Attorneys for the City of Columbia began Monday presenting its case for annexation in Marion County Chancery Court, which is actually a process that began more than four years ago with an annexation study. The trial, which was expected to last a week, was still underway as of press time Tuesday.
If the annexation is approved, it would add 39 additional businesses, 421 homes and 973 people to the city’s tax rolls.
The courtroom on Monday and Tuesday mainly contained lawyers and witnesses for the city. Monday, some members of the community who had expressed opposition to the annexation were there, but did not stay long. Grant McArthur, who has been vocally against the annexation, along with attorney Joseph Turney, stayed in court most of the day but eventually withdrew their opposition.
Testimony began in front of Special Retired Chancery Court Judge William Singletary, with Mayor Justin McKenzie called to testify as the first witness. McKenzie remained on the stand for more than three and a half hours.
Columbia’s annexation attorney, J. Chadwick Mask, questioned McKenzie about the need to annex additional area into the current city limits. McKenzie said the city is not growing and does not have the potential to grow without expanding its limits.
McKenzie discussed the five areas in the proposed annexation area. Area one is along Mississippi 35 North near Dean Griner ball fields. The land in question includes the area behind the ball fields and north of the fields, include a street. He said moving west is not an option because of the natural boundary of the Pearl River. Much of the land along the river was either wetlands or in a flood plain and was therefore, not conducive to development.
Area two, the largest section being annexed, is situated north and east of the city. The proposed area would cross over Mississippi 35 North at the intersection of Mississippi 13 North. McKenzie said one part of the Columbia Country Club is in the city limits, and one part is not, which he said did not make sense. If the annexation is approved, all of the country club would be within the city limits.
Area two continues and encompasses the Marion County BusinessPlex and subdivisions such as Asbury Place, Sandalwood, Hasselwoods and Lakeview. McKenzie said Hasselwoods, Asbury Place and Sandalwoods are already tied into the city water and sewer systems, as is the BusinessPlex. It also goes farther east along U.S. 98.
Area three stretches out along Columbia Purvis Road, which McKenzie said offers a lot of commercial development and potential areas for development. Area four goes down Mississippi 13 South to include the city’s south sewage lagoon, businesses and homes. He said the city police already patrol Jim’s Road, located behind the Town Square Shopping Center.
Area five is a portion south of U.S. 98, east of the Pearl River bridge and includes the frontage road containing an old abandoned hotel and a couple of businesses. McKenzie said it would make sense for the city to have this section because it is currently in the Tri-Community Fire District, which would involve causing Tri-Community to travel through the city to respond to a call there. If the area was annexed, the city would be able to respond more quickly.
While the original area proposed for annexation was larger, McKenzie said it was reduced due to cost and the city could feasibly extend its services to the annexed area if approved. He said they tried to follow natural boundaries, section lines, and school districts lines as much as possible in determining the lines.
McKenzie testified that the city is ready and able to extend its services to everyone in the proposed area. He said the plans for expanding the utilities have already been made and voted on by the Columbia Board of Aldermen.
During his mayoral campaign, McKenzie said his platform included improving the quality of life for those who reside in Columbia. He said he felt the annexation is needed to do that so the city can expand and offer more.
Regarding the $10 million SportsPlex that is currently slated to be built on RA Johnson Drive, McKenzie said he believes that it would be a great improvement to the quality of life with the addition of the facility. It would allow for various sports tournaments to be held and draw more people to Columbia. When McKenzie was questioned by Mask if the annexation was needed to help pay for the construction, he said that the money would come from the special 3% tourism tax levy already in place.
He was also questioned about the 81 acres of the Reichhold property that the city obtained two years ago. McKenzie said the Brownsville site is no longer on the danger list.
While the city has done a Phase I environmental study of the property, nothing else can be done until a Phase II study is done. Currently, no building or drilling for water is allowed. McKenzie said, even if the property is deemed free and clear of any further toxic chemicals, the stigma of being a Brownsville site will remain.
