ENID, Oklahoma. – Discussions of major changes to the costs of Enid’s building permit fees on Tuesday highlighted several approvals indicating progress for the city’s Lake Kaw water supply construction project.
As proposed, the permit fees issued by the city code administration service would be split between residential and commercial users. All the minimum charges for residential users would cost $ 25; for commercial users, the minimum charge would be $ 50.
The first amount had been reduced from the $ 35 proposed during a study session with the commissioners last month. The ordinance had been reviewed in several sessions for comment.
To explain the increase, Deputy City Manager Scott Morris said in the Nov. 16 study session that materials were more expensive than in 2004 – the last time the rate structure was changed.
Morris said that compared to 10 other cities in Oklahoma, Enid’s proposed fee would be in the middle of a 2,000-square-foot home and 5,000-square-foot business.
Separated from building permits, the fees for electricity, plumbing and mechanical permits would instead be a coverage of 5 cents per residential square foot for residences; or 7 cents per commercial square foot, plus 1 cent for every square foot over 10,000.
With variable additional costs based on square footage, current city permits are currently issued at a minimum price of $ 180 for single and two-family dwellings and additions; a minimum of $ 480 for non-residential buildings and offices; at $ 945 minimum for multi-family buildings and institutional buildings; and $ 30 minimum for storage buildings, warehouses and other additional buildings. All permit fees include applicable building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing inspections.
The proposed revision changes the way building permits are issued to allow plumbers and electricians to obtain their own permits on large projects. The city can issue a building permit as soon as all exams are completed, while subcontractors withdraw their own permits upon assignment of work, according to the city.
However, the proposed revision was ultimately tabled, 6-1, with a motion from Ward 6 Commissioner Scott Orr, who said he had other issues to raise in a future study session. Ward 2 Commissioner Derwin Norwood was the only one to vote against.
Business contractors and home builders in the northwest had been asked about the increase, but Melissa Crabtree, a resident of Enid, said, as far as she could tell, residents of the town would not. had not been.
“Every dollar counts for a lot of citizens, and I think it’s worth making sure that it’s really… that we really demand the increase in costs before we vote, just because everyone is raising the prices. “she said during public comments on the article. . Meanwhile, commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved Lake Kaw-related expenses and acceptances, which were approved en masse as part of the agenda’s consent list.
The invoice claims approved Tuesday totaling $ 6.65 million included approximately $ 3.9 million in invoices for the project’s construction manager, Garney Construction, for the start of the construction phase.
City Manager Jerald Gilbert said after the meeting that those bills would include Garney’s $ 247 million construction contract, which itself is part of the Kaw Lake project’s total budget of $ 313 million.
“We’re going to start seeing more and more invoices, so these claim lists are likely to grow even longer as we move forward with construction and they submit the big invoices,†Gilbert said, “because we will eventually have $ 247 million in bills.
Acceptance of a permit from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality for the new project water treatment plant was also passed.
Jerald Gilbert, City Manager of Enid
Gilbert said he expects the city to send Garney a notice to proceed soon with the start of construction on the plant, which began last month.
“I’ll be surprised if it isn’t this week,†he said of the notice.
Construction of the plant, located west of an existing urban water treatment plant on West Chestnut, is expected to take at least a few years.
In exchange for $ 10,600, city commissioners accepted a plot of land for the pipeline portion of the project from the Office of Indian Affairs of the US Department of the Interior, on behalf of Kay County resident Alex Leclair, member of the Ponca tribe of Oklahoma.
That amount represents his partial ownership of the property, over which the city has acquired a 50-foot perpetual easement for the pipeline and a 50-foot temporary construction easement, according to the city. The commissioners also recently accepted another parcel of land from the Ponca tribe.
The town is still looking to acquire four more plots from the Ponca tribe, one in Garfield County from Robert Anderson and another in Osage County from Dr James Merrifield, as well as three more plots for the water main. Enid from the treatment plant along Chestnut, Gilbert said.
“We are getting very close,” he said.
Elected officials and city staff met behind closed doors with city sentencing attorney Danny Williams to discuss the remaining plots, which are currently being debated in court or in mediation talks with landlords land.
Four weeks ago, News & Eagle asked the town of Enid for records of the offer packages for the plots belonging to the Ponca tribe, but has yet to receive them on Tuesday.