HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. -- Volunteers and workers for a reality television show are busy this week building a new home for the Hawkins family who was devastated by the April tornadoes.

Hendersonville Home Receives Controversial Building Waiver

However, the I-Team has learned that the family is the only one in Hendersonville that did not have to pay for a building permit to have their new home constructed.

Heat Doesn't Stop Work On Hendersonville Home

Hendersonville resident Richard West is rebuilding his home and assumed the city would waive the building permit fee. Many surrounding cities hit hard by the tornados have done this for residents devastated by the storms.

But when West went to get his permit, he had to pay, in full, the $1,600.

Gallatin, Goodlettsville, Cheatham County and Dickson Count are among the local counties waiving building permit fees for victims of the storms. And all of those cities and towns are also waiving utility reconnection fees.

The mayor of Gallatin said the reason his city did this is to assist those already facing other problems.

"We've had people come in who lost everything," said Gallatin Mayor Don Wright. "So why in the world would we want to make it harder for those property owners, those home owners?"

But according to Hendersonville Mayor Scott Foster, he has no plans to waive the fees for his city, and he says it is purely for financial reasons.

"We decided it is good government to keep charging the fees to make sure people have good inspections," said Foster.

The I-Team learned that out of the 80 houses wiped out by the tornado in Hendersonville, the Hawkins are the only one that did not pay for a building permit fee.

The fee was waived for the home being construction for the reality show “Extreme Makeover: House Edition”.

"There will be tornado victims that will say, ‘If you can do it for one house, do it for all of us’. I think it is clearly an exception. It will bring both a blessing to this family and quite literally, notoriety for this community," said Foster.

"I'm so happy that they're doing this for them, but there's a whole lot of other people who have had life altering situations because of this tornado," said West. “It would be a big help to the homeowners to rebuild their lives if this could be waived."

The Hendersonville City Council still has to approve the waiver for the Hawkins, but the mayor has no plans on calling for a waiver for the rest of the victims.

The costs vary depending on the area. For Hendersonville, it's roughly $1,500 for a standard home which pays mostly for inspection of the property.

But other cities, such as Gallatin, will assume those costs and have a rainy day fund just in case to pay for them.