Proposed annexation draws ire

‘There’s nothing that you’re offering that I want,’ county resident tells City Council at meeting

Bowie County residents opposed to their property being annexed into Texarkana, Texas, filled the audience and spoke against the idea at Monday’s City Council meeting.

During public hearings on the topic that extended the meeting to more than two hours, one person after another voiced opposition to the proposed annexation of seven areas adjacent to the city limits. No one spoke in favor of it.

Speakers objected to paying property taxes, city fees and other expenses if the annexations occur, many saying city services gained would not be worth the cost. Most of the speakers were retirees, and several said they feared having to move if their taxes go up. Another recurring objection was that annexation would make some activities such as burning brush or selling produce illegal or highly regulated.

“There’s nothing that you’re offering that I want,” Charles Ratcliffe told the council.

“It’s more like communism than it is like living in the United States,” Lonnie Hawkins said. “You want me to pay you to tell me what I can do with my property.”

In May, the council voted unanimously to authorize preparing plans for extending city services into the proposed additions, a preliminary step in the process of annexation.

The areas range in size from 17.3 acres to 688.57 acres and total more than 1,780 acres. The largest tracts are an area west of Kings Highway, south of Hughes Road and Arnold Lane, east of Old Red Lick Road; and an area along Leggett Drive and Pine Ridge Circle surrounded by the existing Texarkana city limits.

More public hearings on the annexations are scheduled for 6 p.m. July 18 at the Pleasant Grove Independent School District central services office, 8500 N. Kings Highway.

The council also acted to move the Hotel Grim’s renovation one step closer to completion. City leaders approved a pair of Grim-related resolutions, including one developers needed to complete a tax credit and bond allocation application for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

The other reaffirmed support for the Grim project, allowing City Manager Shirley Jaster to execute related documents and authorizing “use of committed funds to any person or entity allying with Sari and Company for the project.”

The city announced last week that Cohen-Esrey Development Group will join Sari and Co. as co-developers of the Grim, which will become a mixed-use building with office and retail space on the ground floor and affordable apartment units upstairs. Jim Sari and Cohen-Esrey representatives were on hand to answer any questions from the council and introduce themselves.

“They’re the guys who do paperwork, and they do it very well,” Sari said about Cohen-Esry, which will complete the details of the Grim project’s financing, serve as its general contractor and manage the property once work is completed, possibly by early 2020.

Jaster and Chief Financial Officer Kristin Peeples presented the council’s first briefing on a proposed city budget for Fiscal Year 2019.

The budget does not call for a property tax increase or water rate increase. City staff anticipate a $73.7 million increase in property evaluation across the city, as well as a 2 percent increase in sales tax revenue.

The plan would pay off some 2012 bonds with a one-time expenditure of more than $5.1 million, freeing about $1 million a year in debt service the city currently pays and saving more than $313,000 in interest. The bonds originally were scheduled to be paid off in 2023.

The budget also calls for a 2 percent increase in base salary for city employees, though Jaster cautioned that the plan may change depending on the outcome of collective bargaining between the city and its firefighters.

Other notable expenditures include $500,000 for the city’s major maintenance fund and $325,000 set aside in an economic development fund.

A public hearing and vote on the budget will follow in future council meetings. The council’s next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 13.