Alice Pickering
Wyoming Area Reporter

There is no new news on the proposed merger of the city of Wyoming and Wyoming Township.

Recent negotiations had Chisago City annexing two parcels of land in Wyoming Township to Chisago City, at the request of the respective property owners. The land was contiguous to city boundaries.

Chisago City has been asked to drop its petition to annex additional parts of the township. There was no interest by township representatives to renegotiate terms.

According to Wyoming Mayor Sheldon Anderson, Chisago City representatives who have requested the Feb. 20 meeting did not show up. It appears negotiations are off for the time being, he said.

In response to questions, Anderson said attorney Tim Sime is waiting on action from the Minnesota Court of Appeals about Judge Michael DeCourcy’s denial of the writ of mandamus. Sime has worked with Wyoming and Wyoming Township to prepare the joint merger petition.

The effect of DeCourcy’s decision was that there was no order for the Office of Administrative Hearings to act on the petition. The judge said that the OAH should hear all the petitions (from Chisago City, Stacy, Wyoming, and Wyoming Township) on equal footing, before making a decision on the annexation request itself.

Now, it is not certain which will come first; a ruling by the appeals court which might overturn DeCourcy or action by the OAH on the original petition in its turn on the schedule. It has been 14 months since the petition for a merger between the city of Wyoming and Wyoming Township was presented to the OAH, January 2006.

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