Palmer annexation plan facing delay

September 29, 2006

By LEILA KHEIRY/Frontiersman

Palmer's plan to annex more territory likely will be delayed at least a year after the Palmer City Council on Tuesday rejected two ordinances aimed at moving the city forward with its growth proposal.

In a 5-2 vote, the council voted down a measure to hire a consultant, Lamar Cotton, to help the city prepare its annexation petition. The $35,000 contract was too much of an investment when the whole concept of expanding the city's boundaries was in question, said council member Tony Pippel.

&#8220I'm not sure we can annex at all,” he said, citing the rising costs of the state-mandated public employees retirement system, commonly called PERS.

Mayor John Combs, who voted in favor of the contract along with council member Kathrine Vanover, said hiring a consultant would help the city decide whether it can afford to take on more responsibility. He added that the $35,000 would come out of this year's budget, and any future financial issues can be considered during the 2007 budget process.

Combs suggested the council move forward with the annexation plan's &#8220Phase 1” expansion, which would approximately double the size of Palmer. Those suggested boundaries include subdivisions such as Equestrian Acres on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Crimson View subdivision on the Glenn Highway south of town. Combs said the consultant and the council could consider changing the expanded boundaries as they worked through the process.

&#8220At least we'll have a starting point,” he said. &#8220We paid good money for someone to tell us where to start, so I suggest we start there.”

Others on the council disagreed, however, citing the uncertain financial future of the community. Council member Brad Hanson said he supports annexation, but it wouldn't be prudent to spend the time and money creating an annexation petition until the council clearly wants to move ahead with expansion.

&#8220I think we have some work to do prior to spending $35,000 … that we may need later,” he said. &#8220We need to understand those unknowns before we proceed down that path.”

City Manager Tom Healy said delaying the decision to hire a consultant likely would set the annexation process back a full year.

&#8220It's either go or no go at this point,” he said.

The city has a February deadline to submit a petition to the state Local Boundary Commission, according to the city's Web site. If it misses that deadline, it will have to wait until February 2008 to get the plan to the state.

The council also voted 5-2, with Combs and Vanover again in the minority, to reject a measure that would have established annexation boundaries. Pippel said since the council was not going to hire a consultant, it would be silly to set boundaries.

Combs made another plea for the council to stay on track with expansion. Every time the city delays annexation, he said, more of the land surrounding Palmer is developed, and the city has no control over what is built. He said the city needs that control to ensure that development close to Palmer fits with the community's image and cultural identity.

During the public comment period, six people addressed annexation.

Kevin Sorensen said he owns undeveloped land in the area that would have been annexed through Phase 1, but he lives in Equestrian Acres, which the council had considered leaving out of the city's expanded boundaries. He said it would be strange to annex some areas but not others, and there are reasons other than aesthetics to have regular boundaries.

&#8220I would just as soon be in the city,” he said, because then he would have a vote.

The other speakers were decidedly against annexation.

John Christensen, who said he lives on South Brooks, asked the council to leave him out of the city.

&#8220I'm a redneck farm boy and would like it to stay that way,” he said.

For more information about the city's annexation plan, interested people can go to www.cityofpalmer.org and select the &#8220annexation information” link.

Contact Leila Kheiry at 352-2270 or at leila.kheiry@frontiersman .com