City Services Transition Nears Completion; Permit Fees Among Final Issues

By Dave Freneaux

  City of Central officials met again Tuesday with representatives of IBTS and CH2M Hill to continue working toward a smooth transition of City Services a week from Friday.  One of the most problematic issues is likely to be permit fees.  Central Speaks contacted Mayor Watts Wednesday for an update on this issue.  The Mayor explained that three major items remaining in negotiation are permits which have been paid where final inspections cannot yet be done, permits for the very large new school construction currently underway, and the issue of CH2M Hill's offer of a refund of 5% of permit fees earlier in this fiscal year totalling approximately $16,000.  Mayor Watts explained that discussing the details of the negotiations might have an adverse affect on the outcome, and asked that people allow the negotiations to run their course before jumping to any conclusions.  Mayor Watts assures that every effort is being made to see that the tax dollars and permit fees of the citizens of Central are protected.