INGALLS -- With pressure from nearly 70 homeowners in attendance at the Ingalls Town Council meeting, the board voted Monday to table annexation of the Summerlake subdivision for at least a year.
Council Vice President Tim Millikan made the motion to halt any possible annexation for 12 months but said discussion of the annexation should continue. Cheryl Martin seconded the motion after voting at previous meetings to move forward with the annexation.
Council President Tim Green said after a few meetings with limited attendance the Summerlake homeowners came out in droves Monday to express displeasure with the plans for annexation. Summerlake has about 830 homes near Interstate 69 in southwestern Madison County.
Green said the biggest issue raised was the financial impact the annexation would have on the local schools.
A legal team hired by the town to look at the financial impact of the annexation had estimated the South Madison Community School Corporation could lose about $83,000 in taxes per year if the annexation went through.
“I think this kind of woke the board up,” Green said. “I think some of the people who were for it realized we need some time to sit down and talk about this.”
Summerlake resident Dion Douglas has been one of the people heading up the anti-annexation movement. He said he was happy the board decided to table the issue.
“I think it’s a good thing that we’re going to slow down and talk about it,” Douglas said. “We know annexation is probably going to happen eventually but we’d like to make sure we take our time and do it the right way.”
Douglas said he and others would like to see some more development by Interstate 69 exit 214 before the annexation picks up steam.
Green said the 12-month halt will give the board and Summerlake residents time to discuss the annexation without the residents feeling like the process is being rammed through.
The expenses of getting a preliminary look at the fiscal impact was also a factor in halting annexation talks. Green said the legal team has already cost Ingalls about $15,000 without any real plan on how to pay for the plan other than taking it from the general fund. Originally, the plan was to take money out of the town’s water fund, but Green said after some research, he found the town couldn’t legally pull money from one fund and put it in another.
The 12 month timeline also coincides with the election cycle for next November. Green said he thought it was important to make sure the annexation would be one of the biggest issues for the town in 2015.
This year there are two seats up for grabs between four candidates. Green and Martin are the incumbent Republicans who are running against Democratic challengers Tonie Caraway and Georgia Parker. Of the three, Martin was in favor of the annexation at the time but, as indicated by the vote on Monday, has changed her mind.