A new $100,000 home in Austin requires a building permit that costs between $600 and $800.

Friday, June 16, 2000

A new $100,000 home in Austin requires a building permit that costs between $600 and $800.

A new $200,000 home can be constructed with a building permit that costs $1,200.

Meanwhile, a new $100,000 home in Brownsdale can be built with a $2 building fee.

In fact, a $250,000 home can be constructed in Brownsdale for the same $2 fee.

Charging a building permit fee is only one of the flies in the ointment that supporters hope a new Mower County uniform building code will bring.

How much to charge? Who does the inspections to assure the code requirements are met? How many inspections? Will it start with residential buildings only and then encompass agriculture buildings, too?

There were many questions raised Thursday night when the Mower County Board of Commissioners hosted a meeting of township and municipal officials at the Government Center in Austin.

Last March, a similar meeting was held at Elkton to ascertain the interest in adopting a new uniform building code in Mower County.

Presently, Austin has its own code, while individual municipalities may govern themselves on building matters and the townships have none.

Dan Wilson, Austin’s fire chief, encouraged the township and municipal officials at the March meeting to consider supporting a countywide code to ensure fire safety measures were in place for residents.

Then, a survey was conducted of all 20 townships in the county at the behest of David Hillier, Third District county commissioner.

According to Daryl W. Franklin, county planner and zoning administrator, six townships wanted more information, five supported a code and nine were against it.

So, another meeting was held Thursday night to hear more input about the prospect of such a code.

If the idea would be pursued, it would first come before the Mower County Planning Commission and be considered at a public hearing. Then, the county Planning Commission’s recommendation would go to the county board, which also would hold a public hearing.

At this stage, the county board is still in the information-gathering stage only.

Last night, Kiven Lukes, a 12-year veteran of the London Township Board, told how Freeborn County’s uniform building code has worked for the last 15 years.

According to Lukes, it has worked so well, "I can’t imagine not having it.

"As far as I know, I’ve never heard a complaint," he said, adding that Freeborn County enforces the code and the townships have no role whatsoever.

Franklin said having a code could have assisted Mower County, when the "mission" situation developed last summer. That occurred when Hispanic workers brought to Austin by a firm hired by Quality Pork Processors Inc. attempted to turn a former motel in Lansing Township into a temporary housing facility.

The county was forced to request the state fire marshal to inspect the building to determine whether it was a safe and fit place for many people to live.

Harold Boverhuis, a contractor and a member of the Lansing Township Board, said a uniform building code is the "best protection for consumers there is."

Marvin Foster, a home builder and the mayor of Brownsdale, disagreed and so did Robert Kuhlman, chairman of the Pleasant Valley Township Board.

Foster said simply having a building code does not by itself guarantee quality or control over the quality of work performed by a contractor.

Kuhlman said the fees will drive the costs of construction up and waiting for a building inspector to arrive at a site will cause delays in construction projects.

Kuhlman said, "Let the buyer beware" remains good advice for all consumers.

Bill Sweetser, chairman of the Bennington Township Board, said his township was one of the nine to oppose the code. "We believe it’s another layer of government we don’t need," Sweetser said.

David Gilderhus, Clayton Township Board clerk, said a too-restrictive code could clash with homeowners’ plans.

"People want to build a home they way they want them," he said.

Richard P. Cummings, First District county commissioner, called Craig Hoium, Franklin’s counterpart with Austin city government, and obtained examples of building permit fees charged by the city.

Then, Foster responded with Brownsdale’s $2 fee for a house of any estimated value.

As far as fire safety concerns, Pleasant Valley’s Kuhlman said the code’s restrictions on building materials and door or window widths might work in a city, but not the countryside. "Out there, they’re too far away to save anything more than the foundation or the combined frame. It would only work in the city," Kuhlman said.

Boverhuis and Epley spoke for a uniform set of regulations. Epley said a certified house inspection could enhance its value when it is resold to another buyer.

In the end, Boverhuis of Lansing Township wondered aloud, "Mower County may be the only county without a uniform building code. It’s hard to believe that we’re the only county that’s right."