NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Sumner Brashears for years never wanted to bother with the process of having his home annexed into the Huntsville city limits, but he was among the first to sign up during a voluntary annexation drive the city has under way.
“There are a bunch of legal hoops to get annexed if you just bring in one piece of property,” said Brashears, president of Brashears Funeral Home in Huntsville. “I had too many things going on to do that, but this is just a good opportunity.”
Councilman Darrell Trahan is leading the city’s campaign to voluntarily annex interested property owners, a process that began with committee meetings last year.
“Basically we’re attempting to square up our city limits and giving people an opportunity to come in,” Trahan said.
The city started the annexation drive after learning that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. planned to relocate its store from central Huntsville to an area near U.S. 412 north of Huntsville. Wal-Mart hasn’t identified a site, he said, butthe city doesn’t want to lose the retail store’s sales tax revenue.
Huntsville Mayor Kevin Hatfield said Wal-Mart accounts for about 40 percent of the city’s sales tax revenue. The 1 percent sales tax generated about $700,000 in 2011, he said.
“It would be disastrous if Wal-Mart were to relocate, provided they move outside the city,” he said. “That’s the reason we started all of this.”
To be eligible for the voluntary annexation, the property must border the city or a neighboring property that borders the city must annex, Trahan said.
HIGHWAY’S IMPORTANCE
Huntsville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director David Pemberton said he anticipates the widening of U.S. 412 west of the annexation area will lead to more than commercial growth. The highway will make commuting from Huntsville to neighboring communities easier, which will spur residential growth, he said.
Construction is under way to widen a 5-mile section of U.S. 412 from Hindsville to U.S. 412 Business from two lanes into a four-lane divided highway, said David Nilles, spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
The department awarded the $23 million project to Crossland Construction Co. Inc. of Columbus, Kan., in November 2010, Nilles said. The job is on track to be finished in summer 2013.
The city plans to extend utilities to the area and, if enough people choose to annex, it will consider a bond issue to cover the $3.5 million cost, he said.
The city will collect property owners’ petitions for the next few weeks, and then the City Council will draft an annexation ordinance, Trahansaid. The city must run legal notices in publications, and finally, the Madison County Quorum Court will be asked to approve the annexations, hopefully by April 15, he said.
Hatfield said he and Trahan will spend spring break, which begins March 19, collecting paperwork from 10 to 12 property owners along U.S. 412. The annexation area roughly covers about 300 acres along the highwaybetween its interchange with Arkansas 23 and where U.S. 412 Business meets U.S. 412. They are large tracts, he said.
Trahan said he and Hatf ield met with Madison County Judge Frank Weaver and County Clerk Faron Ledbetter to make sure they supported the annexation push.
Ledbetter was part of a committee Trahan formed last year to study the annexation issue and has said thecounty won’t be adversely affected because it will continue to collect its 2 percent sales tax from the area that is incorporated.
TARGETING LANDOWNERS
The decision to annex is strictly up to property owners, Trahan said. Most property owners in the area targeted for annexation share the impression that it will become prime for commercial development. But there won’t be a push to annex property from owners involuntarily, he said.
“If it comes to that, somebody else is going to have to do that. I’m too big on property rights,” Trahan said.
Brashears said he will petition to have the city annex six acres he owns along U.S. 412 Business and his home on other property south of town. The property along U.S. 412 Business doesn’t border the city, so it can’t be brought in unless a neighbor also requests annexation, he said. The residence borders the city, so it could be annexed at any time, Brashears said.
Hatfield said while the city targeted land along U.S. 412, there’s interest from landowners in other areas, such as Governor’s Hill, where Brashears lives. Hatfield said it’s difficult to guess how many people will want to have their property brought into the city limits until the city completes its drive for petitions.
He said he knows of several property owners who have committed to being annexed but have yet to submit their paperwork. He said the city will review all requests and contact landowners that become eligible for annexation because of a neighbor’s petition.
Hatfield said he wants to make sure the city does a thorough job, because there are several other tasks to complete after the annexation is approved by the county.
“There are a lot of meetings that have to take place before we’re all done.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 03/13/2012