Commission Reviews Impact Fees, More

Four of the five members of the Jasper County Commission met Monday evening to discuss the Capital Improvement Element (CIE) of the Comprehensive Plan, and the Impact Fee program, as well as short term rentals.

District 4 Commissoiner Asher Gray was absent from the work session where the board heard from County Manager Mike Benton about the current financial report, and the difficulty in amending the impact fees. The CIE shows what projects have been done and what are in the works. The commissioners spent little time on that, but learned that the amendment process requires further assistance.

The commission had previously made amendment, such as taking the sheriff’s office and jail out of the recipients of the fees, since a new facility has been completed. However, the Deparrment of Community Affairs (DCA) did not approve the changes, saying the county did not go about them properly.

Some $1376.70 is charged on each new home for impact fees, to cover costs associated with the county’s growth. The impact fees were initiated in 2006, and have not been updated since. Recipients include the library, parks, fire, jail, sheriff, E-911, and admin. It was determined that a consultant could be paid with the admin monies.

The consultant that helped the county with the initial impact fees, Bill Ross, was at the meeting and had a proposal for the commissioners to assist with the amendments. He said he would start from scratch, and the process, if begun in October, would be complete no later than next July.

Mr. Ross talked about inflation and said he had recently helped Henry County and their fees had increased substantially. He mentioned the price of a fire truck has tripled in the last five to six years. The commissioners will consider his proposal, and perhaps vote on it at the October regular meeting.

The commissioners then heard from Planning & Zoning Director Doug Attaway, who talked about short term rentals. He said his board will meet later this month, and change the short term rental property limit to the number now approved. They discussed changing the inspection times from annually to every three years, but were concerned about items that need to be checked annually.

Again no action was taken as it was a work session. After those items had been discussed, the commissioners said they needed an executive (closed) session.