Russ Field has been waiting for the Medford planning staff to OK a new 12,600-square-foot building for his ABCO Construction business on Enterprise Road, north of the airport.

He hadn’t given much thought to sewer permits until Thursday, when he heard about a dramatic increase in cost scheduled to go into effect the next day.

Field raced down to Rogue Valley Sewer Services and wrote a $1,485 check.

"It would’ve been $2,800 today," Field says.

A variety of new Rogue Valley Sewer Services fees went into effect Friday to help pay for a $20 million expansion of treatment plant services during the next 20 years.

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"It’s logical to use systems-development charges to pay for growth," says RVS Manager Chuck Root, "since it is growth that is adding to the flow, rather than the current commercial or residential users."

The changes took effect 30 days after RVS’s June board meeting.

There are presently about 190,000 residents in Jackson County. Bruce Laird, the state’s regional economic development officer who has been sizing up local population growth, anticipates there will be 235,000 residents by the end of the decade and more than 250,000 in 10 years.

"We’ve maintained a consistent growth rate for the past two decades," Laird says.

Root says money will be set aside for several years so that RVS will take on less debt when it’s time to expand.

At present, a 54-inch line runs from Medford to the treatment plant. A second line is needed, though it may be smaller, RVS officials say.

Besides the additional backbone pipe, a second line that serves Jacksonville and the area west of Medford needs an additional boost as it moves material. It is served by three 250-horsepower pumps but needs two more.

RVS says it attempted to contact everyone who has inquired about permits since January of the change in fees.

Field runs a remodeling and restoration company and it wasn’t until he was bidding on a job that one of his clients brought up the rise in sewer fees. Given that his new office calls for five toilets, five washroom sinks and five coffee-bar sinks, he thought he’d better act quick.

"In anybody’s book," Field says, "any time you have anything doubled it’s a considerable amount. I have no idea how many builders and developers are aware of this, but the few people I talked to were not aware of it."

Sewer charges for commercial and industrial construction are broken down based on the number of toilets, baths and sinks and the potential resulting flow produced.

Root says a pending 72-unit Super 8 Motel planned for 4999 Biddle Road will pay $55,175 in sewer fees, about 33 percent higher than it would have paid prior to last Friday.

Developers of large subdivisions will be hit up front by sewer hook-up fees on new construction, which jumped from $95 to $700 per house.

Bret Moore, president of the Home Builders Association of Jackson County, says homeowners may end up paying even more.

Most system development charges are paid when permits are obtained for a particular house, Moore says. RVS fees, however, are paid when the property is developed.

"You may have those fees paid anywhere from six months to a year or more prior to using the services," Moore says. "But building fees are always passed along to the consumer. Because it’s paid way up front, the cost of that fee is compounded by the cost of money."

In other words, a home-buyer may end up paying closer to $750 because of the time lag.

Fee hike varies around county

To cover the cost, RVS increased its one-time fee for new development, called the interceptor development charge, on Friday from $95 to $700 for most of the area served — Central Point, Phoenix, Talent, and portions of north and west Medford, among other areas. Phoenix fees are effective Aug. 23.

The $700 is the amount for a new house. Commercial and industrial rates vary because they are based on the amount of potential flow produced.

White City and Eagle Point are on a separate RVS system. White City’s IDC increased from $465 to $500, while Eagle Point’s decreased from $1,212 to $720.

Jacksonville, which is not annexed into the system but has a contract for services, saw an increase from $245 to $252.

Immediate system upgrades needed include the addition of two 250-horsepower pumps and construction of a second line from the Kirtland Pump Station to the Regional Treatment Plant. The estimated cost is $3.4 million. Upgrades also include the addition of a second interceptor line from Medford to the Regional Treatment Plant for $5.5 million.

Root said the agency has already spent about $2 million on capital improvements.

— Meg Landers

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com.