SPANISH FORT, Ala.—In advance of preliminary budget discussions set for Sept. 8, City Attorney David Conner asked council members during Monday’s work session to review and consider whether the adoption of impact fees might be prudent at this juncture in the city’s growth.

Impact fees are those assessed by municipalities on developers—and sometimes individuals, depending on the nature of the project—to cover the costs of new infrastructure that must be built or increased due to property development. Such fees are also designed to offset costs associated with increased services such as police and fire protection services, libraries, parks and recreation.

Conner said some neighboring cities have paid consulting firms to assess the financial effect of adopting such fees, and while some opted to proceed others did not. He also noted that the circumstances of each of Spanish Fort’s neighboring municipalities are so unique that establishing a baseline assessment is not a possibility, and the city will have to determine on its own whether to take this route.

He did, however, provide council members with the figures collected on behalf of Orange Beach and Fairhope.

In Orange Beach, for instance, independent analysis revealed a total impact per single-family lot of $5,573: wherein, library services accounted for $229, police services accounted for $243, fire services accounted for $829, transportation services accounted for $1,859 and parks and recreation accounted for $2,412. Meanwhile, the impact assessed for multi-family developments—per household—totaled $4,280.

In Fairhope, Conner said single-family impact totaled $4,184, while multi-family impact per household totaled $2,286.

Both Fairhope and Orange Beach adopted the impact fees following the analyses, but Conner said the cities of Daphne and Loxley opted not to adopt such programs.

Prices for the studies ranged from $13,000 to $65,000, he said.

The issue is a timely one considering Spanish Fort’s moratorium on multi-family housing developments expires on Sept. 24. If the council intends to mull this option, Conner recommends extending the moratorium three to four months to allow time for consideration.

“Y’all need to decide whether or not this is something you want to go forward with in this economic climate, and for budget purposes, you need to know if you plan to hire someone,” Conner said.

District 2 Councilman Mike McMillan and District 5 Councilwoman Mary Brabner both expressed immediate opposition to spending tens of thousands of dollars on the analysis.

In a related matter, Mayor Joe Bonner said the council will begin budget deliberations for the new fiscal year during the Sept. 8 work session, and the session will begin at 4 p.m., one hour earlier than normal.

During the public participation portion of Monday’s regular council meeting, Confederate Drive resident Nancy Milford expressed her displeasure with the city for not adopting the recently proposed moratorium on construction and installation of sewer lines. Specifically, she read from an e-mail—not immediately available to the Spanish Fort Sun—sent to council members earlier in the day and asked that its contents be admitted to the public record.

Milford said she does not support the use of a private company—referring to Baldwin County Sewer Services LLC—for the construction of “citizen infrastructure” and said she would rather see the money spent to connect Spanish Fort residents to the services provided by Daphne Utilities.

She also addressed District 4 Councilman Tom Sawyer—who was not present during the meeting—directly stating there are other residents than those satisfied customers with whom he’s had contact who are “adamantly opposed” to use of a private sewer system.

A third issue raised in the e-mail was not addressed during the meeting because Milford said she was asked by Bonner not to do so in a public forum, stating she felt “manhandled” by the request.

Milford closed by saying, “A vote to not support a moratorium until all the facts (are considered) reads as a dismissal of the citizens’ concerns. We’ve been down this road several times, and I hope it changes.”

On an unrelated matter, Rob McElroy, superintendent of the utilities for the city of Daphne, reminded all in attendance of the town hall meeting slated for 5:30 p.m. tonight at Daphne Civic Center. The Three-City Town Hall Meeting is designed to unite the cities of Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope to raise a collective voice in Washington, D.C. as future federal monies are released for projects.

“(The government) is going to be looking for a regional approach to regional problems,” said McElroy, encouraging all residents of all three cities to take part in the event. He also wanted to be certain residents understand this forum is in no way affiliated with the health care forums held across the region recently and has actually been in the works for four months.

“This is about having 60,000 voices that can be heard in Washington,” McMillan said.

In other business, the council:

The next regular meeting of the council will begin with a 4 p.m. work session in the conference room at City Hall on Sept. 8, followed immediately by the regular meeting at 6 p.m. at the Gathering Place in the Prodisee Center.