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City of Killeen considers maintenance fee that would cost residents and business

The Killeen city council proposed an ordinance to establish the fund for street repairs, by collecting fees from households, churches, businesses and other places. Channel 6 spoke to business owners, and they're not happy about the proposal.

KILLEEN, Texas — The City of Killeen has tried to fund its street repairs for a long time, and now the city council is debating a new street maintenance fee to pay for it.

The council proposed an ordinance to establish a fund for street repairs by collectings fees from households, churches, businesses and other properties via their water bill.

For homeowners, the fee would be $1.75 each month. For other properties the fee can cost a lot more and be a lot more complicated to calculate.

The ordinance uses the following formula to determine the fee for businesses:

Monthly Street Maintenance Cost per unit ($6.47) x Number of Units (1 per 1000 Sq. Ft.) x Single-Family Equivalent (see below) x Percentage Funded by Fee (.2635) = Monthly Bill

The "number of units" is determined by square footage, and there are 77 different rate classifications in the ordinance (listed below). The .2635 figure was used in all examples in the ordinance.

Business owners Channel 6 spoke to Monday aren't happy about the proposed fee for a number of reasons.

"You're unsure of what this bill might be for this month," Altitude Trampoline Park Manager Jamie Rogers said. "You're not able to gauge what you need to make your business successful during that month."

"Your water bill, your phone bill, anything you have, your bill goes up, you are going to want an explanation," Galaxy Bar and Grill co-owner David Gutierrez said.

Businesses told Channel 6 the additional costs would probably be manageable in the end, but didn't like the fact that they had to guess what their classification was.

At local Sandwich shop Dam Sandwiches, Channel 6 calculated the fee with the classification "Sit Down Restaurant 1,000 SF GFA 2.58." The City of Killeen later told us that classification was for fine dining establishments and the correct classification was "High Turnover (Sit-Down) Restaurant 1,000 SF GFA 3.29."

Dam Sandwiches would have to pay a fee of more than $11 a month according to our calculations, based on the example in the ordinance. Owner Marie Watson was not happy about it.

"It might not make or break me, but it's still extra money," Watson said. "I'm a mom and pop store, I don't even get a paycheck. Money I make here goes into my business."

The ambiguity in classification was a bigger issue for Altitude Trampoline Park. Manager Jamie Rogers didn't know whether they would be seen as a Multipurpose Recreational Facility, a Health/Fitness Club, or an Athletic Club. Unfortunately, with a 60,000 square foot building, Channel 6 calculated their fee to be nearly $300 a month under the first option, and the city said that classification was correct.

"I think it's not fair to be judged by the square footage, not all business are using the square footage that they have, and the same amount of people could be in a restaurant at the same time. I think it should be more based off of a set number provided by the city," Rogers said.

The Killeen City Council will debate the new maintenance fee ordinance Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Utility Collections Conference Room at 210 West Avenue C in Killeen.

City spokeswoman Hilary Shine said the council could vote on the ordinance as early as next week.

