By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

Fayette's impact fee study committee will go over its proposals one more time tomorrow in hopes of presenting its recommendations to the County Commission Dec. 1.

Tentatively, committee members are discussing a one-time charge of around $1,200 to $1,500 per house, and using that money to fund public safety and parks and recreation projects, said Dr. Bob Todd, chairman of the group.

Whether the fees should be used to help fund the pending $60 million jail and courthouse construction projects, and what percentage of the money should be used for the jail, will be among topics during the meeting, said Todd.

“We had asked for some clarification of the law concerning the issue of the jail,” said Todd. “We will be talking about that when we meet,” he said.

If the fees are added to home prices in the county, Todd pointed out, the future residents not only will have to pay the impact fee, but also a small amount of additional property taxes, since the extra charge will add to the value of each home for taxation purposes.

“It will probably cost them about $18 a year in taxes,” said Todd.

Commissioners Greg Dunn and Linda Wells began pushing for impact fees soon after they were elected last November, and the commission as a whole agreed earlier this year to appoint a blue ribbon committee to study the proposal.

The fees are charged to developers to mitigate the cost of new county services and infrastructure needed to serve new subdivisions and shopping centers. Wells and Dunn have touted using impact fees as a way to reduce the cost of new services paid by existing residents, and recoup some of that cost from future residents.

Developers usually fold the fees into the prices for homes.

Since May, the committee has been meeting almost weekly, going over the county's services and future facilities plans to determine which costs can most feasibly be recouped through impact fees.

The Thursday, Nov. 18 meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex.

If a recommendation is ready in time, it will be on the County Commission's meeting agenda for Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 3:30 p.m.