Impact fees and water rates

[Kitty]

Impact fees and water rates seem to be a huge issue in many areas. What if any impact fees did you pay for your store? What is the current water rate in your area?

Is impact fees only an issue for the first owner of a mat? How can one recoup the cost of impact fees, since the margin of profit is so small to begin with and the initial costs be so high without even considering impact fees.

EPA regulations I am ingnorant on this..... What are the issues regarding the EPA in a laundromat?


I know curiousity kills the cat, but I need lots of industry info for my paper, please bear with me? :)

Thanks Kitty

[Anonymous]

My town probably has the highest impact fee in the country - $5,500 per washer. They are kinda stupid, because the fee is the same for a small machine and a 75# machine. Only the first owner pays this, and older stores are grandfathered. There simply is not enough sewer capacity in the area. You don't get this money back, its part of the cost of being in business. I think its great as it keeps out competition. It is part of the reason I bought my store - it was old and run down, but it was grandfathered for 25 washers. I paid a premium for the store in terms of what the equipment was worth, but actually a discount if you look at what it would cost to build new.


Water and sewer fees are high where I am as well. I pay four times water for sewer, and the water is not cheap. But that is why my small machines vend at $2.39 and we go up from there.

[anonymous]

Kitty --

See my post under "laundry history" to your other questions. It overlaps your questions here. It's a bit long.... apologies.

[pete f]

Our town charges $2000 per washer, in county limits it is $2200, in St Pete city limits it is a scale system, a set price for say 12, another set price from 12 to 25, etc. A 25 wsher store would be about $12000.00 Not to bad. It is an expense that goes with the building, you can;t move it, guess it takes many years to re-coup.

Much like Kirby said, old stores get sold higher than they are worth, but it is cheaper in the long run, plus you get the store's revenue base. So after you remodel you got instant money. Nobody has built a new store in the lower county for at least 10 years.... until this year. Was not economically feasable.

As for water/sewer, it makes no differnec what i pay, your area will have a set price, you just pay it. No EPA rules I know of, but before you can hook into a city sewer system you have to put in a lint trap. And a newer one might cost $2000 to $4000 to install.

[anonymous]

Hey, fellas!

Does your local government also charge washer mitigation fees on coin laundry facilities that are installed in new apartment buildings by route operators? They are, after all, competing with you for apartment customers, and I would think they should be charged also. Otherwise, wouldn't it be "restriction of trade"?

[Kitty]

Thanks so much everyone!!
Bubbles you are awesome with your information, if you could email me your name and store name, so I may paraphrase from your wise words. That would be great!!

I still would love to hear from those we never hear from to add input regarding my questions. The more information from the more sources the better my paper will be!! Thanks Kitty

[Rondo]

It's seems kinda funny but I wish we had impact fees in my area (WV) It would keep out competition and when I retire I could sell at a much higher rate. Wonder if I could petition the cities for my 2 stores to start them :)? We don't have to install lint traps either although the owner of a mat that I used to own called me the other day and told me a worker from the water & sewer company/showed up and asked him "where is your lint trap?" and he said there in my in each dryer, they both looked at each other kind of puzzled, then the guy left shaking his head.

my water rates are high and the current water company is being bought for 2 and a half times it's worth by a huge corporation from Germany/United Kindom. Guess is that I'm doomed there.

Also on a brighter note my gas company is asking for a rate decrease of all things and it still has to be approved by the state Public Service Commision.

[Howard]

I have never even heard of lint traps for the main drains (Oregon and California). I have no idea what they even look like.

If you are remodeling or doing a build-out in an existing building, remember that the bathroom(s) and sinks that existed count toward the impact fee calculation as a deduction. You can also negotiate a payment plan and/or the fee itself (since most fee structures are predicated on new house construction you may qualify for the volume discount you are going to ask for).

Always appeal whatever the decision is to the City Council. They are usually too wimpy to take a zero tolerance attitude and will bend to help a new business (expcially after a letter or two to the editor of the local newspaper).

[Andy]

Water and sewer impact/tap fees here are just over $2000 per machine.
I pay a combined $0.0258 per cubic foot for water and sewage.

[Glenn]

In my county in Florida the impact fee is based on the size of the water line. A 1 1/2 " hookup has a $52,000. flat fee. If the line is already in place, as in my case, no fee! Lint traps in the sewer line exiting the laundry are required in Florida because there are no gravity sewers. Everything is flat here and sewers lead to lift stations that pump the sewage to treatment plants. Lint can really mess up these pumps.

[anonymous]

Glenn - Thanks for the explanation of what a lint trap is used for. I know that I dont have one and wondererd if someone from the township was going to come knocking on my door some day saying that I had to have one. No other mat owner in the area has one as far as I know. Are lint traps only for flat areas? Rondo - WV is mountanous isn't it? Does your mat(s) have lint traps?

[Rondo]

Dolly, Only in the dryers :) S**t runs down hill :)

[Andy]

In one of my stores the guy who built it installed a 8' x 4' x 5'deep pit that contained a heat exchanger which the water main was run to after leaving the meter. He figured he get 12 degrees or so by running the waste water over the HE. He said it was a better lint trap than an energy saving device. The waste water still flows thru this pit which I have to have sucked out once a year. It fills with lint, sand, change, muck and some other bogus stuff.