A unanimous decision in favor of the school impact fee proposal was reached at the Aug. 12 DeKalb city council meeting.

The decision raised the value of land for new homes from $50,000 to $75,000 an acre. The fees will be due at the time of final map drawing. Initially, the plan was to raise the costs to $80,000.

With the new fees, a house valued at $150,000 will be valued at $152,000.

The plan will not affect current tax payers, but will increase costs for new developers and new home owners.

“The average taxpayer will not contribute to the plan, but be offset by the impact fees,” 2nd Ward Alderman Kris Povlsen said.

The impact fees will be used for DeKalb area schools.

“It’s a way of staying on top for the new kids in the distance,” 1st Ward Alderman Andy Small said. “It’s so we can keep up.”

For example, if a new subdivision were to have 500 houses, with an average of two kids per household, that would be 1,000 new kids for the school district.

“They can’t function on the current taxes,” Small said.

DeKalb superintendent Brian Ali was satisfied with the results.

“It’s an indication of what can happen if people come together and share their concerns and interests,” Ali said.

More money also will be given to the park district, sanitary department and library because of the new plan.

The new impact fees are something Povlsen has been supporting for five years now.

“New developers and new homes in the community need to contribute to the schools,” Povlsen said.

The school district and the building association deserve congratulations for coming up with a compromise for the schools, Small said.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Small added. “Quality schools make up a quality town.”

Impact fees would be reassessed in 2007.

Another topic discussed was downtown parking.

The city decided to purchase a $12,000 machine that will be used to make traffic signs around the city. It will be purchased sometime this year and will not be paid for by local taxes.

“The signs will show areas for closest parking and for places like the Convocation Center,” said Paul Rasmussen, DeKalb community development director.

Rounding permits, which allow holders to park almost anywhere in the city, slowly will be phased out.

There currently are 27 of these permits being used, but they will not be able to be renewed, Rasmussen added.

That decision came because of a problem with the parking lot behind Chesapeake Bagel, 122 First St., and its neighbor Lansirs on Lincoln, 113 E. Lincoln Highway.

“That parking lot is used so people can leave quickly,” Rasmussen said. “But people with the stickers use that lot for a couple of hours.”

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