Fees going up for many townwide services in Hadley

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 02-08-2023 7:39 PM

HADLEY — Fee increases and changes in how costs for town services are calculated are being made for inspections at homes, restaurants and other businesses, while the cost of certain permits and the fees for some recreational programs are also rising.

The Select Board voted unanimously last week to adopt the recommended changes developed as part of a detailed overview by town departments, including the Department of Public Works, the Fire Department, the Board of Health and Park & Recreation.

Select Board member Molly Keegan said a similar fee review was done several years ago, but not all departments recommended changes at that time.

Comparisons were made to other communities in the region in setting the fees.

In recommending fee increases for DPW services, Director Scott McCarthy noted his department had not sought them for years, and that economic factors — mainly the rising costs of employee time and department operations — made them appropriate.

One change will be to the cost of connecting residential water service, with a 1-inch line typical for a home being doubled from the current $400. “Contacting other communities, we feel $800 is an appropriate fee,” McCarthy said.

Water lines that are 1½ inches will go from $500 to $1,500. McCarthy’s spreadsheet shows Northampton charges $1,250 per dwelling for a similar size water line.

Grease trap inspections are going from $75 to $100 and driveway permits from $50 to $100.

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“A lot of towns around us, they’re a lot more,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy also recommended doing away with second meters for people who water their lawns and gardens. Having an additional meter for outside uses means people are not also charged for the water going into the sewer system.

“With all the water use restrictions coming into play, outdoor watering is going to become a thing of the past in any kind of drought situation,” McCarthy said.

There are modest increases in building and electrical inspection fees, such as the cost for inspecting an in-ground swimming pool going from $110 to $125. The town will also implement a $100 reinspection fee due to the time-consuming nature of this work.

“We were a little lenient with it before, but some people, the same people, were doing it over and over, and it is taking up too much of their time,” said Dede Dibrindisi, the permitting coordinator.

Food truck inspections are rising from $100 to $200. Those are set at $150 in Northampton. Inspections at large restaurants, like Applebee’s, will go from $300 to $500. Those are $100, plus a square footage charge, in Northampton.

Various program fees for Park & Recreation are also rising. Cheerleading, for instance, will cost $200 instead of $125, and 3-on-3 basketball will be $95 instead of $75.

For fire, Fire Chief Michael Spanknebel said his department last changed fees in 2009, and he reached out to Northampton, Amherst, Holyoke and one smaller community to get a comparison.

Spanknebel said the biggest change is to set the hourly inspection at $65, up from $50, and charging gas stations on a gallon basis, rather than by tank. Previously, gas stations were charged $125 per tank, no matter the size, along with a $25 permit fee.

Spanknebel said this wasn’t fair, as the Stop & Shop gas station, with a 30,000-gallon tank, paid $150 every three years, while Cumberland Farms and Pride were paying $400 to $600 every three years.

The permit fee will double to $50 and the inspection fee will now be set by size of all the tanks together. The charges are $75 up to 1,000 gallons. $175 for 1,001 to 5,000 gallons, $375 for 5,001 to 20,000 gallons and $575 for over 20,000 gallons.

“It makes more sense, and it will keep it consistent across the board,” Spanknebel said.

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