PERMIT ACTIVITY BRISK IN FAIRFAX

Homes built top 30 for second year
By Isaac Olson - Messenger Correspondent
FAIRFAX - Permit activity is similar to last year and the zoning department should remain within budget, according to the zoning administrator's activity report given to selectmen Monday night.

The report states there were 108 building permits in 2003 and in 2004 there were 152. There were 31 new homes in 2003 and 35 in 2004. There were 81 compliances in 2003 and 51 in 2004.

These numbers were measured between Jan. 1 and Nov. 29. There are currently about 20 homes being built, he said.

"Fairfax has been a rapidly growing town for quite some time now," said Zoning Administrator Skip Taylor.

Taylor explained the building permits were mostly for things like patios, sheds, decks, porches and pools. The number of compliances spiked in 2003, he said, with the offering of lower interest rates. Compliances are issued in cases of refinancing or selling. Selectman Doug Webb said it seems like there is a lot of permit activity for a town the size of Fairfax.

“I wonder if it will continue," Webb said.

Despite legal bills rolling it at three times the projected amount, Taylor said the town should he ending the fiscal year within budget. There was $3,000 budgeted for the year, he said, but most recent numbers indicate an estimated $12,000 bid. The majority of that, he said, goes to attorney fees.

"Legal fees are hard to predict," said Taylor.

The zoning office began the year with a $40,000 budget and collected, as of Nov. 15, $44,050 in zoning fees the report states.

In other news, Don Pigeon, road foreman for the town, told the board the grader has been repaired costing about $10 000. The majority of that, he said, was in labor because there were four bad bearings buried in the transmission that needed to be replaced. This preventive maintenance, he said, will save the town much money down the road.

"For the last five years it had a wicked vibration in it," Pigeon said "But now it's back. It runs good. It still moves dirt around."