Tea City Council sets amount for school building permit

The Tea City Council met March 5 and discussed what should be the appropriate amount the school should pay for a building permit.

Mayor John Lawler noted the council had talked after the school district’s last addition on Legacy Elementary that moving forward they would not be as lenient for schools and churches due to the hard costs the city incurs during the building process. That amount was $16,807, which includes rezoning, annexation fees, platting fees, site plan review from the city engineer, code review and water/sewer hookups. He said that does not include anything for a building permit, which is a percent of the total project cost.

Councilman Casey Voelker was concerned about having enough money for the water meter hookup when the time comes to hookup with Sioux Falls.

The council decided to adjust the building permit fee for the new school to $26,807.

HDR engineer Ben Scholtz has been working with Harvard and DeGeest about the drainage pipe from the Harvard property. Scholtz was planning to write a letter that was a mutual agreement between the two businesses acknowledging the change for the site plan.

The council approved the second reading of ordinance 253, a zoning ordinance amending chapter 4, R-1 single family residential, section 4.02 lot and yard regulations.

They also approved the construction administration services agreement for phase one of the 271st Street improvements with HDR. Work on the project should begin around April 1, weather permitting. The township is still interested in paving part of their road at the end of the city’s section.

On 468th Avenue, Scholtz said they are continuing to work on drainage issues. He found out there is a grant program with the highway department that works specifically with projects next to federal lands. They will submit an application by the May 15 deadline. If it gets approved, construction probably would not begin until 2020.