Community Impact reports that during their June 26 meeting the Conroe City Council okayed a $549,000 contract with the Freese and Nichols engineering firm to conduct an impact fee study.
Mayor Duke Coon said during the workshop on June 25th, “This could have a strong economic impact on our ability to provide water and sewer in the future based on these particular fees that the city so desperately needs.”
According to planner with Freese and Nichols, Eddie Haas, necessitated by growth, the study will look at potential fees for new development that help fund water, sewer and roadway infrastructure projects.
New projects that have not yet pulled permits by the time fees are adopted are who the fees would apply to, potentially in 2027.
Haas said, “This is a one-time charge assessed to all new developments for a portion of [the] cost related to specific capital improvements.” The plan is a higher fee for the increased demand that a new development puts on a system.
According to Haas, the process covers updating capital improvement plans, evaluating a 10-year growth forecast and conducting a credit analysis to determine a maximum fee.
