BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

The St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency is proposing to increase its application fee for large economic development projects, with projects seeking $5 million or more in assistance facing a $25,000 non-refundable fee under the proposed 2026 application structure.

The proposal as the county anticipates an increase in large-scale development opportunities that could require more staff resources and was presented at the August meeting.

Pat Kelly, SLC IDA executive director, said the agency periodically reviews its application and fee structure to ensure that fees reflect the administrative work required to evaluate projects.

“The application fee for years was $2,000,” Kelly said. The agency later increased the fee to $5,000 for renewable energy projects because those projects frequently involve deviations that require additional work before approval.

Kelly said the proposed $25,000 fee would apply to any project seeking at least $5 million in assistance, rather than being limited to a particular project type.

“The reason being there is almost always a deviation with renewable energy projects that creates more work at the front end,” Kelly said.

Under the proposed structure, the higher fee would help the agency recover some of the costs associated with evaluating major projects, particularly when an applicant ultimately does not move forward.

“If a project doesn’t move forward and you don’t have your application fee structured in such a way as to capture the cost upfront, you don’t have an opportunity for capturing it at all,” Kelly said.

The change could affect some of the larger projects being discussed in the region, including utility-scale solar developments and potentially data center projects. Kelly said the agency chose the $5 million assistance threshold rather than establishing the higher fee based on project value or industry.

Kelly said the proposed fee is higher than what he has seen at some other industrial development agencies, where application fees of approximately $10,000 are used. However, he said the agency's existing fee structure has not been revisited frequently despite changes in the size and complexity of projects being considered. 

No objections were raised to the proposal.