Township will collect record amount of fees

The reason: three large building projects, including a new middle school.
& lt;A HREF=MAILTO:HILL@VINDY.COM & gt;BY IAN HILL & lt;/A & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The township most likely will collect a record amount of fees for construction permits this year, township Zoning Inspector Michael Kurilla Jr. says.
He said Austintown could see as much as $45 million in new business and residential construction this year, allowing the township to collect up to $270,000 in permit fees. The cost of a township construction permit is $6 for every $1,000 worth of new construction.
Over the past decade, the most spent on new construction in one year was $32.7 million in 1998, Kurilla said. The cost of a zoning permit in 1998 was less than it is now, he noted.
In 2003, the township collected about $145,000 in permit fees for $24.3 million in new construction.
Money collected from permit fees is used for zoning department operations. The department had a $153,000 budget in 2003.
After the department is fully funded, any additional money could be transferred to the township general fund.
Township Clerk Michael Kurish has said the township needs to raise about $412,000 this year to repay a loan it took out to cover a deficit in its general fund from 2003. He said he expects the township to be able to repay the loan and end this year in the black in part because of the amount of permit fees that will be collected.
The projects
Kurilla noted the largest project in the township this year is expected to be the construction of the new middle school on South Raccoon Road. The school board is expected to spend about $17.5 million on constructing the school and $105,000 on township permit fees.
"A project of that magnitude comes along once in a decade, once every two decades," Kurilla said.
The township also could collect $18,000 in fees this year from the construction of a $3 million shopping plaza at the southwest corner of Mahoning Avenue and state Route 46 and $10,620 from the construction of the $1.7 million Humility of Mary Health Partners' emergency and diagnostic center on Mahoning Avenue.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;hill@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;