By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer
HOWARD – The village’s four-member Special Assessment Review Committee backed a series of amendments to Howard’s policy on special assessments at its meeting Wednesday, Sept. 5.
The committee – comprised of Village President Burt McIntyre and trustees Adam Lemorande, Craig McAllister and Ray Suennen – favored language that would allow property owners in the village to receive a credit for septic systems and potable wells if they have been installed within the last five years of when those property owners would have been assessed for municipal sewer and water service.
That language, which Director of Engineering Mike Kaster noted is based on policy in Suamico, would make those properties eligible for credits based on a five-year depreciation schedule, in which the amount of the credit would be reduced by 20 percent each year.
“Two years after they put their new (septic and potable well) systems in, sewer and water comes through there, they would be required to hook up by ordinance,” Kaster said. “They would get 60 percent back off their systems, if they can provide proof of payment.”
The septic system credit would require proof of installation with a receipt for the work, proof of payment and a copy of the septic system permit from Brown County, while the potable well credit would require proof of installation with a receipt for the work and proof of payment.
Director of Public Works Geoff Farr recommended not extending the credit past five years after installation because that “would open a huge can of worms.”
“If this is of interest to the board, it would allow for just a short window to be reimbursed,” Farr said. “Because if you open it to 10 years or something like that, then you’re going to incentivize people to make a decision to install a new (septic system). Then you’re going to be paying for a lion’s share of that cost. Whereas if it happens in a very short term, maybe that’s more reasonable.”
Farr noted the village in the past has denied issuing credits for property owners with septic systems that are required to connect to the municipal services.
“Especially Shawano Avenue, there’s a lot of (septic systems) out there, and there was no credits given in that situation,” he said.
Suennen said providing the reimbursement would be “fair and reasonable to those people that it may occur to, because we are moving more and more out to the rural area of the village.”
“This would make it much more fairer to them, considering they’d get hit with assessments for having to hook up,” he said.
Corner lot credit
In cases where a new development, adjacent to an existing single-family lot with an existing home, results in constructing a new roadway that forms a corner lot, committee members backed an amendment in which the fronting property owners and the village would each contribute 50 percent of the standard street size project cost for the street frontage.
“The reason for putting this in would be, if you’ve got a property that doesn’t have a corner right now, and the new street creates a corner for them, then give them 50 percent (of a credit on the new side),” Kaster said. “What this avoids is a potential deficit on the corner credit.”
Committee members also agreed to include specific language related to regional storm water management fees, which Kaster noted is already the village’s practice, into the policy for special assessments.
In instances where storm management facilities are installed to serve multiple properties within a defined service area, Kaster said properties that are developable or being developed would be charged the regional storm water fee with the cost calculated based on the area served by the regional facility.
The per-area cost would be calculated as the total cost of the facility divided by the number of acres within the service area, according to the policy language.
Properties that are fully developed with an existing permitted use, and cannot be further subdivided, would be exempt from the regional storm water fees, Kaster said.
He also noted properties previously developed within a regional storm water management district, but subsequently redeveloped to a more intense different use, would be charged the established per-unit price for the district.
Committee members discussed other issues related to special assessments, such as possibly making changes to granting deferments, which now total around $2.4 million, but took no action on those matters after not reaching a consensus.
The committee, which has its next meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 10, was created by the village board in April when a residential property owner, George Hoell, objected to more than $20,000 worth of special assessments being charged for his corner lot next to where 32 single-family residential lots were planned as part of the Kozy Korners development.
Hoell said there would be no benefit for him to have to connect to the municipal water and sewer service with his lot at Evergreen Avenue and Coral Reef Lane.
Though board members approved those assessments, they agreed to form the committee to review the special assessment policy, and if the policy favors Hoell, a credit will be issued to him.