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Port Richey to rethink impact fees
By MATTHEW WAITE © St. Petersburg Times, published January 9, 2001 PORT RICHEY -- Taking one more crack at it, the forces behind the school impact fee for Pasco County will pitch their plan to the only city that has so far voted against it, and may come out with a different result. One of the three Port Richey City Council members who voted against the impact fee Dec. 12 has changed his mind. The two others said they will come armed with questions, and will listen to what school officials have to say. The council will hear from county and school officials today at a 7:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall. School officials estimate that the impact fee would bring in anywhere from $2.5-million to $4-million a year. They originally estimated that the fee would add $1,700 to the price of building a single-family home, but the final number is still being calculated. Joe Menicola, one of the three whovoted against the impact fee in Port Richey, said Monday he has reconsidered his vote, but not his opposition to impact fees. "It wouldn't be fair to let the kids suffer," Menicola said, saying he would probably vote for the impact fee. "But impact fees, I just don't like them. They go against my grain." The two others -- council member Phyllis Grae and Vice Mayor Pat Guttman -- said they haven't made up their minds yet, but they have a lot of questions for school officials. "I want answers before they get my vote," Grae said Monday. And John Long, Pasco's school superintendent, said as many answers as possible will be provided tonight. "Anything (the council) wants to ask, we'll try to answer it to the best of our ability," Long said. Guttman said her concerns were the amount of money the district spends on schools. "I want to ask them why they have to build such elaborate schools," Guttman said. "That isn't helping the kids learn any better. That's the problem I have." Grae said some of her concerns she raised at the last meeting. She said she is upset that the Florida Legislature has replaced state education funding with lottery money, not added to it with the lottery proceeds. "Somebody has to look to Tallahassee for money," she said. "I'm against it (impact fees) because I think there is misuse of money in Tallahassee." Mayor Eloise Taylor, who represented one of two votes for a fee, said she will again support the impact fee. "The brunt of the impact is not going to be on the west side," she said. "It's important to support because it's a pressing need." School officials, over the past two months, have solicited incorporated cities in Pasco for their support. So far, Dade City, Zephyrhills, San Antonio and New Port Richey have said they support the fee. Support from all cities makes the impact fee tougher to challenge in court, officials have said. If Port Richey supports the fee, school officials will have what they want: support from all incorporated cities in the county. - Staff writer Matthew Waite can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is waite@sptimes.com.
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From today's Pasco Times |
