Wednesday, March 14, 2001
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Wednesday, March 14, 2001 |
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Fire impact fees nearing reality By DAVE
HAMRICK
Fayette County is almost ready to start charging fees to new residents to help pay for the fire protection they'll need. State agencies have approved the paperwork, and the County Commission is expected to adopt an ordinance governing collection of the impact fees at its March 22 meeting. Impact fees are charged to developers to help defray the costs of new government facilities and services made necessary by growth. If the ordinance is approved, the charge will be $600.57 for each new home. Businesses and industries will pay on a sliding scale based upon their size and type. Commissioners conducted the first of two required public hearings on the ordinance last week. The only resident who spoke during the hearing was Bob Craft, who said he likes the idea of charging the fees. "A quality developer knows the importance in helping build the infrastructure needed because of their development," he said. Fayette's Department of Fire and Emergency Services already has begun construction of four new fire stations, and the cost of those projects will be supplemented by the impact fees. By state law, the fees can only be used to cover the portion of the cost that can be attributed to future growth. Construction on station one, on Ga. Highway 279 at Helmer Road, is proceeding and completion is expected in about six months, said Jack Krakeel, director of the department. That station is being done first because the old station, on Ga. Highway 314, is at the base of a dam, creating a dangerous situation. The old station will be torn down and its site dedicated as green space, required under a federal grant that is helping pay for the new station. "Once that's at 80 percent completion, we can start the next one," said Krakeel. Next will be a station on Seay Road at McBride Cemetery Church Road, followed by a replacement for station five, on Ga. Highway 85 at Bernhard Road. That station will be built on the same property. Finally, the department will relocate station seven in Woolsey to a new site on Hampton Road. Earlier plans were to put that station next to the county's new water treatment plant on Antioch Road, but design problems arose, said Krakeel. Impact fees can begin to be collected to help pay for these projects and future equipment needs by mid-May if all the involved parties approve the impact fee ordinance on schedule. Tyrone and Brooks city councils are expected to act on the ordinance at their April 4 meetings, and Woolsey's council has scheduled public hearings for April 9 and May 14. Peachtree City and Fayetteville have their own fire services and will not be involved in the impact fee. Officials are hoping to collect about $16.7 million over the 20-year life of the impact fees to help repay the debt on the fire stations and for future equipment needs. The county also had considered charging impact fees to help pay for a new county jail, but an agreement between the county and its cities to govern those fees bogged down in a dispute over the county's plan to levy additional per diem fees to keep municipal prisoners in the jail.
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