Last amended in June 2021, the Chehalis City Council voted unanimously to update the city’s fee schedule on first reading during the council’s regular meeting Monday, April 8.
The fee schedule amendment will undergo a second reading before final approval at the Chehalis City Council meeting on April 22.
Chehalis City Manager Jill Anderson told the council that in most cases, prices would be increasing throughout the fee schedule.
“The fees have not been increased in several years,” Anderson said. “... In some cases, more than seven.”
Many of the fees that had not been increased in seven years were for the city’s parks, and Anderson added with inflation impacting the city’s expenditures including park maintenance, the increases were made to keep up with those costs.
With operating and pool chemical costs also rising, admission fees at the Gail and Carolyn Shaw Aquatics Center have changed, and are no longer $5 for admission for all ages.
For those just looking for fun in the sun on the water slides during the early and late afternoon open swimming sessions, admission fees will now be $6 per session for those 17 and under and $8 for those 18 and older.
For those looking to swim in the adult lap swimming session, Monday through Thursday from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., the admission fee will change from $3 to $5.
Fee increases to rent baseball and softball fields at Stan Hedwall Park, Recreation Park and the Chehalis Sports Complex will be raised to correlate with the City of Centralia’s field rental fees.
Other fee increases in the parks department include:
• Stan Hedwall RV Park sewage disposal fee will go from $3 to $5
• Stan Hedwall RV Park nightly camping fee will go from $20 per night to $50 per night, disposal fee included
• Stan Hedwall Park shelter rental fee Monday through Sunday, from 8 a.m. to dusk, will increase from $100 to $125, or from $200 to $225 including the shelter’s grass area
• Robert E. Lintott Alexander Park shelter rental fee Monday through Sunday, from 8 a.m. to dusk, will increase from $100 to $125, or from $200 to $225 including the shelter’s grass area
• Virgil R. Lee Community Building rental fee Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., will increase from $65 to $100
• Virgil R. Lee Community Building rental fee Monday through Thursday, from 5 to 10 p.m., will go from $65 to $100
• Virgil R. Lee Community Building rental fee Monday through Thursday all day, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., will go from $130 to $200
• Virgil R. Lee Community Building rental fee Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., will go from $65 to $100
• Virgil R. Lee Community Building rental fee Friday, from 5 to midnight, will increase from $90 to $150
• Virgil R. Lee Community Building rental fee Friday all day, from 8:30 a.m. to midnight, will increase from $150 to $250
• Virgil R. Lee Community Building rental fee Saturday all day, from 8 a.m. to midnight, will increase from $150 to $250
• Virgil R. Lee Community Building rental fee Sunday all day, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., will go from $130 to $250
• Fred Hess Kitchen rental fee Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., will increase from $35 to $75
• Fred Hess Kitchen rental fee Monday through Thursday, from 5 to 10 p.m., will go from $45 to $75
• Fred Hess Kitchen rental fee Monday through Thursday all day, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., will go from $80 to $150
• Fred Hess Kitchen rental fee Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., will increase from $35 to $75
• Fred Hess Kitchen rental fee Friday, from 5 to midnight, will increase from $50 to $100
• Fred Hess Kitchen rental fee Friday all day, from 8 a.m. to midnight, will increase from $85 to $175
• Fred Hess Kitchen rental fee Saturday all day, from 8 a.m. to midnight, will go from $150 to $175
• Fred Hess Kitchen rental fee Sunday all day, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., will increase from $130 to $175
For the Chehalis Police Department, fee increases were approved for both police and city-wide public disclosure and Freedom of Information Act requests.
These fee increases were made in accordance with Washington state law and include:
• Printed copies of records costing 15 cents per page
• Converting paper records to digital costing 10 cents per page
• Electronic files costing 5 cents per every four files
• Electronic records costing 10 cents per gigabyte along with the cost of the CD, DVD or USB drive used to deliver the electronic records plus postage
• Police body-worn camera or dashboard camera footage costing 78 cents per minute of staff time preparing the footage and making necessary redactions
Additionally, a 10% deposit will be required for any records request estimated to cost more than $25.
For the Chehalis Building and Planning Department, some fees were changed, including a floodplain development permit going from $75 to $100 and a site plan review going from $300 to $500.
Other new fees are being introduced include:
• A $200 fee for a minor planned unit development amendment
• A $150 fee for a parcel or lot combination request
• A $350 fee for both residential and commercial boundary line adjustments
• A $200 fee for a minor binding site plan amendment
• A $250 fee for a public notice
• A $100 fee for a critical area review
• A $100 fee for minor site plan amendments and a $300 fee for all other site plan amendments
For the Chehalis Public Works Department, after hours service calls — from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day — for water services will go from $25 to $178.50 for the first two hours, plus $71.75 for each additional hour.
The installation of a new hydrant meter will cost $100 plus a $100 deposit.
To view current fees for Chehalis city parks, visit https://www.ci.chehalis.wa.us/parksandrecreation.
For all other current fees and charges in the City of Chehalis, visit https://www.ci.chehalis.wa.us/building/schedule-fees-and-charges.
