Perry re-evaluates fire fee, gives churches break

PERRY — Some relief from the city’s year-old fire fee may soon be coming for places of worship and apartment complexes should the City Council vote Tuesday to decrease the fees for such establishments.

All churches in Perry currently fall under “significant” or “maximum” risk instead of “moderate,” the cheapest classification in the three-tiered fire fee schedule for non-residential properties, said City Manager Lee Gilmour.

“(After) talking with (Fire) Chief Gray and taking a look at some of the provisions that can be implemented, we are recommending that council remove churches, synagogues, temples etcetera from those higher expensive risks over to the moderate risks,” Gilmour said. “Unlike a grocery store or a school, churches don’t have activities going on constantly all the time.”

As an example of the change, Gilmour said a church paying $293 could see their fee decrease to as low as $112.

“The actual amount goes back to the square footage of heated and air-conditioned space,” Gilmour said.

Gilmour brought the change up to council members about an hour after Ron Nolan, pastor at Perry’s First Christian Church, asked for financial relief from the fire fee.

“It’s kind of a hardship for nonprofits like ourselves and it kind of catches us at the end of the budget,” Nolan told the Council. “It’s not that we don’t want to participate (in the fire fee) For us, we can’t pass it to the customer, it just means that things that we do in our community are just going to be taken back by that.”

Nolan was asked to stay for the duration of the meeting and after said he was pleased with the council’s discussion.

Fire Chief Joel Gray said fees will also be more equal for apartment complexes. One example of fee inequality Gray named was Ashton Landing Apartments, which has a little more than 100 units, and Houston Lake Apartments, which has more than 300 units.

“By the old formula, they’re both paying the cap ... It’s really not fair to one or the other of them. Ashton Landings is either paying way too much or they’re not paying nearly enough,” Gray said. “Overall, (the change) is trying to bring some equality across the board.”

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 10:19 PM with the headline "Perry re-evaluates fire fee, gives churches break ."