TCAPS Fieldhouse Fees At Issue

East Bay Township, Grand Traverse County and Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) officials are working to resolve a six-figure dispute over public water and sewer connections fees to the expansive new fieldhouse being constructed by TCAPS.

Attorneys from TCAPS, East Bay Township and the Grand Traverse County Board of Public Works (BPW) are negotiating an agreement over water and sewer connection fees to the new $17.2 million, 125,000-square foot fieldhouse on Carlisle Road after school officials disputed the initial hook-up cost of nearly $650,000.

“We’re not trying to get out of what we think is our fair share from the standpoint of recognizing the taxpayers’ obligation to the sewer and water system,” TCAPS Supt. Dr. John VanWagoner told the county BPW earlier this month. “We’re trying to come up with what we really believe is fair.”

Connection fees for the municipal water and sewer system are determined through the ordinances of the member BPW townships that include East Bay, Garfield, Peninsula and Acme townships, and Elmwood Township in Leelanau County. Connection fees are calculated through a formula based on residential equivalent units - or REUs - for a specific development project. REUs are calculated according to the size and type of development, with higher REUs for large water and sewer users such as a hotel, a large commercial development or a housing complex.

County Department of Public Works Director Noah Karberg, who calculates those water/sewer benefits on behalf of the member township, originally reviewed the fieldhouse project as a “gymnasium” use under the East Bay Township ordinance. Gymnasiums are primarily reviewed on a square footage basis, Karberg said, and his initial review of the project resulted in an REU total of 82.6 that totaled a $648,230 connection fee.

But school officials pushed back, contending that the new fieldhouse is primarily a school use and connection fees should be calculated similar to other TCAPS projects developed in recent years. VanWagoner noted that the school district paid a connection fee of $48,000 for its Montessori School that opened in Garfield Township two years ago.

After school officials raised their concerns, Karberg revisited the issue. He recalculated the water/sewer benefits for the fieldhouse based on nine months as a school use, and three months as a gymnasium use as the new facility has been widely promoted for use by community groups and for hosting regional sports tournaments. The facility is planned to include full competition size football/soccer/lacrosse fields, a six-lane 330-meter track, batting cages and more.

Based on his revised calculations, Karberg came up with a total of 18.6 benefits - or REUs - resulting in a connection fee of some $151,296.

“I’m out of runway as far as what I can interpret as to what the township ordinance allows,” Karberg says. “I think they may already be paying less than other uses based on the (fieldhouse’s) educational value.”

The East Bay Township Board will have the final say on the connection fee. Supervisor Beth Friends says the township, TCAPS and the county DPW are trying to work toward a solution while ensuring the project is assessed an equitable connection fee that fully covers its costs. One potential remedy is having TCAPS pay an upfront fee of $39,600 and adjusting that amount after a year of actual water and sewer use data at the facility.

“The cost of your system has to be spread across ratepayers and be paid by ratepayers,” Friend says. “Who wants to spend thousands of dollars litigating this? No one does.”

VanWagoner said this week the fieldhouse project has about a 14-month construction window following its groundbreaking earlier this month. He’s confident the parties will resolve the connection fee dispute to keep the work on schedule.

“It’s all been very amicable and I’m confident we’ll be able to get to a resolution,” he says.