PELHAM – The Pelham City Council at a meeting on Monday, Nov. 19, approved an ordinance to increase the city’s building permit fees.

The fee increases will take effect in early December. The building fee increases came at the recommendation of Building Department official Bob Miller.

In October 2017 when Miller became the department head for the Building Department, he said he realized that permit fees had not been adjusted in about 25 years. The adjustments will better align the city’s fees with what services actually cost.

“I looked at permit fees for surrounding cities, such as Alabaster, Hoover, Helena and Chelsea, and some fees were triple what we are charging,” Miller said. “Even with the proposed increases, we would still have the lowest fees in Shelby County.”

In addition to adjusting fees, Miller said he is striving to make the city of Pelham a one-stop shop with top-notch customer service for people wanting to do business in the city.

The city’s new building permit fees are as follows:

-Valuation of $2,000 or less – $50

-Valuation of $2,001 to $5,000 – $50 for the first $2,000, plus $6 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof.

– Valuation of $50,001 to $100,000 – $300 for the first $50,000, plus $5 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof.

– Valuation of $100,001 to $150,000 – $550 for the first $100,000, plus $5 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof.

-Valuation of $150,001 to $200,000 – $756 for the first $150,000, plus $5 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof.

-Valuation of $200,001 to $500,000 – $1,000 for the first $200,000, plus $5 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof.

-Valuation of $500,000 and up – $2,500 for the first $500,000, plus $5 for each additional thousand or fraction thereof.

-All commercial properties: State Craft Fee will be added to the permit cost – $1 for every $1,000

-New business inspection fee – $30

-Moving or demolition fee – $300 for any building

-Re-inspection fee – $50

-Issue fee for each permit – $10

In other business, the council:

-Declared November National Hospice and Palliative Care Month.
-Recognized Bobby Joe Seales for the publication of “Pelham Memories: A Pictorial History.”
-Declared personal property of the city as surplus property.