Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Shawano has seen a spike in building permits this year unrivaled by any previous year on record, according to building inspector Brian Bunke, with most of those going to home improvement and remodeling projects.
“As far as when records have been kept, this has been the busiest year Shawano has seen as far as permits being pulled,” Bunke said.
The previous record was 450 permits in 2007, he said.
This year, the city was at 627 permits as of late Thursday afternoon, including permits for such things as roof repairs, siding improvements and window upgrades.
Some of those improvements have been the result of a stricter enforcement of zoning codes by the city, as per the direction of the Common Council.
“It was the council wanting to make sure people are keeping up on their houses better than what they were in the past that provided for some of those permits to be pulled,” Bunke said.
That became a priority when Bunke was hired.
“I was directed that the council wanted to take care of a lot of the houses that weren’t up-kept in the city,” he said. “That wasn’t being done in the past.”
Bunke sent letters to property owners letting them know that upgrades needed to be made, whether it was peeling paint or roofs that needed to be repaired.
“You want to make the neighborhood look nice,” Bunke said. “You think back to the Norman Rockwell 1970s and every neighbor took care of their houses, and everything was fine and trimmed. The grass was perfect. The flowers came up. And I think we’ve gotten away from that a little bit.”
Bunke said economic considerations might be behind some of that change in attitude.
“I think society has just said, ‘This is what I can afford and I’ll live it with until I absolutely need to do something,’” he said.
Bunke said there are financial resources available for those who can’t afford improvements.
“We’ve been trying to work with them and give them options as far as working with the Community Development Block Grants, and a couple have been able to take up that offer,” he said. “If they qualify, they can have whatever’s needed done to the house. It doesn’t cost them a penny up front, but when they or their family sell the house then they have to pay off that loan, interest free.”
Some property owners had been expecting their properties to eventually come to the city’s attention.
“Some have even said they were surprised they haven’t gotten a letter before,” Bunke said.
The city has taken in just over $70,000 in revenue from building permits this year, compared to $53,000 last year.
Even with a record number of permits, the revenue is below the city’s “best year ever” in 2009, according to Bunke, when $70,310 was brought in.
That was mainly due to the costs associated with the Shawano School District’s new Hillcrest Primary School.
“That was the driving force of that year,” Bunke said.
The city’s previous building permit record of 450 in 2007 yielded $57,000 in revenue.
The revenue “is not really what it’s all about,” Bunke said.
The money goes to offsetting the cost of the building inspection department, rather than having that expense put on the tax bill.
Bunke said the largest project this year was the $11 million in improvements at Shawano Community Middle School, including air conditioning, coolers and other updates to the property.
Smaller commercial projects this year have included remodeling at McDonald’s and Burger King.
But 2017 could easily dwarf this year’s number of permits and possible revenue.
“Next year it’s going to be crazy if everything goes off the way people are saying they’re going to do,” Bunke said.
The largest project is paper packaging manufacturer Belmark, Inc., which has already started the groundwork for its new facility.
“They’ve already moved a ton of earth; maybe a million yards of sand and dirt’s been moved already up there,” Bunke said.
Other big projects include a proposed clinic, hospital and residency training center and the addition of a Prevea clinic to the community.
Bunke said the city has already received a preliminary plat map outlining Prevea’s plans.
Also on tap is an expansion of Aldi’s grocery store at 1253 E. Green Bay St., which plans to add about 12,000 square feet to the west of its existing building.
Bunke said plans have been sent to the state for approval and the city has received the preliminary plans.
All of this should bode well in terms of revenue for 2017.
“I’m expecting more than $70,000 next year given size of the projects,” Bunke said.