Housing Authority officials seek to waive fees on state-funded project
More than $1 million in renovations is scheduled to take place at Agawam Village this April. The project is being funded by the state, but the Wareham Housing Authority, which operates Agawam Village, has been left on the hook for the permitting fees.
Housing Authority officials went before Selectmen Tuesday to discuss the possibility of waiving or reducing the permit fees, instead of taking money out of the Housing Authority budget to pay for them.
While some town officials were willing to look into the possibility of waiving the fees, for others it was an outright "no."
Housing Authority Board member Jane Donahue asked the board to consider waiving the fees since the fees are not revenue the town would normally be counting on and that the renovations are essentially "a gift" from the state. Donahue said many other local communities waive permitting fees for Housing Authorities.
She said the Wareham Housing Authority is just getting in bids for proposals now, so there isn't an exact figure for the permits and fees, but it would about $12,000. That figure would be three percent of the Housing Authority budget.
"That takes away from the ordinary maintenance and the ordinary things we would be doing on a regular basis," she said.
Selectmen Peter Teitelbaum and Patrick Tropeano both said they want to know the exact amount before making any decisions on waivers. Selectman Judith Whiteside, however, said she would not waive the fees.
"For me to indicate I would be willing to waive fees that I would not waive for anyone else is not what I can support," she said.
Town Administrator Derek Sullivan also supported not waiving the fees.
"We know we have other residents in the community that are seniors and low-income and we don't waive the fees for them," he said.
Selectman Alan Slavin echoed the sentiments of Selectmen Teitelbaum and Tropeano and said the board would have to see what the actual cost would be before making a decision. He said the Housing Authority made a similar request last year and the town declined to waive the fees.
