But fire protection likely will come at a price. Officials say they may have have to pass another impact fee.
By CHASE SQUIRES
Published August 13, 2003
ST. LEO - If Pasco County moves in to take over fire protection for east Pasco municipalities, it will likely come along with another impact fee for new construction, Assistant County Administrator Dan Johnson said.
The new fee, if approved, would affect everyone served by Pasco County fire and rescue services, he said.
Left with little choice Monday and anticipating the dissolution of the Dade City Fire Department, St. Leo town commissioners began talks with the county to provide the fire protection that Dade City has provided since Pasco County took over fire services from the San Antonio Volunteer Fire Department in 2001.
Johnson told commissioners on Monday the county is ready and willing to provide the service, both from fire stations in neighboring San Antonio and in Dade City.
But, he said, the county is considering a new fire/rescue impact fee for new construction. If that fee is approved in November, and if the city wants to be part of the county's system, it will have to adopt the same fee.
Bottom line: fees will add $420 to the cost of building a new home, and $549 per 1,000 square feet for commercial construction, with a cap at 50,000 square feet.
That fee would go for Dade City as well, should that city contract with the county for fire service, Johnson said.
Johnson said the new fees, the latest in a slew of impact fees for new construction in the unincorporated county, are needed to keep up with demand for more service.
The county is in the midst of expanding its fire protection network, Johnson said. In recent years the county has moved into areas previously served by independent volunteer departments, including Magnolia Valley, San Antonio, Travelers Rest and Land O'Lakes.
Johnson said a new station opened last week off U.S. 301 south of Dade City. Another new station is slated to open in 2005 in Blanton. And a new building, built in downtown San Antonio to replace the existing station, could be under construction in about six years.
Other impact fees the county already charges for a new single-family home in unincorporated Pasco County are: parks and recreation, $892; roads, $2,177; schools, $1,694; utilities, $2,056 ($556 for water and $1,500 for sewer); and libraries, $145.
