Cd'A impact fee plan gets clearance

COEUR d’ALENE — The Kootenai County Emergency Medical Services System is asking the city of Coeur d’Alene to collect impact fees to meet expected needs due to growth in the next decade.

“The impact fees are directly related to the amount of people who move in,” said Bill Keeley, KCEMSS chief.

Keeley on Tuesday outlined for the city's planning commission the $4.3 million in new services the impact fees would fund.

He said a study projects the county’s population to increase nearly 70,000 over the next 10 years.

The proposed impact fee is $132 per new residential unit and 7 cents per square foot of nonresidential building. It would be assessed on new construction and would not increase property taxes.

The commission voted 6-0 for a “favorable recommendation” to the City Council.

Some key items the impact fees would go toward over the next 10 years:

• Expansion of administration building on Seltice way in Post Falls so crews can pick up medications and supplies there, $442,000

• Five additional ambulances, $1.8 million

• Critical care ambulance, $450,000

• Additional response vehicle, $86,400

• New oxygen generators $100,000

• New drug dispensary equipment, $300,000

• Bariatric gurney, $12,000

• Three decontamination systems, $54,000

KCEMSS is an independent taxing district that supports fire districts in Kootenai County. It does not have authority to impose impact fees but can ask taxing districts to do so on its behalf.

Keeley said all other cities in the county but Spirit Lake collect impact fees for KCEMSS. It responds to more than 16,000 calls for service a year and transports more than 10,000 patients a year and those figures are expected to increase.

He said in Coeur d’Alene, it provides for two ambulances to be staffed by two medics and an EMT.

Keeley said their average response time is 7 minutes and 59 seconds, which is about the industry standard.

“Impact fees should allow us to keep that 7 minutes, 59 seconds response time,” he said.

Keely said if the population doesn’t rise as projected, the amount needed would go down.

“This is a very movable process,” he said.

Planning Commissioner Phil Ward asked if the money collected from Coeur d’Alene impact fees would be spent within the city.

“It all goes countywide,” Keeley said. “I have to protect Kootenai County.”