A revised plan to issue permit fees has received an initial nod from the Culver Town Council.
A public hearing was held on the plan – which was recommended from the Town’s Plan Commission. Culver is taking the steps to deal with increasing costs from Marshall County to compensate for the use of their building inspector.
The initial plan called for significantly raising costs on certain permits for remodels and new construction. Revenue generated through the plan would eventually allow room for a full-time hire within the Town of Culver for the inspections or zoning reviews.
Culver Building Commissioner Russ Mason says previous plans to create a full-time zoning and building inspection position may not be necessary.
“It’s a lot of money,” says Mason. “I think you’d bee spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $55-thousand a year plus benefits, and it’s really not a 40-hour per week job. It really isn’t.”
The plan was shot down after backlash by local contractors.
The revised plan increases the fees simply to pay for Marshall County’s increases and put Culver’s costs flush with their zoning expert’s part-time salary and other legal fees.
Many expressed their support Tuesday night for keeping a representative in Culver to better manage development that affects the lake or other buildings. Town Council President Ginny Bess Munroe was on board.
“I like having a person here who does the permits because there are a lot of questions with permits,” says Munroe. “It’s nice having someone keeping track of that and giving us reports of what’s going on in the way of someone who specifically knows the zoning ordinance.”
Culver built 21 new homes in 2015, an admittedly high number.
The Town Council approved the new fee schedule on first reading, Tuesday night. The matter will come back for two more readings in the near future.
