SPRINGDALE — The City Council refused on Tuesday to consider two proposals by the Lowell City Council to detach property from Springdale to allow annexation by Lowell. Neither proposal followed a recommendation made by Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse.
When the proposals came up in the meeting, no council member moved to pass one.
“I didn’t like either one of them,” said Alderman Jeff Watson. “I would agree to de-annex anyone who wanted to be in the city.”
Donnie McDonald’s property would go to Lowell in both proposals. McDonald said he has lived for 37 years on Brown Road, which is dirt. Springdale will pave Brown Road before Lowell would be able to, he said.
“I’ve been eating dust for 37 years,” McDonald said. “After Lowell annexed part of the road, I couldn’t even get it graded.”
Bob Perry, who owns land Lowell asked to take over, said Lowell couldn’t provide services, relying on Springdale for sewer and water.
MEETING INFORMATION
Springdale Council
The Oct. 25 meeting will include a request by Cave Springs to detach property between it and Lowell from Springdale.
Public meeting: 5 p.m.
Council meeting: 6 p.m.
“Lowell stifles growth,” Perry said.
Brad Angell said he wanted to go to Lowell since his family activities go that direction. His wife, Nedra Angell, said any additional taxes brought in would not pay for improvement in the area’s infrastructure.
McDonald said he talked to Benton County about the tax increase for becoming part of a city. He calculated the difference as $57.
“If it gets me a paved road, it will be well worth it,” McDonald said.
Nedra Angell said she did not like the procedure for the annexation, which was completed without a vote by the representatives.
“I’m going to talk to my representative,” she said. “I think there needs to be changes in this law.”
Springdale used what is called the Island Annexation Law. It states unincorporated land, surrounded by a city or more than one city, can be annexed by the vote of the city council with the longest border to the island.
Springdale annexed about 2,479 acres surrounded by the city, Lowell and Cave Springs.
The annexed land runs from Wagon Wheel Road, east of Interstate 540, almost to Arkansas 264, between Lowell and Cave Springs west of Interstate 540.
State law authorizes a city to detach a section of the city while another city simultaneously annexes the property. According to law, a city that wants property inside another city’s borders must approve an ordinance asking for the property.
Lowell and Cave Springs have passed ordinances asking for property from Springdale. Cave Springs’ ordinance follows the recommendation made by Sprouse. Both of Lowell’s ordinances ask for more.
One asks for a block of Springdale’s land between Lowell and Cave Springs. The other asks for that block, along with another that runs from Interstate 540, west and north to South Zion Road.
The detachment and re-annexation would go into effect immediately if approved, said Jeff Harper, Springdale city attorney.
Springdale can’t negotiate what property goes to what city, Sprouse said. All the council can do is vote on what is asked by other cities, he said.
Tracy and Rosetta Parks live on Burdine Road, the street used as a dividing line between the areas proposed to go to Lowell or Cave Springs. They would like to go to Lowell, Rosetta Parks said.