Smithville to Require Commercial Developers to Pay Plan Review Fee

September 17, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Developers of commercial projects in the City of Smithville will now have to pay a plan review fee in addition to the cost of a building permit.

During a special meeting held Monday evening at city hall, the Aldermen voted 4-0 to adopt the new fee. Alderman Brandon Cox was absent.

The action was taken at the request of the city’s building codes inspector Lewis Bryant who addressed the mayor and aldermen last week to recommend the new fee.

“I recommend instituting some kind of plan review fee. The idea is to make sure a building is built according to code and done properly and to eliminate any problems or headaches before the building is already constructed,” said Bryant.

Building permits are issued for all construction in the city, residential and commercial and the fees are based on the square footage of the project. The cost for a plan review fee will have half the cost of a building permit. For example, if a building permit is issued for $3,000 for a commercial project, the developer would have to pay that in addition to another $1,500 for a plan review.

The plan review fee would apply to all new commercial construction and remodeling projects in which a building permit is required including businesses, industries, churches, and schools. Although building permits would continue to be required for residential construction, no plan review fee would be assessed for those projects.

According to Bryant plans for some commercial developments can be quite detailed and complex requiring a lot of time and effort to ensure their compliance which is one reason for implementing the fee.

“Whether it be a gymnastics building, restaurants, or any commercial project, I have to review the plans and after I do the inspections, I need those plans to look at to make sure the contractor is building according to the way the plans were drawn and engineered. It takes a lot of work and several hours to review some of those plans to make sure they meet the code requirements but it also helps the contractor or owner of the property by having a review process to catch any potential problems on the front end. If there is no plans review process and they get the building framed up and something doesn’t meet the code and hasn’t been done right there would be a lot more costs involved to fix it,” said Bryant.

Bryant has been the city’s building codes inspector since July 1.

The city pays him a commission of 65% from funds collected through issuance of building related permits. Bryant, a certified building codes inspector, also works in a similar role for the City of Algood.

September 16, 2019
By:

The DeKalb Middle School Cross Country teams competed at the Warrior Invitational meet at Riverdale High School on Saturday September 14th with temperatures reaching 90

The girls team placed 1st over all out of a field of 15 teams and 122 runners. The field was tough as they edged out two of their toughest competitors, Mt. Juliet Middle and CSTHEA Patriots from Chattanooga.

Their top 5 runners all placed in the top 15 covering the 2 mile course.

Ella Van Vranken-2nd: 12:55

Zoe Keys-3rd: 13:30

Katherine Knowles-7th:13:52

Mylie Phillips-10th: 14:02

Madeline Martin-14th: 14:26

Maleah Ruch: 63rd place 16:50

Sydney Polk:  66th place: 16:58

With the heat of the day setting in the boys team gave a solid performance finishing 8th out of a field of 20 teams and 141 runners. Kaleb Spears finished in the top 20 earning a medal.

Kaleb Spears-18th: 13:08

Ian Colwell- 33rd: 13:51

Caleb Gray- 47th: 14:09

Cale Brown- 62nd:14:28

Dylan Cathey- 72nd: 14:40

Carson Tramel-116th :16:44

Sam Harris-120th:16:59

With temps around 90 degrees, the JV girls team placed 5th overall out of a field of 8 teams. Cadence Reynolds was the 1st girl runner to cross the line for DeKalb with at time of 18:55. finishing 23rd out of a field of 82 girls. Followed by:

Sylvia Evans- 28th:19:12

Candice Rico-39th:20:05

Sadie Moore-40th:20:13

Mara Oakly-50th:20:58

JV Boys:

Ethan Spears- 1st runner for DeKalb: 18;51

Freddy Oberdier: 10:19

Jackson Hodges: 10:32

Mason Taylor: 22:56

September 16, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville Volunteer Fire Department was summoned to Kingston Incorporated on Miller Road this afternoon (Monday).

According to Chief Charlie Parker a fire started in a pile of crates and pallets outside behind the building. Smoke from the fire spread inside the factory forcing an evacuation of the employees.

No one was injured and there was apparently no structural damage to the building. Smithville Police and DeKalb EMS were also on the scene.

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