What to know about a potential utility fee add-on to accommodate the Amara development

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - If the master plan for the Amara annexation near Colorado Springs gets approved, it could mean a fee add-on of about $8 a month for the first year to the average customer's bill. The fees would go towards extending Colorado Springs Utilities' systems to accommodate the Amara annexation and proposed development.

According to Colorado Springs Utilities, the fees would go towards the estimated $150 to $230 million dollar project, which would extend water, sewer, and electric to the proposed development.

According to Colorado Springs Utilities, the fees would go down to under a dollar the second year and would continue to vary for the next eleven years.

The fees would be assessed based on a percentage of the customer's bill, as shown below.

CSU says that if the fee is not approved, they will have to delay or prioritize other planned projects so they can accommodate the new customer base in the annexation. The fees would be assessed one year prior to construction beginning on the Amara annexation.

KRDO13 asked homeowners in Colorado Springs how they felt about the proposed fee add-on.

"It's great that we're expanding Colorado Springs, but it shouldn't affect my costs to add all of these pipelines," Shane Ryan, a Colorado Springs Homeowner said. "I just feel like that's a burden  on a community."