In separate decisions Tuesday night, the Wyoming City Council and Wyoming Town Board voted to approve a consolidation agreement that would merge the city and township.

The decisions came following a discussion by the Chisago City Council on Dec. 1 that opened the possibility that Chisago County would seek to annex three more sections of township land. Although the council voted to hold on the filing, Wyoming city and township officials said Wednesday they felt it imperative to move forward now with the consolidation agreement.

Town Board Chair Roger Elmore said the action was made with regret in the fact the decision was made prior to the township and city being able to explain the full agreement at a community meeting. ìTheir (Chisago Cityís) attempt to interfere and cheapen our process only serves to further polarize already tenable relations,î Elmore said on Wednesday.

A public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, at Wyoming Elementary School for city and township residents to voice opinions about the merger.

Township action came during a special meeting Tuesday. City Council took its action during a regular meeting at city hall.

At the meeting Dec. 1, Chisago City leaders reviewed the possibility of filing a petition to annex Sections 34, 35, and 36 from Wyoming Township. Any such decision was put on hold at the insistence of Councilman Don Taylor, whose home and land was annexed from the township to the city earlier this year.

Tuesdayís action means city and township officials will now formally file the consolidation agreement with the state. Elmore said had the decision not been made and Chisago City moved to annex more township land, the township could have been placed in the costly role of a defendant in fighting a second hostile annexation.

In a comment to the public, Elmore said the agreement will be good for the community as a whole. Although the formal filing decision was now in place, Elmore said officials would not dismiss the promise and commitment to conduct a comprehensive presentation to residents of the township and city explaining the details of the agreement.

The township decision to move forward came on a 4-1 with Supervisor Fandel opposed.

The city council decision on Tuesday was a unanimous vote.

The vote by the council also accepted the analysis of the merger study. This information is the rationale for the annexation and organizational details for a smooth transition until administration of the newly merged city is up and running.

The decision comes only a short time after the results of the merger study were presented to the council and town board on Nov. 22. Council members acknowledged it is difficult to take action before a public hearing, but wanted to do so before Chisago City took steps to delay or prevent the merger.

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