Tuesday night the Wake Forest commissioners decided to increase the cost of the sewer availability fees paid by homebuilders and commercial builders when they receive building permits. The increase will not become official until the commissioners formally approve it during their regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 17.
The increases -- $1 additional for each gallon – will take place in three steps on Oct. 1, April 1 of 2011, and on Oct. 1 of 2011. That will raise the per-gallon cost from the present $5.51 to $8.31.
That is more than the $7.16 per gallon Raftelis consultant Lex Warmuth proposed for future capacity alone but less than the $9.31 he said would be the upper limit if inflow and infiltration (I&I) are added. Inflow is additional water in the system from storms; infiltration comes from leaky joints and other open points in sewer lines.
“I&I is something we try to eliminate but it’s something we have to design for. The state requires it,” Deputy Town Manager Roe O’Donnell said.
In 2003 the then-town board decided not to include I&I in the rates it approved.
Commissioner Margaret Stinnett proposed the increase be implemented in stages. “I think that would be an easier thing to swallow.”
The commissioners appeared comfortable with adding some of the I&I cost but not all.
O’Donnell said that when the fees were last increased the town saw an increased number of permits and fees paid before it went into effect. Commissioner Frank Drake asked how long a permit would last, and O’Donnell said there are some lots with permits where the owner paid the acreage fees 20 years ago before the present per-gallon rate structure was begun.
“We obviously have to raise the rates,” Commissioner Chris Kaeberlein said.
The impetus for the increase in rates is the $15 million to $17 million in sewer reconstruction a recent study found was needed to remove bottle-necks where newer, larger lines meet older, smaller lines and to replace old, leaky pipes.
The higher rates will help pay off the merger cost faster. The date for final pay-off is now sometime in 2014.
The town’s impact fees charged on new construction for water and sewer availability, parks and recreation, and fire protection are for the capital costs of such services. User fees and other town income support the programs and the staff.