Land annexation deal may be dead

Although city council is hoping that a revised land annexation deal with Cavan Monaghan Township might still be possible, the township’s mayor says the deal may be dead. Scott McFadden, the mayor of Cavan Monaghan Township, wrote a column in The Millbrook Times on Friday saying the township is unwilling to change anything in the prospective land deal. Yet city council voted on March 20 to ask the township to consider a new payment schedule from the city. The original plan called for the city to pay $2.5 million annually to the township for the next 25 years, in exchange for 4,140 acres of land. But city council wants to know whether it can pay less to the township upfront, and then increase its annual payments as houses and businesses are built on its new lands. The short answer from McFadden seems to be no. In his column, McFadden offers some background: he points out that the township, city and county of Peterborough all had staff negotiate until they came to an agreement called a memorandum of understanding (MOU). That’s supposed to be the framework for a more-detailed land annexation deal, McFadden writes – and there’s no changing it now. The next step was supposed to involve developing a formal, detailed agreement based on the MOU – and also hold public meetings to find out how citizens feel about land annexation. If the city still wants to make changes to the prospective deal – well, McFadden says it’s too late. “The Township of Cavan Monaghan has clearly stated to the City of Peterborough that we’re finished negotiating the MOU,” he writes. “Until such time that the City of Peterborough accepts the MOU dated Dec. 7, 2016, the process stops.” It was unclear on Friday when city council is likely to discuss the matter again. It isn’t on the agenda for city council at its next meeting on Monday at 6:30 p.m. Township council is also meeting on Monday at 4:30 p.m. – and there’s nothing on their agenda about the annexation deal either.