Mr. Blair Aas

Blair Aas of SCI Consulting gave a presentation about impact fees and how the fees can be used.

The two agencies have been at odds over FRRPD park impact fees and how they can be collected.
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Aas said although there are two general ways to calculate fees,

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impact fees can be calculated by having each agency inventory its existing parks and facilities.

"The way to inventory that is to base it on the existing level of service, and it's advisable to do a combined park masterplan," Aas said.

After determining the existing level of service for each agency, they determine how much of an impact fee would be needed to provide that level of service to new residents.

After costing out the fee, there would need to be some agreement between FRRPD about how much of a fee they want to charge and how it's collected.

"If you do that, you have to have some conversations between both parties," Aas said.

So far, conversation between the agencies has been difficult.
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"There's been some confusion about the duplication of these fees," Aas said.
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Aas said impact fees can only be used to pay for parks, facilities and improvements to serve new development.The fees can't be used for maintenance or to replace capital improvements.

Additionally, impact fees have to benefit the new development that paid the fees, Aas said.
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Aas said he hadn't known that to ever happen.However, he said AB-1600 (Fee Mitigation Act) sets strict rules for annual and five-year reporting and accounting for impact fees on the part of the agency using the fee.

Aas said nothing in AB-1600 prevents the fee from being paid directly to the park district.In fact, Aas said, frequently impact fees are paid to special districts.

Blair Aas, Consultant, SCI Consulting Group

In addition, the district anticipates $4.5 million in capital improvement costs for the system, said Senior Planning Consultant Blair Aas of SCI Consulting Group, the firm who did the study on which the increases are based.

"You have to spread the cost over (more than) 1,500 people," he said.

Blair Aas, Senior Planning Consultant, SCI Consulting Group

2003-04 and 2004-05 fiscal years, according to Blair Aas, a consultant hired bythe district to complete a study on utility rates.Reasons for the revenue shortage included landscaping irrigation adjustments,a decline in new connections and a drop in water use, Aas said yesterday.Also, operation and maintenance expenses are projected to rise by about 17percent a year, partially because of labor costs, he said.The pace of inflation, at about 3.5 percent a year, was also taken intoaccount in the proposed rate raises.
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the next couple of years, Aas said.An average residential customer's sewer bills could jump to $109.19 in 2007,he said.

The district also did not bring in as much revenue as expected during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 fiscal years, according to Blair Aas, a consultant hired by the district to complete a study on utility rates.

Reasons for the revenue shortage included landscaping irrigation adjustments, a decline in new connections and a drop in water use, Aas said yesterday.

Also, operation and maintenance expenses are projected to rise by about 17 percent a year, partially because of labor costs, he said.

The pace of inflation, at about 3.5 percent a year, was also taken into account in the proposed rate raises.
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These charges and the other factors could make rates raise even higher over the next couple of years, Aas said.

An average residential customer's sewer bills could jump to $109.19 in 2007, he said.