By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

JEMISON – The Jemison City Council has approved a new impact fee on the sewage system usage of incoming commercial developments.

According to Mayor Eddie Reed, the new charge will only affect new developments and will be used to help the city improve its water treatment and sewage infrastructure.

The impact fee will be determined based on equivalent dwelling units (EDUs), which were determined based on the average usage of city sewage customers, according to City Administrator Shannon Welch.

The city will assess a new development before it begins and charge it the one time impact fee based on how many EDUs it is expected to use. The current rate is $2,500 for the hook up to the sewers, plus $2,500 for each estimated EDU of usage.

As the city calculated it, the EDU is set at 200 gallons per month, according to Welch.

“Several municipalities in the state already have this in place and we just mimicked theirs,” Welch said.

The City of Jemison expects its economic growth to continue, and the council approved this new measure as a way of keeping the city’s infrastructure in line with the new needs these developments will bring, according to Reed.

In other news, the council set a maximum bid of $15,000 for an administrative vehicle.

The council will hold its next meeting on Dec. 12 at 6 p.m.