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G. Greenacres Refund RequestsAgenda -January 27, 1997 AGENDA ITEM 3 - GREENACRES REFUND REQUEST FROM RESIDENTS BACKGROUND/CONSIDERATION: Since we did not consummate the annexation of Greenacres, we have been receiving calls from residents of the neighborhood requesting refunds of their water connection fees. There have not been a large number of requests at this time, but they are increasing. When the annexation was under active consideration, it was stated in the extension plan that the City would refund water connection fees less the amount for the meter. The question the staff has is whether we should ever refund water/sewer connection fees upon requests or upon the sale (1 request) of the property where the previous owner wants his money back. RECOMMENDATION: To alleviate problems with the staff answering this question, we are asking for Council direction. My recommendation is to designate the connection fees as going with the property. Whenever an owner pays the connection fee, it should be clear that the fee remains as a credit to the land regardless who the owner is at the time the services are available. The connection fees would transfer with the property and the new owner would not be responsible for paying the connection fees. The responsibility of letting a new owner know that this "asset" is with the property, during the transfer process, will be the current owner's. ACTION REQUIRED: For the direction of the staff and the official record, I would suggest a MOTION be approved stating, that the fees 01/13/97 16:14 STATION (123)456-7890 P. 002 Interoff ice M E M O R A N D U M to: Clarence Krepps from: Diana Harrison subject: Greenacres Refund Requests date: January 13, 1997 At last Thursday's Site Review Committee Meeting, we discussed the subject of refunding water an&or sewer fees to Greenacres residents. The reason this was on the agenda, is because over the past few weeks we have gotten requests from some residents of Crreenacres to refund their water connection fees. There have not been a great deal of requests, but I have been unsure of how to respond to this request. The last call I received was from a gentleman who is going to sell his house. He would like to get his money back before he moves out of state. I have received one other call that was similar to this. 1 believe that the Public Works Department has received a few of these calls as well. When the City was considering annexing the Greenacres area, it was stated in the extension of services plan that the City would refund water connection fees less the amount for the meter. Now that this is up in the air, the staff is unsure how to respond to these requests. The discussion at Site Review brought up the question of whether we should ever refund water and sewer connection fees or if it should remain with the land, regardless of who the owner is at the time the services are available. This would mean that if the current property owner pays the connection fees and then decides to sell the land, he could not ask for a refund. The connection fees would transfer with the property, therefore the new property owner would not be responsible for paying the connection fees. Stains asking for direction from the City Council on how to respond to refund requests from Greenacres residents as well as any other resident of the City of Kalispell.