The town of Tyrone this summer became the first municipality in the county to give back money to builders who do business in the town.
The reason is because the town failed to follow through on its plans for a new police station and town hall that was part of Tyrone’s impact program that was started in 1999. Late last year, town manager Barry Amos told the town Council that more than $60,000 in development fees would have to be returned to developers.
The town started collecting fees in 1999 and will have to refund two years’ worth of funds, because no work was done on building a new town center and state law requires money to be spent on the projects within six years.
In the Capital Improvement Element that accompanied the impact fee program, the town pledged to build a 12,000 sq. ft. building that would house the new police station and town hall.
Amos explained this week that the town’s leaders didn’t make any decisions on the project during the last few years, so the money must be returned. The exact amount is $281.82 for each building lot that was permitted by the town from 2000-2006.
Scott Bradshaw, who represents the Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia, said one of his builders was concerned when he didn’t receive the entire impact fee amount of just over $1,000 refunded.
In order to move forward with the project and to stop any further refunds, the town committed $10,000 towards a study last year that would determine whether one building should house both police and administrative functions, or build two buildings.
“The study is back and there’s really no clear advantage to the different proposals,” Amos said.
The next move will now be up to the Town Council, who will make the ultimate decision on the town’s new structures.
If the town only builds a police station or a town hall, it could lose up to $130,000 that has been collected so far towards the project, since the capital improvement element said it would be a joint facility.
But if the town starts on both building, no impact fees from the developers would have to be refunded. Impact fees will only pay for 25 percent of the new structures, so the town would have to pay for the other 75 percent.
At a meeting last fall, Councilwoman Grace Caldwell favored a bond and having all the expenses spelled out for all the residents.
“I don’t want to see any hidden expenses occurring,” she said.
Tyrone has usually funded items using cash on hand, but Caldwell sees a problem with that type of funding.
“The people who move to town aren’t helping to pay for it,” she said.
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