POST FALLS — Post Falls can thank Hayden for staying out of a taxpayer sewer.

Applying the same formula used by the Idaho Supreme Court in the lawsuit of the North Idaho Building Contractors Association vs. City of Hayden to determine sewer capitalization fees, the Post Falls City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved adjustments to its fees accordingly.

Post Falls' water capitalization fee on a single-family home rose from $2,593 to $2,840. The sewer capitalization fee decreased from $5,014 to $4,822. The new fee amounts went into effect on Wednesday.

"This is a correction to bring our fees up to date with current data," said John Beacham, Post Falls utilities manager, referring to the Supreme Court's decision in the Hayden lawsuit. "It also shows that our past efforts of trying to keep the fees up to date seem to have worked (because the differences aren't significant). We want to stay on track and up to date. We wanted to use the same methodology confirmed by the Supreme Court."

Capitalization fees are a one-time fee on new growth and expansions to recover a proportional share of the value of facilitates that provide service. The fees are used for capital projects such as water towers and wells.

Hayden has been embroiled in a five-year suit with NIBCA over sewer fees the city collected from April 10, 2010, to March 4, 2016. The legal battle has cost Hayden $707,507 in attorney fees.

The Supreme Court ruled Hayden may charge a sewer cap fee and use the funds to pay for new infrastructure to expand the city's sewer capacity without burdening existing taxpayers, but it disagreed with the formula used by the city to calculate the cap fee. Attorneys from both sides presented closing arguments to a judge last month.

The judge will now make a ruling on how much the city owes the builders, if anything.

Post Falls Mayor Ron Jacobson said seeing what Hayden has paid in attorney fees prompted Post Falls to re-run its numbers based on the Supreme Court ruling.

"I'm a firm believer in having growth pay for itself, but we never want to stick anybody (with excessive fees)," Jacobson said. "We just want to make sure what we're charging is legal."

• In other news, the City Council also unanimously approved a land exchange deal on the west side of Black Bay Park that will allow for another access into the park.

The city will give up half an acre (80 feet of Spokane River frontage) on the southwest corner of the park and $190,000 for 5.5 acres owned by resident Steve Shamion in the area of Ford Rock on the west side of the park.

Post Falls Parks and Recreation Director Dave Fair said the deal will allow residents in the neighborhood to the west of the park to access it through a trail system. It will also settle an encroachment case as Shamion's landscaping extended slightly into the park.

Some residents had concerns that a parking lot might be built at the new access point. Fair said a parking lot isn't his recommendation, but some council members floated the possibility.

"This ultimately will be an issue when we work on trail access," Fair said.

Residents also wondered if the trail system would lead to pedestrians wandering onto their property. Fair said building a fence could be an option if the budget allows for one.