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Mayor proposes annexation of five areas

This map, provided by the City of Huntington, shows the five areas proposed for annexation by the city over the next eight years.
This map, provided by the City of Huntington, shows the five areas proposed for annexation by the city over the next eight years. Graphic provided.

A plan to annex more than 3,000 acres of land into the city of Huntington drew protests even before it was formally introduced to the Huntington Common Council on Tuesday, March 11.

"You're looking at annexing as much as 40 percent of the unincorporated portion of Huntington Township," Huntington Township Trustee Tim Guy told council members.

The annexation would have a negative impact on the township's property tax revenue, Guy said, hampering the township's ability to provide services including fire protection.

Huntington Mayor Brooks Fetters, who presented the proposal to council and a room full of spectators Tuesday evening, said the annexation plan reflects the realities of population growth.

"Annexation has failed to keep pace with growth," Fetters said.

He proposes annexing five parcels to the north, east and south of the city, with annexation of the first parcel to be completed this year and the final annexation accomplished in 2021.

Before an annexation can take place, the city council must approve an annexation ordinance and fiscal plan. Public hearings must also be conducted.

Fetters said he plans to introduce an annexation ordinance and fiscal plan for the first area during the March 25 council meeting. A public hearing will likely be held in early June, he said, and council is expected to take action on the ordinance sometime during the summer.

Residents Andy Zay and David Williams both expressed disappointment at what they saw as little advance notice of the proposal to the community. Fetters replied that the introduction at the council meeting was intended to get the word out and that no formal annexation proposal has yet been presented.

Councilman Jim Long, though, agreed with Zay and Williams.

"Something this comprehensive ... we should have been talking for a long time with a lot of people," Long said.

There will be numerous opportunities for public comment on the proposals, Fetters said.

Areas Fetters is proposing for annexation are:

• Area 1 - Approximately 808 acres northeast of the city. This area includes Parkview Huntington Hospital, Crestview Middle School, Flint Springs Elementary School, The Heritage of Huntington, Hillside Estates Mobile Home Park and Hidden Hamlets. Plans call for the annexation to be complete by Oct. 31 of this year.

• Area 2 - Approximately 455 acres east of the city. The area includes the PAL Club and Lincoln Elementary School, along with the Idle Hour Park, Walter Estates and Thompson housing additions. The targeted date for annexation of this area is Jan. 1, 2016.

• Area 3 - Approximately 1,357 acres southeast of the city. This area includes Huntington Municipal Airport, the Huntington County Community School Corporation's school bus garage, Evergreen Park, Riverview Middle School and the Horace Mann Education Center. It also includes the South Side City Park, Aero Landings, Stanley, Elliot, Drabenstot and Farthing housing additions. The effective date of annexation would be Jan. 1, 2018.

• Area 4 - Approximately 283 areas northeast of the city. The area includes part of the Mishler Road addition. The targeted annexation dare is Jan. 1, 2018.

• Area 5 - Approximately 111 acres north of the city. The area includes the Miller Ridge housing addition. Annexation should be complete by Jan. 1, 2022.

For each area annexed, the city must provide non-capital services (police and fire protection, road maintenance and trash and snow removal) within one year. Capital services (water and sewer service) must be provided within three years.

While residents of any area annexed by the city will pay city taxes, not all residents will have a higher total tax bill. Those who have already hit the tax cap and are paying the maximum amount of property taxes will not see a higher bill.

The annexation plan comes on the heels of a decision by Huntington Township officials to discontinue a contract with the city under which the Huntington Fire Department provides fire protection to unincorporated areas of the township.

That contract will end April 15, and township officials have signed contracts with Markle and Andrews volunteer fire departments to cover Huntington Township's unincorporated areas. The township is also negotiating with the Clear Creek/Bippus and Mt. Etna volunteer fire departments, but has not signed an agreement with either of those departments.

Fetters said administrators from Parkview Huntington Hospital and the Huntington County Community School Corporation have expressed a desire for city fire and police protection, something that will be provided if annexation takes place.

However, Fetters says, that's not the main reason for the annexation proposal.

"It's one of the reasons, but it's one of many," he says.

Fetters said the last significant annexations by the city occurred during the 1970s. A comprehensive plan for the city, approved by the city council in 2012, recommended that additional areas be annexed into the city but did not specify those areas. The specific areas were set more recently by the city administration, Fetters said.

The areas proposed for annexation, Fetters says, are areas where the city has already extended water and sewer service; densely populated areas where water and sewer service is needed; and areas ripe for commercial development.

"We've not been overagressive in our reach," Fetters says. "It's part of Huntington just moving forward to fulfill its destiny."

The city is not proposing annexing any areas to the west of the city, he says, because that area already has many regional sewer districts and not a lot of residential growth.

The complete plan, including detailed maps of the areas proposed for annexation, is available on the city's website. Visit www.huntington.in.us and click on the "City" header. The City of Huntington Annexation Plan is posted under "News and Announcements."