The installation of Warren County’s commercial kitchen is behind schedule because of an error in applying for the proper permit.

Public Works Director Josh Moore said Carter Douglas Co., the contractor renovating the former Taylor Chapel AME Church in a process that will turn it into a commercial kitchen, was supposed to file for the permit with Bowling Green’s Building and Inspection Division around the time the renovation began near the start of the year.

Moore said the county expected Carter Douglas to file the application for a permit, but the contractor thought the county was responsible for furnishing the permit.

“There was a miscommunication in who was responsible for applying for the permit,” he said.

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said the county needed a building permit from the Building and Inspection Division because the project involves installing a plumbing system and connecting it to the city’s sewer system.

“They’ve got to inspect it and make sure we’re doing it right,” he said.

The permit is necessary because the Building and Inspection Division and the contractor both need to understand the scope of the project, Moore said.

“There is a lot of back and forth between the building department and the contractor to make sure everyone’s on the same page as far as regulations go,” he said.

The commercial kitchen is intended to be a resource for people interested in processing, packaging and selling their own food products but lacking access to the necessary equipment.

The project includes installing plumbing and electrical systems, putting up drywall, leveling the ground floor, which is on an incline, and installing kitchen equipment needed to prepare, process, store and package food, Moore said.

Despite its importance to the project, the lack of the permit did not prevent Carter Douglas from doing early work involving demolition and building internal plumbing and electrical systems, he said.

“We didn’t miss out on anything by not having an inspection,” he said.

Parts of the renovation involving hooking the building’s plumbing and electrical systems up to existing power and sewer infrastructure couldn’t begin until the contractor’s progress was inspected, which couldn’t happen without a permit, Moore said.

On March 22, shortly after the county discovered the project didn’t have a permit, Carter Douglas applied for one, he said.

According to a document from the Building and Inspection Division, Warren County Fiscal Court received its permit for the project, expected to cost $684,200, on April 28.

The one-month gap between the application and the receiving of the permit is fairly normal, Moore said.

Last week, the city inspected the renovations and gave Carter Douglas approval to continue with the project, Moore said.

“Really, after this permit got filled out, we got back on track again and we’re moving pretty rapidly,” he said.

Still, the delay has put the commercial kitchen a week or two behind schedule, Moore said.

Cater Douglas did not reply to a phone message seeking comment.

The renovations are tentatively scheduled to be completed by the end of June, Moore said.