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Hernando Today

Council To Pick Mayor, Consider Higher Building Fees

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By HERNANDO TODAY STAFF

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 30, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The city council will pick a mayor and vice mayor for 2009 and then delve into whether to raise city building fees and whether to enter a deal with the Enrichment Center of Hernando County.

David Pugh Jr., an incumbent who easily won another term, and Joe Johnston III, a former council member who will return to the dais after winning a tight race against former Vice Mayor Frankie Burnett, will be sworn in Monday during the council's regular meeting slated for 7 p.m. at City Hall, 201 N. Howell Ave.

The council members will then select the mayor and vice mayor for the coming year.

Fees for building permits and zoning reviews would increase under a proposal up for consideration.

A permit for a swimming pool or fence, for example, would rise from $50 to $75.

The ordinance would put in place a new range for residential building permits based on square footage that would run from $1,450 to $5,350.

A similar fee schedule would take effect for commercial permits, but the fees will be based on the value of the project and run from $75 to $135,000.

Both residential and commercial permitting fees had been based on square footage.

The fees haven't changed since 2003 and need to rise for the city to cover the cost of providing the services. The city contracts with PDCS of Orlando to provide building department services.

Under the proposed deal with the Hernando County Enrichment Center, the nonprofit group would lease the city's Jerome Brown Community Center for $1,000 a month. The enrichment center, which provides programs for all residents but is attended mainly by seniors, also would partner with the city to use $700,000 of state and county funding to convert a 93-year-old storage building on the Quarry Golf Course into a mining museum, pro shop and special needs emergency shelter.

The council had expressed support for the deal at a meeting earlier this month but wanted more time to confirm that the arrangement wouldn't conflict with the city's youth programs offered at the Jerome Brown Center.

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