INGALLS — Fresh off of annexing land north of Interstate 69 around Exit 214, the Town of Ingalls is considering another annexation. This time, the proposed target is Summerlake, an 834-home community just south of the highway.
Ingalls Clerk/Treasurer Kip Golden said the town’s planning board will recommend that the town council set up workshops for the discussion of issues that annexation would bring. That recommendation is expected to come at the town council’s meeting Monday.
“Right now, this is still up for discussion,” Golden said. “Nothing has been decided at this point, and we realize this would be a large project.”
Golden said the workshop would involve the council, the planning board and Ingalls’ Board of Zoning and Appeals, as well as residents of Ingalls and Summerlake.
Chris Meyer, president of the Summerlake Homeowners Association, said the homeowners association sent a letter to residents, notifying them that Ingalls is considering annexation. Meyer noted that the association, as a representative of all the homeowners, would not take an official position on the issue.
“We know that in a community of 834 homes a consensus on such a matter would be nearly impossible to obtain,” Meyer explained.
The Summerlake community is flanked by Ingalls to the north and south after the most recent annexation. Ingalls and some residents of Summerlake have already had a disagreement over the Love’s Truck Stop under construction at Exit 214.
Ingalls supported the new truck stop, hoping it would increase traffic and revenue for the town. Some Summerlake residents expressed concerns that the truck stop would bring increased noise, pollution and criminal activity.
The possible annexation of Summerlake has been on Ingalls’ radar since a comprehensive plan was completed in 2006. The plan, prepared by the Madison County Council of Goverments, lists the Summerlake development as a potential annexation target.
Annexing the area directly south of I-69 would put Ingalls firmly in control of land around Exit 214. That land could increase in value as businesses and people continue to flock to communities north of Indianapolis.
An annexation process could be lengthy, depending on the response of Summerlake homeowners. More than 51 percent of them would have to agree to the annexation for it to be a relatively easy voluntary annexation.