Fayette County

is almost ready to start charging fees to new residents to help pay for

the fire protection they'll need.

State agencies

have approved the paperwork, and the County Commission is expected to

adopt an ordinance governing collection of the impact fees at its March

22 meeting.

Impact fees

are charged to developers to help defray the costs of new government facilities

and services made necessary by growth. If the ordinance is approved, the

charge will be $600.57 for each new home. Businesses and industries will

pay on a sliding scale based upon their size and type.

Commissioners

conducted the first of two required public hearings on the ordinance last

week. The only resident who spoke during the hearing was Bob Craft, who

said he likes the idea of charging the fees. "A quality developer

knows the importance in helping build the infrastructure needed because

of their development," he said.

Fayette's Department

of Fire and Emergency Services already has begun construction of four

new fire stations, and the cost of those projects will be supplemented

portion of the cost that can be attributed to future growth.

Construction

on station one, on Ga. Highway 279 at Helmer Road, is proceeding and completion

is expected in about six months, said Jack Krakeel, director of the department.

That station is being done first because the old station, on Ga. Highway

314, is at the base of a dam, creating a dangerous situation.

The old station

will be torn down and its site dedicated as green space, required under

a federal grant that is helping pay for the new station.

"Once

that's at 80 percent completion, we can start the next one," said

Krakeel.

Next will be

a station on Seay Road at McBride Cemetery Church Road, followed by a

replacement for station five, on Ga. Highway 85 at Bernhard Road. That

station will be built on the same property.

Finally, the

department will relocate station seven in Woolsey to a new site on Hampton

Road. Earlier plans were to put that station next to the county's new

water treatment plant on Antioch Road, but design problems arose, said

Krakeel.

Impact fees

can begin to be collected to help pay for these projects and future equipment

needs by mid-May if all the involved parties approve the impact fee ordinance

on schedule.

Tyrone and

Brooks city councils are expected to act on the ordinance at their April

4 meetings, and Woolsey's council has scheduled public hearings for April

9 and May 14. Peachtree City and Fayetteville have their own fire services

and will not be involved in the impact fee.

Officials are

hoping to collect about $16.7 million over the 20-year life of the impact

fees to help repay the debt on the fire stations and for future equipment

needs.

The county

also had considered charging impact fees to help pay for a new county

jail, but an agreement between the county and its cities to govern those

fees bogged down in a dispute over the county's plan to levy additional

per diem fees to keep municipal prisoners in the jail.