Summit Hill borough officials have in past meetings mentioned attracting new businesses to the community.

On Tuesday night, two construction contractors complained to the borough council that exorbitant engineering fees are a deterrent to such an objective.

Ian Miller, who owns properties on West Ludlow Street, said a mere $2,500 project that entails new electric, plumbing, and new signs would require $7,800 in permit fees from the borough’s engineer.

Lehigh Engineering of Pottsville handles the Uniform Construction Code enforcement for the borough.

He said the fees for permits are much higher in the hilltop community than they are in the neighboring communities of Lansford, Jim Thorpe, Coaldale and Nesquehoning.

“It’s crippling people to even work on their own properties,” he said.

He said because of the permits and analogous inspections, a project that should take only a couple of weeks will take more than a year to complete.

Jimmy Gjoca of Lansford agreed, saying, “The fees we’re getting charged is beyond compare.”

Miller said he is a longtime resident of the borough and intends to be a positive influence. “We want to grow our business here and we want to thrive here,” he said.

His wife, Michele Midas, is the owner of The Midas Touch Hair Salon who had attempted to move her business from one site on West Ludlow Street to another but was halted by the permit process. She explained that she installed a new electric panel and it was inspected by PPL. She said despite this, she was forced to stop the move because more permits and inspections were needed.

“The meter box was there, we just upgraded the panels,” Miller said, adding the work was forced to stop.

Miller handed a spreadsheet to the council comparing fees charged by Lehigh Engineering with costs in neighboring towns.

He said a $50,000 remodel project in Summit Hill would require $8,340 in permit fees, well over twice the amount of the fees in Lansford. In Jim Thorpe, the fees for such work would be $2,026 and in Coaldale it would be $1,650.

Alteration, renovation and repair permits in Summit Hill cost 2.5% of the project cost or a minimum of $1,000. Lansford’s fee is 2.5% of the project cost or a minimum of $240. In Coaldale, the total cost for the permit fee up to $10,000 is $100. Nesquehoning’s engineer charges 1.5 percent of the project total with a $475 minimum, according to Miller.

A Certificate of Occupancy fee from Lehigh Engineers is $900 in Summit Hill, said Miller, while in neighboring Lansford the fee is just $180.

“This is not good to hear,” said Joseph Weber, vice president of the council. “I think we need to discuss this.”

He said, “We’re going to take a look at the fee schedule, I can promise you that.”

“It’s almost impossible to do anything in this town,” Miller said.

Weber said, “Give us a little bit of time. I promise you we’ll check into it.”

Weber set a special meeting of the council for 6:30 p.m. on March 2 to discuss the matter.

Lehigh Engineering also does residential rental inspections for the borough.

Gjoca has eight rental properties that were inspected by Lehigh Engineering with six of them failing.

On a related note, the borough council unanimously adopted a resolution setting fees for municipal services, permits, license and other charges.

Among the fees are $30 for a 20-yard dumpster, valid for 30 days; $500 for a zoning board hearing, $15 for a police report, $35 for a copy of the zoning book and $700 for a less than 32-square feet street opening permit.

The complete list of fees is available at the borough hall.

The fee schedule for building permits — residential and commercial — are separate in accordance with the engineering firm.