ROGERS -- The city of Rogers is looking to grow west by annexing rural areas where it can offer essential services, Mayor Greg Hines said.
"These are areas that are essentially surrounded by the city," Hines said. "A lot of people think they live in Rogers now."
Hines said the City Council will consider a pair of ordinances Tuesday calling for a special election to annex areas east and west of Arkansas 112. There are four areas with a total of about 4,000 acres being considered for annexation, Hines said.
If the council approves the ordinances, a special election will be held Nov. 14 to decide the issue, he said.
State law provides that voters in the areas proposed for annexation and city residents are eligible to vote, Hines said. The Benton County clerk's office made a rough estimate of about 200 voters in the annexation areas. Rogers has more than 42,000 registered voters.
"It's one election and all the votes will be counted together," Hines said.
The city would rather annex the entire area at once to ease the process extending city infrastructure, particularly water and sewer service, he said.
Property now used for agriculture will remain unchanged if the annexation is approved, Hines said. It was the pace of residential development in the area that convinced him that annexation makes sense, he said.
Metro on 08/20/2017