By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM -- The Potsdam Village Board of Trustees has amended their schedule of fees for building permits to reduce the top rate following a request by the builder of a $1.2 million house.

With the reduction approved July 5, the fee for that project will be $800 instead of $9,600, a reduction of $8,800.

The permit for the $1.2 million home on Drumlin Drive is filed in the name of the “Rosenthal estate.” Village Administrator Everett Basford said the builder wants to construct the home for his elderly mother.

The building permit charges had been a minimum fee of $40 plus $8 per thousand dollars of estimated building cost above $5,000, with no cap on the total fee. The proposal that was approved at the board’s last meeting set a cap of $800 on a residential building permit.

Code Enforcement Officer Greg Thompson said that Trustee Steve Warr and Mayor Ron Tischler asked him to examine the established residential building permit fee to see if it could be lowered.

“They asked me to propose a possible fee adjustment in an attempt to be a little more construction-friendly,” Thompson said.