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Benton to postpone annex election |
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Tuesday, 15 July 2008 |
There will not be a special annexation election Aug. 12 in Benton after all.
Aldermen on Monday night approved an ordinance that repeals the earlier ordinance calling for the election.
Benton officials now plan to revamp their annexation plans and focus strictly on a small area of land that also is being sought by the city of Bryant.
Bryant’s annexation election still is scheduled Sept. 9, but Benton now plans to hold another election concerning a much smaller parcel of land. The new election is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Eliminated from the targeted area is the Salem community, where residents have registered strong opposition and organized an anti-annexation campaign.
Alderman Doug Stracener said in an agenda meeting preceding Monday night’s council session that the city of Benton, for the past 10 years, has done “only friendly annexations” except for one island annexation where there was little population.
“Benton’s track record is annexation-friendly,” he told Bob Huie, a Salem resident who has led opposition to Benton’s annexation proposal.
Stracener said backing off on the more extensive annexation proposal is a wise move.
Huie indicated that he appreciates the decision to change the annexation proposal.
“I like this plan if you call this off,” Huie said. “I think there is a lot of ambiguity ... a great deal of confusion about this. I think people are misinformed ... .”
Huie said there needs to be better communication between city leaders and Salem residents who possibly could be interested in being annexed into Benton at some time in the future, but not now.
Huie pointed out that he is “not a politician.”
“I’m a preacher,” he said. “This fell on me just because I put a sign [opposing the annexation] in my yard.”
Alderman Joe Lee Richards noted that he and other Benton officials have shown by this action that they are sympathetic to the feelings of the Salem residents.
Richards openly criticized Bryant officials for being especially aggressive in annexation proposals.
“Bryant has their sights set on being the largest land-grab area city ... They want to go all the way to Paron.
“I’ve never seen such greed and disrespect that their City Council is showing,” he said.
Mayor Rick Holland, who pointed out the changed area on a map, said he supports the annexation proposal changes and asked Huie to “go back and tell your people that we listened to you.”
Huie asked Holland to “come out and speak to the Salem community residents” and Holland said he would “be happy to do so.”
City Attorney Brent Houston explained that even if the Bryant annexation proposal is approved in September, Benton still has the opportunity to annex the disputed area by holding its election within 30 days. If both cities’ plans are approved, then the residents of the area will vote in a third election within three weeks to determine which city they will join.
“It will no longer be whether to be annexed, but rather which city they will become part of,” Houston said.
Previously, the annexation area included “from the city boundaries northward approximately to the intersection of Northlake Road and Prange Road over to the city’s most northeastern boundary, which included the Salem area.”
Houston said he believes that Benton officials have made a wise decision.”The residents of the Salem area have shown a great deal of opposition, and eliminating them at this point seems wise,” he said.
Houston explained that the October annexation proposal will involve the “area around Northlake Road and Zuber Road, which would eliminate by and large the Salem area.”
“If we had this election in August and we lost, then Bryant is proposing to take the overlap area between the two annexations,” he said. “Benton is concerned because this particular area has strategic placement for a water tower planned by the utility department. Long-term planning has placed the tower in that area.”
Losing the annexation issue in August “could have harmed Benton’s growth to the north in the future,” Houston said.
The changed annexation area “greatly reduces the amount of land we’re seeking to take,” Houston said.
“If Bryant is successful in getting the Northlake area, this would essentially put Benton inside a doughnut,” Houston said. “It’s time for Benton to take a stand and say we’re going to protect our own borders.”
Frank Large, who was a member of the Benton Planning and Zoning Commission in 2005, said the chairs of both Benton and Bryant’s planning commissions signed an agreement in 2005 that targeted the Northlake Road area for Benton’s development.
The city of Benton has abided by that agreement, he said, but Bryant immediately violated it regarding other areas, he said.
Bryant leaders say Benton changed its planning map, but Benton leaders say this is not so.
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Razorbacks
