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REESE NEA DD SEA Sd, aa a aii 4 iy . "WEEKEND STAR" - FRIDAY; JUNE 8, 2001 - 3 Plumbing permits increased Township officials considering more fee hikes By Chris Hall The Star Township officials considered yet more fee increases at their finance and administration com- mittee meeting last week. Committee members endorsed a recommen- dation to hike plumbing permit fees, and looked into increasing develop- ment charges during the May 28 meeting. Plumbing fees have not been increased since 1989, and should be hiked to help cover the cost of staff salary, administration, and trav- el among other things, Chief Building Official Paul Milligan said in a report. Currently, the town- ship's plumbing fee per- mits cost $20, plus $5 per each fixture inspected. The proposed increase would raise the cost to $50, plus $10 per fixture. In his report, Mr. Milligan said it would take an experienced inspector about four hours to check out an average building, such as a typical single-family dwelling containing laundry tubs, floor drains, two three-piece and one two-piece wash- room. It would cost the applicant about $150, which equates to about $37.50 per hour. That cost is about the average of most municipalities in New municipal office garnering interest By Chris Hall The Star There has been some minor interest from developers regarding the construction of a new municipal building for the township, which would be shared between both the pub- lic and private sectors. Township officials are hopeful that a partner- ship can be formed between the two sectors when it comes time to build new municipal offices. It was suggested that perhaps a multi-floor building could be con- structed, with the municipality and the private businesses shar- ing the building and the "cost. Early projections for such a building are pegged around the $2 million mark. "There: has been some interest from the development sector," Ward 2 Councillor Marilyn Pearce said dur- ing a finance and admin- istration committee meeting last week. She asked when a Request For Proposal document would be drafted up and released. In return, she was told an RFP may be ready as early as June. Any work on a new municipal office will not begin until at least 2002. AS RE a -------- EY Durham Police report Pop vending machine found in rural ditch Durham Regional Police officers are scratching their heads over the unusual discovery made in a ditch on Beacock Rd. in Scugog last week. Officers answering a cit- izen's report found a Pepsi vending machine in the ditch on the rural road. The door appeared to have been forced open and the change removed. What has left police with a mystery on their hands is the owner of the machine. No vending machines have been reported stolen anywhere in the region and how the machine came to such a rural set- ting remains a puzzle. Anyone with informa- tion on this, or any other crime is asked to 'call Durham Regional Police at 905-579-1520, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222- TIPS, Cash rewards are offered and callers can remain anonymous. Durham, added Mr. Milligan. After some discus- sion, the increase was approved by committee members. Councillors also received a report from township treasurer Kim McCann that outlined Statistics Canada figures showing that the non- residential construction price index for the peri- od of March 2000 to March 2001 indicated an inflationary increase of 8.68 per cent. Using that figure, Ms McCann's report recom- mended that Scugog officials raise the town- ship development charge for a fully-ser- viced single or semi- detached residential unit to $4,834, an increase of $386. Jou) Development contri- butions are received in consideration of expens- es to be incurred as a result of the construction of new residential or commercial buildings. The rate may be adjusted on July 1 of each year. If the rate hike is approved, township offi- cials "should expect a plethora of (building) Ig permit requests in june" before the increase takes effect, said Ward 2 Councillor Marilyn Pearce. Regional . Councillor Ken Carruthers noted that residential and industrial building per- mits across Durham "are significantly down" in the first quarter of 2001. The report was received for information. Men' 's, Women's & Kids' Crewneck, V-neck T-shirts & Tanks - selected styles / {14/7 ( TTAPS Wi HH EOGOES ILANCO J / 4 I ; Se Lolumi / (4 git) \ - #5 HxLLYWOOD 20% off Vien"s & Women's SY 1113 Cl YY im 163 (Juceen A ¢ 10H E PIV REY RE Port Pern ), § ) | a JAN | OsnKosn BIR AE [EN ON {fool i a aE PN Sg - TCI i -------- li, * oH me TIT pg