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Hooper Council begins comprehensive fee-schedule review covering parks, planning and public-works charges
Summary
Staff presented a line-by-line review of the city fee schedule (last updated 2021) at the July 17 work meeting. Proposed changes included a $100 development reinspection fee, adjustments to subdivision and lot-line fees, new public-works equipment cost rates for code enforcement recovery, and proposed resident/nonresident park rental rates.
Council and staff spent a large portion of the July 17 work meeting reviewing Hooper’s fee schedule, last revised in 2021. Staff circulated draft changes and asked the council for direction; no final votes were taken at the work session.
Key proposals discussed included a $100 development escrow reinspection fee to cover repeated inspections beyond the first two, changes to single-family subdivision fees (including a per-lot engineering charge adjustment), and a proposed $2.75 lot-line-adjustment fee. Public Works recommended specific cost-recovery rates for equipment used in code-enforcement work (loader/backhoe, street sweeper, operator time) and emphasized that those charges are intended for municipal cost recovery, not commercial rental.
Parks staff proposed a resident/nonresident tier for Bowery/pavilion rentals: a combined large-bowery-plus-kitchen fee (proposed $100 resident, $200 nonresident) and a smaller bowery fee (proposed $50 resident, $100 nonresident). The council discussed operational issues (access to lights, water, cleaning supplies) and whether to require credit-card-on-file in place of refundable deposits to simplify post-event accounting.
Staff also reported a number of other line-item edits: adding a development-escrow fee for repeat reinspections, updating sewer connection permit language to include subdivision per-lot surcharges, and aligning some asphalt and crack-seal rates with current contract costs. Jared (public works) clarified some proposed hourly/equipment rates and told the council these are intended to capture actual city costs when staff perform work for code enforcement.
Council asked staff to collect comparative data from neighboring municipalities and to return with any suggested changes and recommended thresholds; several items will be revised and returned for decision at a future meeting.
