ST.PAULS — Residents here will have to wait until after the holidays to learn who the new town administrator will be.
“We’ve interviewed a couple of people. We need to get past the holidays,” Mayor Gerard Weindel said. “It’s tough to be able to get people to schedule at this time. We’ll bring this to the table in January or February.”
The position has been vacant since the resignation of J.R. Steigerwald on Aug. 8. Town Clerk Debra McNeill and other town staff members have been performing the administrator’s duties.
Weindel referred to Steigerwald’s knowledge when setting town zoning fees.
“J.R. had his own system,” Weindel said.
The commissioners adopted a new schedule of fees that will be charged to companies and business owners that must have the town review their construction plans, revisions and final plans that require engineering and infrastructure checks. The fees range from $25 to $450 depending on the type of permit requested, the type of structure, how many lots or units are in a housing division or complex, signage required, and the zoning required.
Residents making changes to their home will be provided a written guide for zoning fees for permits required before changes, such as adding a fence or a swimming pool, are made to the home.
The town went to other small towns in Cumberland and Robeson counties to get an idea of rates to charge.
Also Thursday, the board members voted to allow a property owner to keep a lean-to that had been built against a home for storage and converted into a prayer room.
“You cannot attach a lean-to to a building that you’ve already got, according to the zoning ordinance. There’s got to be a minimum of 10 feet between them,” Commissioner Evans Jackson said. “You can’t build a storage building then build it, then attach it and turn around and call it something else. We’re making people move fences and doing all this other stuff in town. There’s no reason why we can’t do something. Man down the street here put up a nice fence, and because it was in the wrong place, he had to move it. Why is she any different?”
In other business, the board members:
— Approved a new definition of mobile home classifications. Now they will be Class A, a double-wide, and Class B, a single-wide.
— Approved allowing consignment shops in the Central Business area. Flea markets and swap shops are still prohibited.
