County ups building fees after 21 years

Dealing with rules that have gone unchanged since the 1990s is a frequent challenge for the Putnam County Plan Commission and Putnam County Board of Zoning Appeals.

While a new planning ordinance and comprehensive plan have been discussed and may be on the horizon, such a large undertaking takes time.

In the meantime, county officials are undertaking some of the changes a little at a time.

The Putnam County Commissioners passed two such ordinances during their first December meeting, increasing building permit and inspection fees as well as adding event venues as special exceptions.

The Plan Commission had already passed both ordinances, with the commissioners’ approval needed for them to become law.

The first move was to double permit fees and inspection fees across the board. While a twofold increase may seem extreme, it’s worth noting that the old fees were set in the previous millennium.

“In 1998, these fees were put in place,” County Planner Don Hatfield said. “Twenty years is a long time.”

He noted that the transportation fees — both in gas expended and time spent — make a big difference.

“This is a big county. I do a lot of driving,” Hatfield said.

It should also be noted how relatively cheap the inspection fees are in Putnam County. In Hendricks County, typical inspection fees for a new structure (some of which might require a half dozen inspections) are nearly $1,500.

Locally, that number is just $340.

To take a one- or two-family dwelling as an example, the old fee for a permit was $200 base per unit, plus 10 cents per each square foot more than $1,000. It is now a $400 base plus 20 cents for each additional square foot.

The inspection fee for such structures — which require four inspections — went from $30 to $60 per inspection.

Some of the increased fees are much lower (a basement permit went from $20 to $40) while others are much higher (some commercial buildings went from a $1,000 base to $2,000).

A complete schedule of permit and inspection fees can be obtained at the Putnam County Building and Planning office, 23 W. Franklin St., Greencastle. For more information call 301-9108 or email pcplanning@yahoo.com.

The commissioners passed the new fee structure 3-0.

With the new permit fees in place, the commissioners moved on to a type of structure not previously addressed in the county laws — event venues.

It’s an issue the BZA has had to address on a case-by-case basis in recent years, with several such venues — generally utilized for weddings and banquets — opened in the county in recent years.

While these have not necessarily been problematic, the idea is to have such venues already named among the allowed special exceptions to certain zones in order to give the BZA a way to specifically address them.

Commissioner Rick Woodall initially expressed some concern over the proposed ordinance, wondering if it might step on the toes of private landowners who just want to host a party once in a while.

“Are we trying to stop people from having events at their barns?” Woodall asked. “Who determines if this is a banquet hall or event center.”

County Attorney Jim Ensley noted that this addresses locations that approach such events as a business, noting that it has to involve fees for rental in order to be considered an event venue.

He added that it wasn’t a matter of playing gotcha and that the already established venues have already been granted special exceptions of their own.

Much like the county passing a similar law for wind farms earlier this year, it’s another case of catching up with the times, addressing things that weren’t common when the county adopted zoning 26 years ago.

“We’re dealing with an ordinance written in 1993,” Ensley said. “We’re playing catch-up all the time.”

The commissioners also passed this ordinance 3-0.

The county is also changing the oversight on the installation of septic systems.

Lisa Zeiner of the Putnam County Health Department noted that the systems are often being installed incorrectly and by contractors or individuals without certification to install them.

When Zeiner inspects such systems, she has no choice but to fail them, a step she would like to avoid.

Under the new ordinance, approved unanimously by the commissioners, only certified contractors will be able to install septic systems. Such certifications come from the Putnam County Health Department, the Indiana Onsite Wastewater Professional Association or, in two particular cases, the manufacturer of the system.

The ordinance also establishes a timeframe for Zeiner to complete her work. She described receiving calls in the past in which a contractor was basically demanding that she be there that afternoon.

Installers will now have to give Zeiner at least two days notice before they want an inspection performed. Additionally, the Health Department will have 30 days for review and approval or denial of the septic design. The 30 days starts after the soil report, application and design have been received by the Health Department.

Zeiner said she generally has the process completed eight days or less.

The new ordinance also actually has some teeth in the case of those who continue to move forward with a noncompliant system. Previously, the fine had been $100. That has been increased to $1,000.

Prior to the commissioners approving the ordinance, Zeiner assured them that the wording of the ordinance had the approval of the State Department of Health, Ensley, the Putnam County Board of Health and even of contractors whose input she has sought.

In other business:

• The commissioners voted to write a letter of support for West Central Indiana Economic Development District in its pursuit of a $600,000 brownfields grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Pursuing the grant will not cost the county any money. However, as much support as possible in the six-county region (Putnam, Clay, Parke, Vermillion, Vigo and Sullivan) should help West Central in its application.

The grant money will help in assessing potentially contaminated sites, such as those with buried fuel tanks.

• The commissioners also approved the 2020 holidays for county offices and employees, abiding by the State of Indiana list for the year: New Year’s Day (Jan. 1), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 20), Good Friday (April 10), Primary Election Day (May 5), Memorial Day (May 25), Independence Day (July 3), Labor Day (Sept. 7), Columbus Day (Oct. 12), Election Day (Nov. 3), Veterans Day (Nov. 11), Thanksgiving (Nov. 26), Lincoln’s birthday (Nov. 27), Washington’s birthday (Dec. 24) and Christmas (Dec. 25).

It should be noted that Independence Day falls on a Saturday, so offices will be closed on Friday, July 3 instead. Also, Lincoln’s birthday and Washington’s birthday are officially observed on the dates noted in order to give state and county employees the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve off.

• Commissioner meeting days and times will remain unchanged in 2020. The board will continue to meet at 9 a.m. on the first and third Monday of each month on the first floor of the Putnam County Courthouse.

The only two exceptions will be meetings on Tuesday, Jan. 20 and Tuesday, Sept. 8 because of the observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Labor Day on those respective Mondays.