1. Single-Family Detached Housing Dwelling Unit 1.00

2. Multi-Family Housing (Low-Rise) Dwelling Unit 0.57

3. Multi-Family Housing (Mid-Rise) Dwelling Unit 0.44

4. Mobile Home Dwelling Unit 0.47

5. Assisted Living 1,000 SF GFA 0.49

6. Intermodal Truck Terminal 1,000 SF GFA 2.31

7. General Light Industrial 1,000 SF GFA 0.78

8. Industrial Park 1,000 SF GFA 0.49

9. Manufacturing 1,000 SF GFA 0.83

10. Warehousing 1,000 SF GFA 0.23

11. Mini-Warehouse 1,000 SF GFA 0.21

12. Hotel Room 0.50

13. Motel / Other Lodging Facilities Room 0.31

14. Multipurpose Recreational Facility 1,000 SF GFA 2.84

15. Bowling Alley 1,000 SF GFA 0.92

16. Adult Cabaret 1,000 SF GFA 2.32

17. Ice Skating Rink 1,000 SF GFA 1.05

18. Health/Fitness Club 1,000 SF GFA 2.74

19. Athletic Club 1,000 SF GFA 4.99

20. Recreational Community Center 1,000 SF GFA 1.83

21. Elementary School 1,000 SF GFA 1.01

22. Middle School/Junior High School 1,000 SF GFA 0.88

23. High School 1,000 SF GFA 0.72

24. Private School (K-8) 1,000 SF GFA 4.83

25. Junior / Community College 1,000 SF GFA 1.37

26. Church 1,000 SF GFA 0.24

27. Mosque 1,000 SF GFA 2.09

28. Day Care Center 1,000 SF GFA 4.60

29. Museum 1,000 SF GFA 0.13

30. Nursing Home 1,000 SF GFA 0.44

31. Clinic 1,000 SF GFA 2.42

32. Animal Hospital/Veterinary Clinic 1,000 SF GFA 1.83

33. General Office Building 1,000 SF GFA 0.85

34. Corporate Headquarters Building 1,000 SF GFA 1.03

35. Single Tenant Office Building 1,000 SF GFA 1.26

36. Medical-Dental Office Building 1,000 SF GFA 2.56

37. Office Park 1,000 SF GFA 0.98

38. Construction Equipment Rental Store 1,000 SF GFA 0.82

39. Building Materials and Lumber Store 1,000 SF GFA 1.70

40. Free-Standing Discount Superstore 1,000 SF GFA 2.53

41. Variety Store 1,000 SF GFA 3.72

42. Free-Standing Retail Store 1,000 SF GFA 2.79

43. Hardware/Paint Store 1,000 SF GFA 1.63

44. Nursery (Garden Center) 1,000 SF GFA 4.01

45. Shopping Center 1,000 SF GLA 2.07

46. New and Used Car Sales 1,000 SF GFA 2.38

47. Recreational Vehicle Sales 1,000 SF GFA 0.61

48. Automobile Parts Sales 1,000 SF GFA 2.22

49. Tire Store 1,000 SF GFA 2.28

50. Tire Superstore 1,000 SF GFA 1.20

51. Supermarket 1,000 SF GFA 4.88

52. Convenience Market (Open 24 Hours) 1,000 SF GFA 19.85

53. Convenience Market w/ Gasoline Pumps 1,000 SF GFA 13.83

54. Discount Supermarket 1,000 SF GFA 5.46

55. Home Improvement Superstore 1,000 SF GFA 1.11

56. Office Supply Superstore 1,000 SF GFA 2.29

57. Discount Home Furnishing Superstore 1,000 SF GFA 1.30

58. Department Store 1,000 SF GFA 1.13

59. Apparel Store 1,000 SF GFA 3.40

60. Pharmacy/Drugstore w/o Drive-through window 1,000 SF GFA 3.30

61. Pharmacy/Drugstore w/ Drive-through window 1,000 SF GFA 4.33

62. Furniture Store 1,000 SF GFA 0.20

63. Walk-In Bank 1,000 SF GFA 3.05

64. Drive-In Bank 1,000 SF GFA 5.31

65. Hair Salon 1,000 SF GFA 0.43

66. Drinking Place 1,000 SF GFA 3.83

67. Sit Down Restaurant 1,000 SF GFA 2.58

68. High Turnover (Sit-Down) Restaurant 1,000 SF GFA 3.29

69. Fast Food Restaurant without Drive-Thru Window 1,000 SF GFA 8.38

70. Fast Food Restaurant with Drive-Thru Window 1,000 SF GFA 9.66

71. Coffee/Donut Shop without Drive-through Window 1,000 SF GFA 2.36

72. Coffee/Donut Shop with Drive-Thru Window 1,000 SF GFA 2.82

73. Quick Lubrication Vehicle Shop 1,000 SF GFA 4.14

74. Automobile Care Center 1,000 SF GFA 1.48

75. Automobile Parts & Service Center 1,000 SF GFA 1.00

76. Self-Service Car Wash Stall 0.49

77. Automated Car Wash 1,000 SF GFA 1.00

Street Fee Ordinance by Pat Mueller on Scribd

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