The courtroom questioning continued regarding the ability to provide adequate police and fire protection to the proposed annexation area. Currently, there are no plans to hire any additional law enforcement or fire personnel. McKenzie said that, during the annexation study, it appeared no additional personnel would be needed. Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department has a Class 7 fire rating that services most of the areas in the proposed annexed area. Yet, Columbia Fire Department has a Class 5 rating, which is better. McKenzie said that property owners in the annexed area would benefit from a reduction in homeowners insurance rates due to a better class fire rating.
There are 39 businesses in the proposed area, which McKenzie said pays their sales tax directly to the Department of Revenue. But if the businesses were in the city, 18.5% of their sales tax would come back to benefit Columbia.
After McKenzie finished his testimony, Mask called Ty Windham, with the Mississippi Ratings Bureau in the public protection department, to the stand. Windham helps with determining fire ratings for fire departments within the state.
Windham testified that he had reviewed the city’s proposed fire protection plan and believed it would still allow the Columbia Fire Department to maintain a Class 5 rating.
Windham said that a paid fire department provides firefighters with more training and is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When determining the rating, Windham said 50% of the determination comes from the fire department, 40% from the water department and the rest from the 911 dispatch and building and fire codes. With the installation of larger lines and the addition of more fire hydrants, he believed the city’s plan was sufficient to handle the needs of the annexed area.
He also testified that the Class 5 rating would transfer to all the homes and businesses in the proposed annexed area, once the court approved the annexation.
Columbia Fire Chief Jeff McKenzie, who was called to testify, said he did not see any issues with covering the additional areas from the first day. The fire department's average response time is three minutes, which he did not see anywhere in the proposed area that would change that, nor the need to add any personnel to the fire department.
Delivering a Class 5 service to the extra area, according to Chief McKenzie, could be done effective day one. He also said that three trucks can bring 3,500 gallons of water to a scene and hydrants are spaced out to be easily connected for additional water supply.
Chief McKenzie added that he believes the proposed area needs and would benefit from the 24-hour-a-day fire and medical protection. The court was then adjourned for the day.
The first person to take the stand on Tuesday was City Engineer Jeff Dungan, who testified he helped with the proposed annexation by drawing the plans for the proposed service and facilities. As an engineer, Dungan said he felt like the costs estimated to extend water and sewer services to the proposed annexed area would be fair and the plans were reasonable and doable. He also said he believed the city should not have a problem getting the services to everyone within five years.
Mike McDaniel, who serves as a contractor for the city’s water and sewer departments, he assisted Dungan and the mayor in drawing plans to extend the water and sewer services. He agreed that the five-year proposal was reasonable. McDaniel also agreed that the $6 million cost associated with establishing these services was reasonable. However, McDaniel said an additional maintenance lead man would be hired, and one three-quarter-ton truck would be added to help service the proposed area. The money would come from the city’s utility fund and not the general fund.
Police Chief Michael Kelly, who was next to testify, said the police department had enough personnel to cover the proposed annexed area and maintain a presence in the areas as a way of crime deterrent and offer security.
In addition, the city was allowed to use a radar gun on city roads, which would allow them to help combat potential speeders in those areas.
Kelly also said the police response time of three to five minutes would not change with the addition of the new areas, and coverage would begin on day one.
Also slated to testify on Tuesday were Building Inspector Carrie Thornhill and Mike Slaughter, who conducted the annexation study.
Even though the legal opposition had withdrawn from the annexation matter, it does not mean that the rest of the residents area are happy with it.
Joann Roberts, who lives in Lakeview Subdivision, said Tuesday, “We already have nice streets, great curbs, plenty of lighting and no potholes. We have a great neighborhood watch program. Why do we need to be annexed. Just look at the road conditions inside the city. Our roads are better.”
Roberts said most property owners in her subdivision were not worried about getting the city sewer lines because they all have septic tanks, and if someone has a problem, they take care of their own sewage.
