BETHEL – Selectmen turned down a church’s request to waive its site-plan application fees at the board’s regular meeting Tuesday night.
The Bethel Church of the Nazarene is planning to build a 6,000-square-foot building with 45 to 48 parking spaces on Route 26 next to the South Bethel Cemetery. Church spokeswoman Robin Mills told selectmen that the church is working with a limited budget and that the project is estimated to cost between $350,000 and $400,000.
The application fees total $325.
“The church is a nonprofit and benefits all people in the community,” Mills said.
Selectmen pointed out that if the church is spending so much to build the structure, it should be able to afford the town’s administrative costs.
Selectman Dennis Doyon said, “$325 worth of fees is not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.” He added, “The taxpayers are picking up the burden of other services the church uses for free.”
Selectman Don Bennett said, “There are other nonprofits working with limited budgets as well.”
After selectmen voted 5-0 to deny the request, Bennett said, “It’s a road we can’t go down.”
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