Commission advances fee-schedule changes for building permits, solid waste and preliminary plats; action contingent on bulk-user decision

City staff presented a package of updates to the city fee schedule (Resolution 2025-04), proposing several modest increases, clarifications and a new two-tier approach to preliminary plats aimed at recouping engineering review costs for larger subdivisions.

Building permits and inspections: staff reported a planned $10-per-inspection increase from the city’s contracted inspectors; small inspection fees for decks and sheds were raised slightly (examples cited: two-inspection items from $2.50 to $2.60; three-inspection items from $3.75 to $3.85). Driveway and other low-cost fees were updated to reflect recent inflation.

Preliminary plat: staff proposed defining minor and major preliminary plats. Under the proposal, plats of 50 lots or fewer would be charged a $1,000 fee; plats over 50 lots would pay $1,500 plus $50 per lot. The commission discussed allowing the city discretion to waive per-lot fees case-by-case where materials and reviews are complete; staff said the intent is to better recover engineering review costs when projects require repeated reviews.

Solid waste and cleanup day: staff proposed raising the residential solid-waste collection fee by $1.02 (from $16.98 to approximately $18.00) and said the extra revenue would seed a capital outlay fund for future equipment replacement. The landfill has instituted a $10 charge per mattress and per box spring; staff recommended keeping a separate mattress bulk-pickup fee for non-cleanup-day requests and allowing free mattress disposal during the city’s twice-yearly cleanup event to avoid illegal roadside dumping.

Other items: staff cleaned up illegal-dumping penalties to match ordinance 92.999 (penalty corrected to $500 per the ordinance), clarified sign and siding permit language and noted a historic hauler’s ("haller's") license that had lapsed and may need action to reinstate or replace a $250 annual licensing approach for commercial haulers.

Action: the commission voted to approve Resolution 2025-04 with the changes discussed, contingent upon the commission’s decision on the bulk-user sewer-rate item (later in the meeting). Staff will finalize ordinance language and return the resolution for publication and implementation following the bulk-user decision.