Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Annexation Vote Draws Near

Twice ordinances for annexing property along Highway 67 into Gurdon have been held. Twice the Gurdon City Council has approved the ordinance. Should it pass on its third and final reading, the ordinance will become effective and an election will be held Tuesday, Aug. 31, to determine the fate of the annexation. The second reading was done Monday, June 21, at the Gurdon Senior Adult Center, with a few interested parties in attendance.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith explained to the council and audience the area in question for annexation is the same properties the city attempted to unsuccessfully annex in 1996.

In '96, though, the only school involved was Gurdon High School. Since then, the Cabe Middle School has been constructed, with a new football field and track being built as well.

Getting GHS and CMS into the city limits is the paramount reason for the annexation being sought. When football season begins, Smith has pointed out, the Gurdon Police Department will not be allowed to provide protection as the schools are outside the current city limits.

Opinions from the audience were mixed concerning the annexation. Clark Forthman asked about streets and/or alleys being built behind his property and the possibility of limiting who could move in.

Animal control and trash pick up were of concern to Earlene Self. Should the annexation be successful, animal control will be provided immediately. Residents will have to keep their dogs either chained or penned so they don't roam the streets. Otherwise the animals will be picked up and the owners possibly fined.

On the issue of trash pick up, residents in the annexed area will receive the same service as all other city dwellers.

Billy Tarpley, a member of the Gurdon School Board, expresses his support for the annexation, saying the children and schools need police protection.

When all had voiced their opinions, the council voted unanimously in approval of the ordinance.

Annexation of this area was brought up, originally, by councilman Karen Parker during the council's regular monthly meeting on June 14.

At the time, Smith said it would require three readings to get the ordinance passed, adding there was no way the council should even try to do all three readings in one night. Instead, he suggested, the people of Gurdon and the area should be given the opportunity to speak their minds on the issue.

The '96 vote caused much dissension in Gurdon, as many had hard feelings on how the annexation proposal was handled. In the end, it failed by about 25 votes.

One of the benefits of being annexed into the city, Smith has pointed at each reading, is the savings in homeowner fire insurance.

Those residents on the east side of Highway 67 are in the Beirne fire protection area. The Beirne Volunteer Fire Department has a class 10 rating.

Should these people become city residents, they would be under the protection of the Gurdon Fire Department, which has a class 7 rating. This could mean savings on fire insurance policies of as much as $300 per year.

However, there are those who have expressed opposition because of having to pay the 5.4 mill city tax. This, Smith said, amounts to $54 a year on a $50,000 home.

The net difference when comparing the two amounts is $246 in favor of the homeowner.

A meeting will be held Thursday, July 1, at the Gurdon City Hall on a different annexation issue. Residents in the Taylor Dairy Road area circulated a petition to be brought into the city limits.

The petitions were filed at the Clark County Clerk's Office earlier in June. Clark County Judge Floyd "Buddy" Manning will preside over this meeting.

Should the county approve the annexation request, it will then be up to the council to formally finalize the appeal.

People along Highway 67 were asked to submit petitions for annexation, as several had expressed interest in being brought into the city limits. However, all said they were too busy to circulate the petitions.

This, Smith said, left the city with no option other than the election method.

There are three ways property can be annexed into a city limits. One is by petition, the second is through the election process, with the third being completely different. Should the city completely enclose an area, such as is the case of the Gurdon Primary School, the city's governing body can annex it by way of ordinance.

A meeting for the third reading of the annexation ordinance was held Monday, June 28.