Published Saturday, Feb. 23, 2002
GREENVILLE
§ § §
But most fees substantially lower
Herald Staff Writer
Building permits have been required for most local school renovation projects in recent years, but none was as costly to the school boards as one required for a $13 million renovation of Greenville High School more than four years ago.
Greenville Area School District paid the borough $45,240 for a building permit for the project in October 1997.
The only building permit rivaling that one was one for $35,444 for Hermitage School District's $23 million Hickory High renovation -- and that expense was split by about a half-dozen contractors, not footed by the district, according to district and city officials.
Other permits cost far less:
Jones said the school board asked borough council to waive the fee but was turned down. Jones said the district did not have to pay for a permit for its $12 million high school project in 1995.
While most school officials said there was nothing inherently wrong with permit fees, they felt the one shelled out by Greenville was high.
"Was that reasonable and just? Probably not," one superintendent said.
Greenville school board asked borough officials to waive the fee for the high school project, but the request was refused.
After several months of holding out, the school board decided to pay the fee and move forward with the project, which finished on time and under budget in March 1999. At about the same time, Hempfield Township supervisors waived the permit fee for the district's $3.4 million Hempfield Elementary School project.
The borough charges $5.50 for every $1,000 spent on a project of $100,000 or more, code enforcement officer George Pangas said. By comparison, Hermitage charges $2 for every $1,000 spent on a nonresidential project.
Pangas said permits cover only building costs. Non-building costs such as furniture are deducted from the overall project cost to determine a fee, he said.
Some municipalities charge flat fees, while occasionally fees are negotiated. Pangas said no fees have been waived in the borough since he became the full-time code officer in late 1997. "If someone petitioned council or the borough manager for relief, the decision to collect went beyond me," Pangas said.