By Rose Hooper
Impact fees are hurting local businesses, said Western Builders
owner Roger Bartlett, who urged Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer
Authority board members to "give fair consideration to
all who impact the system."
"I know (TWSA is) hurting for money, and I know you have
to consider how developments impact your system," Bartlett
told board members at Tuesday's meeting. "Those who build
on an existing facility will impact the system the same as those
who build on a new facility.
"Your heavy-hitters, your big users, don't even have to
ante up," Bartlett continued. "If everyone were doing
their part, paying their fair share, my impact fees wouldn't
be so high. I ask you to treat every builder the same."
Bartlett calculated that to build a 3,300-square-foot office
building serving 25 people on an acre and a half lot, he would
have to pay $8,400 up front in fees before he could get any
kind of permits.
Estimating 25 gallons per person, or 625 gallons per day, at
TWSA's rate at $2.67 per gallon for water and $3.32 per gallon
for wastewater, such a project would require $3,750 in impact
fees, Bartlett said.
Impact fees are charges for a share of the cost of off-site
improvements imposed on new connections.
Additionally, Bartlett said he would have to pay an acreage
fee of $4,650. Acreage fees are designed to cover each tract's
proportionate share of the cost of providing major trunk lines
in the water and sewer systems.
"That's $8,400 before we put the first shovel in the ground.
It's tough to put bids together when you have those kinds of
fees upfront," Bartlett said.
It is also tough, he said, when the authority mandates that
construction must be completed in six months.
TWSA Chairman Mickey Luker explained the time limit requirement
was put in place so someone would not purchase allocations,
then wait two or three years to build.
"I think you should give consideration for projects on
an individual basis," Bartlett said. "Most take more
than six months."
Agreeing with Bartlett, Steve Kenney of Bostic-Kenney Construction
Co. said his company could not complete its proposed 500-bedroom
apartment complex on Speedwell Road within six months.
"We can't build in six months; we are fast, but not that
fast. We do plan to be open next July, in time for students
next August," Kenney said.
Luker agreed the board will consider projects on an individual
basis and that the time-frame issue will be taken up at the
board's August meeting.
The board did take action Tuesday night by allocating 60,000
gallons per day of water and wastewater capacity for Kenney's
apartment complex, which will overlook the Western Carolina
University baseball field.
TWSA Executive Director Hugh Montgomery reported he had just
completed an assessment of the authority's wastewater treatment
capacity and determined some 300,000 gallons remained available.
A moratorium had been in effect until July 1 on new hookups
exceeding 500 gallons per day, giving the new director time
to complete his assessment.
The actual flow into the system is 1.2 million gallons per day,
he said, with an additional 350,000 gpd when Western Carolina
University students are on campus.
Another 136,570 gpd have been allocated to projects, for a total
of 1,686,570 gpd. The permitted capacity is 2 million gpd.
"Roughly, that leaves us around 300,000 gpd," said
Montgomery, or 240,000 after the allocation to Bostic-Kenney.
"That's if we operated at 100 percent capacity. But we
have facilities that are 71 years old, and 100 percent efficiency
every day is not possible given current staffing, tank age and
process controls," Montgomery continued. "A more realistic
goal is 80 to 85 percent of the design maximum. Thus, our 2
million gpd capacity would have best-case safe yield of 1.7
million gpd."
Montgomery added there was more to it than simply handling the
flow.
"We have to treat those bio residuals to meet new stringent
state requirements, and we have hydraulic restraints in our
distribution system," he said.
Another dilemma TWSA faces, he said, are "the unknowns
– large users coming on the system that we don't know about
because they have historically not applied to TWSA for allocations."
Among those he listed were the new jail at the Justice Center,
a new Social Services building planned in Webster, Harris Regional
Hospital, WCU and Southwestern Community College. Public schools
do not have to apply for or pay impact fees.
"I think Roger Bartlett is right; we need to look at how
these large users impact our system, but pay no impact fees,"
said board member Jim Cochran.
That issue will also be considered at the board's Aug. 19 meeting.
