Hobart businesses face new fee

Resaurants, others would need to pay as city looks to meet EPA requirement

Restaurants and other businesses and organizations that make and sell food on-site and are located within the Hobart Sanitary District would need to pay $125 for a 2-year permit under an ordinance making its way through the City Council.

The ordinance passed its first reading Wednesday.

Once approved on second reading, the ordinance will put the Hobart Sanitary District in compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s requirement that it has a pretreatment program, ensuring that it’s working to keep fats, oil and grease out of its sanitary sewer lines.

“Anyone with a commercial kitchen and has the potential for a fat, oil and grease problem is included in this ordinance. It’s not limited to restaurants,” city engineer Phil Gralik said.

That would include the Moose Lodge, Strack’s grocery store and churches that cook and serve meals on site, according to city officials.

City Council member Mark Kopil, D-1st, said the ordinance mostly affects city businesses and organizations north of 61st Avenue, excluding those with their own external grease traps.

HSD President Robert Fulton said the fee would compensate the district for conducting annual on-site inspections at the affected locations.

“If they don’t meet the ordinance, they can be fined up to $2,500,” Fulton said.

Councilman Dave Vinzant, D-4th, said at an earlier ordinance committee meeting that he thought the permit fee should be higher to cover costs, proposing a minimum of $150.

“The state’s telling us to charge fees to cover our costs. We’ll be under water in a hurry,” Vinzant said.

Fulton said the original fee proposed was much higher, and the sanitary board received a lot of pushback from the affected businesses. “We think we’ll be able to cover our costs. We don’t want to put people out of business,” Fulton said.

Councilman Josh Huddlestun, D-2nd, said the ordinance will help residents.

“It will help alleviate basements from getting sewage because it will alleviate the fats, oil and grease that are causing it,” Huddlestun said.

The council approved on second reading an ordinance setting a $5 a year rental registration fee for each rental building or rental community.

City Attorney Heather McCarthy said landlords would be charged $5 a year for each separate rental building they own in different areas of the city, but under a cap could only be charged a total of $5 for a large rental complex.

She said while the fee is minimal, it would let the city know where the rental units are.

The higher fees, she said, would come as a penalty if the owner doesn’t register the rental unit.

The registration fee is due by July 15.

The council also approved variances allowing Dennis Fossey of Precision Cartridge to continue to manufacture ammunition at his Georgianna Street business and Kevin Mehok to continue to operate his Crashco Collision Centers on U.S. 30.