OCR Text |
Show Church, City Reach Deal Over Water Fees High-ranking Mormon Church officials, their attorneys attor-neys and local LDS leaders appeared before the City Council Thursday to aopeal an earlier city decision not to waive more than $24,000 in water development fees owed ow-ed in connection with the construction of the new LDS meeting house on Monitor Drive. Last December, the Council agreed to waive $18,000 in impact fees for the project, but insisted the church pay more than $40,009 in additional addi-tional fees which included $24,000 for water development. develop-ment. The water-development fee was based on the number of square feet contained in the huge new meeting house, criteria Mormon leaders maintained was unfair and unrealistic. They felt it was unfair to equate the meeting house with other commercial buildings, because it will not continually be inhabited and not create a significant demand on the city's water resources. After some discussion between bet-ween the two(grqupsv, Coun. cilman Bob Wells proposed a; compromise. Wells suggested the facility be metered for a year and the highest month of water use be used to establish the water development fee. The fee related to a single family equivalent. If the metering shows the facility is using five times the water of an average single family household, house-hold, then the water development dev-elopment fee will be five times, $2,500, the fee charged charg-ed single family residences. The compromise was acceptable accep-table to both parties and the Mormon leaders left to await the coutcome of the metering. meter-ing. Water development fees are charged against new construction to enable the city to continue to expand its water resources and delivery system. According to a memo issued to the City Council by City Attorney Tom Clyde, the Mormon Church, represented represent-ed by their attorney France Briton McConkie, mav have been prepared to sue the citv snouicl an agrccble compro-vpiise compro-vpiise (javefailcd to materialize. |