Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeThursday, Jan. 15, 2009
Franklin County commissioners don't count on extra funds from building permits
By Joe Chapman, Herald staff writer
For two years in a row, Franklin County has collected significantly more money from building permits than expected, but officials hesitate to count on an increase again this year.
"Two years does not a trend make," said Commissioner Brad Peck during the county commission meeting Wednesday.
The county collected about $466,000 for 350 building permits in 2008, well over the forecast of $275,000.
However, the department collected more money because several permits were for projects with greater construction costs than is typical, said Planning Director Jerrod MacPherson.
Those projects generally were agricultural, and included expanding the Oakdale Egg Farms plant north of Pasco and constructing the Coulee Flats Dairy near Mesa.
The extra money will about cover the department's operating costs, which normally run $150,000 to $200,000 in the red, MacPherson said.
The 2008 collection was similar to 2007, when the county collected $429,000 after anticipating $255,000.
Regardless, MacPherson said he couldn't be confident the county will receive more than $255,000 this year, given the economic downturn.
"The Tri-Cities has always been not a good indicator of the national economy, but there's a lot of nervous people out there right now," he said.
It will be interesting to see how many houses are built in the county this year, MacPherson said. Plans for seven new subdivisions were approved last year, with streets, water lines and electricity in place. The bulk of any new houses will be custom-built for specific buyers, he predicted.
Also Wednesday, the county awarded contracts for two construction projects.
One, awarded to Hurst Construction of East Wenatchee, is to fill in roadside ditches to reduce the chance of rollovers when drivers run off the road.
The safety improvements will come on the heels of another project to install flashing lights and overhead illumination at several intersections. The county will use any money left over from both projects to flatten mounds and slopes obstructing views at intersections, including at Taylor Flats and Selph Landing roads, where two people died in a collision in September.
The other contract, awarded to Apollo Construction of Kennewick, is to lower a canal and replace a pressure line ahead of a project to extend Road 100 and Dent Road later this year.
The county received 11 bids for both contracts that were awarded Tuesday. There were about twice as many bidders as usual, including several from outside the Tri-Cities, said Tim Fife, county public works director.
The variety resulted in good deals for the county, he said. Each contract was for about $75,000, while the engineer's estimate for each was about $145,000.
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