All new development buys into infrastructure

In a recent edition of the Daily Bee, Mike Johnson discussed city of Sandpoint water and sewer rates and alluded to a conversation he and I had last week.

While I appreciated the conversation with Mike, I must reveal to him that I did not read from the minutes of the council meeting.  My explanation of how we came to establish the rates was based on the knowledge I gained from hours of study and conversation with the consultant, council and our Public Works director.

Had Mike asked about the costs shared with developers, I would have been glad to tell him that all new development within our water district boundary buys into the existing infrastructure by paying new user facility fees — commonly known as impact fees.  Those fees are used by the city for bond debt repayment and capital construction costs.

The upgraded water treatment plant that will be online in about 22 months will meet the water quality needs of all customers and provide us with increased capacity for the future.

CARRIE LOGAN

City Council

Sandpoint