Committee recommends development incentive

As an incentive for residential development, the Fairfield City Council Water and Sewer Utilities Committee is recommending the city contribute $30,000 toward construction of a sewer line to serve a new condominium development along Walton Road.

The committee met with Amhurst developer Terry Lavery Wednesday to review the sewer line?s proposed location and estimated expense.

The roughly $54,000 sewer line will be capable of serving 38 condos in the Amhurst development and three city lots not currently connected to the sewer system, as well as any future development immediately east of Amhurst. City administrator Jeff Clawson estimated the abutting property could one day be developed with another 30 homes.

He provided the committee with a memo breaking a $55,000 sewer line down to $775 per connection for 71 connections. If the city were to fund the 33 connections that would not be part of Lavery?s development, Fairfield?s share would be $25,575.

Clawson suggested the committee consider contributing up to $30,000 or 50 percent of the total cost if the project, including engineering, comes in under $60,000. The city had offered to provide engineering, but Lavery declined, so Clawson included a $5,000 payment toward engineering in his suggestion.

Wastewater superintendent Ellen Myers questioned where she would find that money in her already strapped budget.

?If you want to grow the town, you have to do these kind of things,? Clawson said. ?You?re adding potentially the 38 new services ? those are all new customers, and in theory, you?ll make money off every one of those ? plus the growth of the three houses and the potential future growth.?

?I?m not opposed to this,? Myers said. She agreed it?s essential to promoting development, but said at this point in time, as the city works toward ending sanitary sewer overflows, there is already too much commitment in her budget.

?If you want to get into the technicality of the wastewater issues, we all know there?s $35 million worth of work, and we don?t have $35 million,? Clawson said. ?If you take that all out of the equation, then there?s plenty of additional money to function and run these things and stay efficient and stay responsible. You can?t stop growing because we have these mandates.?

He said $30,000 would not be a significant amount to draw from the sewer budget?s $500,000 reserve.

Councilwoman Susan Silvers supported the $30,000 or 50 percent suggestion. However, councilmen Daryn Hamilton and Ray Mottet favored a flat payment of $30,000. Hamilton said city officials would then know the exact amount of their obligation. He also referenced unforeseen construction issues that could arise.

The full city council will consider the recommendation at an upcoming meeting.