Brookfield village trustees later this month are expected to approve an ordinance waiving most building permit fees for the future construction of the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library.
During a brief discussion of the issue at the village board’s committee of the whole meeting on June 24, trustees appeared to agree with Village Manager Timothy Wiberg that assessing those fees amounted to a double tax.
“We serve the exact same taxing people,” Wiberg said. “It’s kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul. They’re getting their revenue from the same people we get our revenue from.”
The village assesses a 1.75 percent building permit fee based on the estimated total cost of construction. Wiberg estimated that the village’s building permit would cost the library about $183,000.
While trustees are likely to waive that fee, the library will still be on the hook for fees associated with third-party plan review, which Brookfield hires out to a firm named B&F Construction Code Services; engineering review, which is handled by Hancock Engineering; and legal review, which is handled by the village’s law firm, Storino, Ramello and Durkin.
“The separating line will be anything the village isn’t paying out of pocket for,” Wiberg said. “The Brookfield Library is fully ready to pay for those fees.”
The Brookfield Public Library’s architects are close to completing plans to be submitted to the village for its final planned unit development application. Those plans are expected to be in to the village planner by the end of July and before the Brookfield Planning and Zoning Commission by the end of August.
If everyone hews to that timeline, the village board could approve the final planned development on Sept. 23, which would keep the library board on track to break ground for the new library next spring on land it owns at 3541 Park Ave.
Even if the final approval timeline changes a bit, construction would still be targeted for 2020.
Once the new library is built, the present library at 3609 Grand Blvd. will be demolished to create additional parking and green space.
