Cliff Buchan
News EditorWyoming Township residents have spoken and the town board was listening.
Meeting in closed session Tuesday, July 13, the town board voted unanimously 5-0 to reject the annexation settlement proposal offered by Chisago City during mediation last month.
The decision means the township and Chisago City will now take the cityís hostile annexation move for 5000 acres before an administrative law judge. The state-appointed law judge could be named within two weeks with a trial now likely in October or November.
The board decision last week follows a special town meeting in late June where residents, in a non-binding vote, urged the town board to fight the settlement offer that would have surrendered two island parcels in and around CR-23 and CR-74 that would have given the city 1200 acres.
The citizen vote was 233-94 in favor of the legal action.
The agreement would have allowed town land owners in the island areas to annex to Chisago City under their choice and would have put a halt to any other annexation attempts by Chisago City for a 10-year period.
Board unified
But the town board last week was unified in its decision to fight.
ěChisago City is wrong in what they are doing,î said Larry Parker, town board chair, this week. ěI donít believe itís the intent of the (annexation) law.î
Parker said the decision by Chisago City to annex without any formal announced plans for the land goes against the intent of state law.
ěIf they do (have plans), they havenít showed them to me,î Parker said.
Fellow Supervisor Roger Elmore, who worked in mediation with Parker, also supports the move.
ěI feel good about it,î Elmore said. ěI didnít like the (settlement) proposal.î
Elmore, Parker and members Jeff Eifler, Ron Swenson and Scott Walberg were all in support of the litigation.
The decision is also consistent with the wishes of town residents during the March annual meeting when they voted overwhelmingly to contest the annexation move.
In March, town citizens also approved an additional tax levy for 2005 that would raise $175,000 to pay the litigation cost. Town officials estimate the cost of the challenge at between $150,000 and $170,000
The tax impact would be an estimated $60-$80 per household.
ěThat was spelled out,î Elmore said. ěNo one seemed to balk.î
Board members agreed the expenditure was worth the effort and follows what citizens wanted to do. Parker said the board would rather spend tax dollars on roads, bridges and programs to serve citizens, but were left with no choice.
ěThe township will prevail on this issue,î Parker predicted.
To date, the township has spent just over $13,000 for special legal counsel, according to Town Clerk Norma Olson.
Cityís move
Chisago Cityís current annexation proposal is its second plan.
Last November, the city filed with the state to annex 11,000 acres of Wyoming Township, but changed the proposal earlier this year to target 5000 acres.
The hostile annexation area includes 10 sections of township land and 5000 acres and an additional 1000 acres of Green Lake that is in the township, Parker said.
The annexation move also includes a narrow strip of land along US-8 through the township to its border with Forest Lake and Washington County.
The US-8 area includes the business park development north and east of Greenway Ave. that lies in the township.
The 5000-acre area contains a population of 1400 to 1900 people. The townshipís total population is now in the area of 5000 people, Parker said.
If Chisago City is successful in its bid, two of the town board supervisors, Parker and Walberg, would become Chisago City residents.
With the town board agreeing to fight the Chisago City move, the board last week has put on hold any discussions with the city of Wyoming over more cooperation. The city council late in June extended an offer to begin talks on cooperative steps the two units of government could take together.
Until the Chisago City annexation matter is resolved, any talks with the city of Wyoming will be on hold, the town board said.
Parker, looking back on past issues, said the township is not adverse in doing what is best for its citizens and the area. The town board this year worked closely with the city of Wyoming and Chisago County on the Polaris Industries site. The site, once in the township, has been annexed to the city.
The same thing happened in the mid-1990s when the Fairview Hospital campus was annexed from the township to the city of Wyoming.
ěThe township has been willing to cooperate,î Parker said.
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