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Annexation issue appears dead

A plan to annex five separate areas of Huntington Township into the city of Huntington over the next eight years appears to be dead.

On a 4-3 vote Tuesday, July 8, the Huntington Common Council shot down annexation of the first area, located to the north and east of the city.

The four councilmen voting in the majority - Greg Davis, Bill Oswalt, Paul Pike and Wayne Powell - also told Mayor Brooks Fetters they had no interest in pursuing annexation of the other four areas.

"I don't want to waste anyone's time," Mayor Brooks Fetters told the council, indicating that he would drop the entire annexation proposal in order to focus on other areas of city management.

Fetters had presented the eight-year plan to council in March, and a group of county and city residents quickly formed to oppose annexation. A large contingent of that group, along with a smaller group favoring annexation, filled the council's meeting room and spilled out into the hallway Tuesday evening. Fetters was forced to quiet the audience a half-dozen times.

Six people offered comments before the vote, with only one offering support for annexation. A letter submitted for the record also supported annexation.

The original proposal for the first area proposed for annexation encompassed more than 800 acres, but council, at its last meeting, asked that the area be reduced by about half. Both the original and amended versions included Parkview Huntington Hospital, Crestview Middle School and Hidden Hamlets. Some of the homeowners in the area protested that annexation would place them under city ordinances, prohibiting them from playing paintball, raising chickens, shooting a gun or building a bonfire on their properties.

"What gives me the moral right to tell someone that has worked hard and purchased their ground that I'm going to change the rules on them?" Davis said prior to the vote.

Oswalt said he believes there are times when annexation is appropriate, but added, "I think maybe we're taking the wrong approach."

Davis, Pike and Oswalt all said they would favor annexation in the future only if it is requested by residents or business owners.

Councilman Charles Chapman, who sided with Jack Slusser and Joe Blomeke in favor of the first phase of annexation, said he believes annexation of the 400-acre parcel was appropriate.

Chapman said he wanted to take advantage of the large crowd at the meeting - attendance at city council meetings is usually limited to just a handful of residents, if any - to clear up some misconceptions, especially the idea that the city is being forced to annex because it needs the tax income.

"A lot of good things have been happening," Chapman said.

He cited a trimmed down government that has reduced the number of employees and cut its vehicle fleet; tightened its belt and paid off debt and invested in the community.
"For the first time in the city's history, the water and wastewater departments are on a budget," he said.

While Huntington's property tax rate is high compared to other counties, income tax and other tax rates are low compared to those same counties, he said. While annexation opponents pointed to empty lots available for development in the city, Chapman pointed to the development taking place on the former YMCA lot, old Our Sunday visitor building and the empty Breyers building.

"I hope this community can grow," he said.

For good measure, the council also voted on the original phase one annexation proposal, containing 800-plus acres, rejecting it 6-1. Slusser cast the lone vote in favor.