By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The Peachtree City Council has given its stamp of approval for the latest plan to levy impact fees countywide to pay for a new jail facility.

At last week's council meeting, the latest impact fee proposal from Fayette County was approved unanimously. The major change increased the impact fee that large retail businesses would pay compared to smaller retail businesses.

Retail stores less than 50,000 square feet would pay $4,331 in impact fees while stores above that size would pay $8,663.

A new home would be assessed $794 with the jail impact fee, while non-retail businesses would pay the one-time fee of $1,588.

City Manager Jim Basinger said the impact fee proposal should be worded as an ordinance before it is finally adopted.

The jail needs for Fayette County have grown dramatically in the past four years, going from an average population of 99 inmates in 1996 to 179 inmates in 1999. The current jail, however, has a designed capacity of only 88 beds.

According to county statistics, Peachtree City comprised only 12 percent of the inmate population, though it makes up for 35 percent of the county's population.
The new jail, with an estimated cost of $25 million, would add 192 additional beds and leave room for expansion in the future. The existing jail would be retained, leaving the county with a total capacity of 472 inmate beds.

In a letter to council, City Attorney Rick Lindsey said the county has been receptive to Peachtree City's criticism of the previous version of the impact fee schedule. He recommended that council adopt the jail impact fee schedule, continue with the public hearing process and send the information to the city's impact fee committee.

Previous versions of the jail impact fee schedule were rebuffed by council members who claimed the fees would hurt Peachtree City's ability to recruit new industry.

The county predicts the new jail facility will meet local needs until 2020.

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