Searcy Annex growth worries its own

Thus far, public opposition to the City of Searcy's annexation plans has come mostly from residents directly affected - those in areas like the Honey Hill Road neighborhood, which are now outside the city limits but were proposed to be brought into the city.

In response to that opposition, the scope of the annexation plan was scaled back, and its most vociferous opponents were at least somewhat placated.

But a handful of people within the city limits are now beginning to express reservations about expanding the city, citing what they say are overwhelming costs involved in the proposition.

"Yes, I was the lone vote against annexation," said Searcy City Council member Mark Derrick, recalling his solitary "no" vote against the revised plan at this month's council meeting. "I just don't think we ought to be making the city larger when we can't really properly take care of what we have now."

Derrick said he would have supported a very limited annexation plan bringing into the city those county pockets north of Hwy. 36 and around the high school. But the council approved a much grander proposal, one that stretches the city limits south all the way to Booth Road, north to Collins Road and west to Honey Hill and Valley Roads.

While they voted in favor of the larger plan, three other council members - Carl Nutter, Bobby Thompson and Dale English - tried to amend it to exclude the actual border line roadways.

"We'll have to spend $1 million just on Collins Road," said Nutter. "I don't know how we can finance all the roads."

Collins Road is now a meandering dirt and gravel lane connecting Holmes Road to the Hillcrest subdivision, which marks the extreme northwest corner of the proposed annexation area. To bring it to city standards, Collins Road would have to be straightened, widened and paved. The other roads wouldn't need complete rebuilding, but even on-going maintenance of the old roads will be costly.

"But those aren't the only concerns," said Derrick. "Both the chief of police and the fire chief expressed reservations about annexation, and said that their services would be stretched."

Police Chief J.R. Thomas had prepared a report outlining what the police department would need to handle the original annexation proposal, which stretched the boundaries about a quarter-mile beyond the boundary roads of the revised proposal.

"[T]he Searcy Police Department respectfully recommends a necessary increase of one patrol unit to the patrol division when and if this new boundary is approved by the voters," wrote Thomas.

$96,000 PER UNIT

"One patrol unit" means one officer per shift, explained Thomas, for a total of three new officers, costing a total of $96,000 annually.

Thomas had based his increased needs on an analysis of service area, population, and "character" (rural vs. urban). The largest factor was the increase in the service area, which was about seven square miles of new city territory.

When the council scaled back the annexation area, the new service area was reduced by about a third, and the other factors didn't change much. Thomas said, however, that the reduced scope of the annexation proposal led him to revise his needs, and now he doesn't see any need to add more officers.

Fire Chief Bill Baldridge prepared a similar report for the council, which outlined even greater needs and costs.

"To provide [the needed] level of manpower," wrote Baldridge, "would require an additional eight people to maintain the necessary level of staffing.

Baldridge also said new fire hydrants would need to be installed in some of the annexed areas, at an unknown cost.

Contacted Thursday, Baldridge said his greatest concern was how the city's valued insurance rating would be affected by the annexation of the Hillcrest subdivision. The city is now rated by the Insurance Service Office (ISO) at a Level 2, and is one of only a handful in the state to achieve that status.

"Our response time to the Hillcrest area would be about seven minutes, and a structure fire about doubles in five minutes," he said.

Other concerns in the Hillcrest area are lower water pressure and larger house sizes, he said.

BALDRIDGE SHRUGS

While Baldridge's report asks for eight new firefighters, Mayor Belinda LaForce has said publicly that the city will need only three. Asked about the difference, Baldridge shrugged.

"I handed city hall my recommendation," he said. "But I told them, 'I'm only the fire chief, you make the decision and I'll implement it, whatever it is."

Eight additional firefighters would cost the city about $250,000 annually, while three would cost about $95,000 annually.

LaForce is on vacation this week and can not be reached for comment.

For Derrick, such monetary concerns are a deal-breaker for annexation. Council member Bobby Thompson, however, said that while increased costs are a factor in his decision-making, he's going to vote to put the annexation proposal before the voters.

"The mayor and the planning commission seem to think we can afford it," he said. "So I'm all for putting it on to the public, and let them have the say. It's up to the people. I wouldn't be surprised if they vote one way or the other."

The council will decide at its August 10 meeting whether to put the annexation issue on the November ballot.