City repeals most building codes

Building permits are no longer required in Clarendon following action taken by the City Council at its regular meeting last Thursday.

Two weeks after a visit from a representative of the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, city aldermen deliberated the municipal codes governing such things as construction and electrical and plumbing work and the costs associated with inspecting those activities.

City Administrator David Dockery said after the meeting that the city feels there is no longer a need for building permits due to the low volume of construction in Clarendon and because of the requirements for inspections to be performed by a certified inspector.

The council voted to specifically repeal codes governing plumbing and electrical materials in houses moved into the city, fences extending into streets or alleys, the building code, the residential code, the plumbing code, the fuel gas code, the mechanical code, and the electrical code.

Still in force are codes governing Property Maintenance and Dangerous Structures.

City officials say plumbing, electrical, building, and mechanical work within the corporate limits of Clarendon will now fall exclusively under state laws governing those areas.

In other city business, the council approved increases to animal fees, raising the cost of dog tags from $1 to $5, the first increase for dog tags since 1901. Other increased rates were impounding, $55 up from $50; boarding, $10 up from $8; and adoptions, $27.50 up from $25.

A schedule of fees was adopted to cover the cost of city workers and city equipment during demolitions of dilapidated properties. Those fees are published in a legal notice in this week’s Enterprise.

The council took no action on electrical bids for work at the City Barn, and approved a proposal by architect Lynn Ramsey to conduct an ADA evaluation of City Hall.

Ronna Newman was appointed to a vacant seat on the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation Board, and aldermen accepted the contract with the Donley Appraisal District for the collection of taxes for fiscal year 2017.