vision2020@moscow.com: Rooster has come home to roost

Rooster has come home to roost

Greg Brown (gregb@uidaho.edu)
Tue, 23 May 1995 10:34:32 -0700 (PDT)

In one of the more infamous Moscow City Council decisions last year,
the City annexed 125 acres of non-contiguous land to the city.
This land is north of city between Polk and 95. This decision amounted to a de-facto annexation of 200 acres because of
the non-contiguous and circuitious layout of annexation. Several
members of this list were present at that annexation hearing.
Predictably, the vote was 4-2, boys against girls.
List member Pam Palmer voted against the annexation along with Linda Pall.

Now the rooster has come home to roost. An article in last
night's Daily News describes how, in lieu of no further action by
the City Council, the city (read taxpayers of Moscow) will pick up
the tab for extending city services to the 85 home subdivision
(and future developments) in this area. Services will have to be
extended about a half-mile! Real contiguous!

Apparently, the City Council is discussing an option to back out of its
legal obligation to provide city services in this case. It will be interesting
to see how "fiscal conservative" Bob Dudley deals with this issue. He
voted for the annexation. If the City pays for the extension of services,
it becomes a very overt taxpayer subsidization of development. If City
modifies it current obligations because of this development, this amounts
to an de-facto admission that a mistake was made about this annexation
decision (i.e., the land really WASN'T contiguous).

Those of us at that meeting could see this coming a mile away!

--
Greg Brown           gregb@uidaho.edu     http://www.uidaho.edu/~gregb
Computer Services    Moscow, ID 83843
University of Idaho  (208) 885-2126

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