the Unsafe Structures Board's decisions were not unusual, an NBC News investigation has found.

In Miami-Dade County, with a population topping 2.7 million, the Unsafe Structures Board is central to that effort — a last line of defense against risky buildings.

The board's volunteer members — professionals in real estate and related businesses for the most part — operate under the county code, reviewing decisions by municipal officials about structures in violation of the building code and hearing appeals from owners.

In cases heard by the board, building officials make specific recommendations to bring problematic properties up to code and owners or their representatives argue against them, typically asking for more time to comply.

In the 72 such matters during the period, the Unsafe Structures Board overruled building officials 47 times and supported them 25 times, according to meeting minutes published on the county website.

In overruling officials, the board granted building owners extra time to submit 40-year recertification reports, put off demolition, secure permits and perform other work to bring properties up to code, the minutes show.

In an interview, he said the board listens to both sides — building officials who provide the worst-case scenario and the owners who need to complete the work.

Still, an unsafe structures board should be wary of kicking the can down the road, said Ken O'Dell, a veteran structural engineer and spokesman for the National Council of Structural Engineering Associations.

Not all of the cases will be heard by the Unsafe Structures Board, she said.

The Unsafe Structures Board in Miami-Dade County says it "ensures the safety of buildings and structures through conducting a fair and open public hearing process, where testimony is heard and evidence reviewed to make a determination that serves to safeguard the community." Local building departments enforce its decisions.

Property owners asking for extra time to bring their buildings up to code can officially receive only one extension from the board, said Trauth, the chairman.

After a fire damaged a commercial building on Harbor Drive in Key Biscayne in 2017, the Unsafe Structures Board ordered the building's owner to repair or demolish it.

James Cueva was a member of the Unsafe Structures Board for 21 years and chairman for most of that time until he resigned in February?

"I always put it on the property owner to tell us, if a building official says 180 days, how much time do you think you need?" Cueva said.

It, too, had gotten extra time to fix problems from the Unsafe Structures Board.

But ongoing electrical problems were presenting hazards, a building official told the Unsafe Structures Board in a meeting in July 2014.

The Miami-Dade Unsafe Structures Board meets monthly in a public forum, except in August.

"Getting commissioners to timely appoint members to the board — that's been an issue from time to time," he said.

According to Miami-Dade code, the board "shall include a registered engineer, registered architect, a general building contractor, an electrical contractor, an attorney, a plumbing contractor, a real estate appraiser, a real estate property manager, and a citizen with experience and background in the field of social problems.".

The county also recently added a new requirement in all overdue 40-year recertification cases, the building official said

This time, the building official had prevailed