(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson county board of supervisors Tuesday discussed the impact on the county’s budget should some property on West Lake Okoboji be annexed into the city of Okoboji.
County Auditor Nancy Reiman presented figures on how the rural services portion of the county’s budget would be impacted should the Bayrym area on the east side of West Lake Okoboji near Pike’s Point become a part of Okoboji.
The area has a total property value said to be approximately 20 million dollars.
It was reported at Tuesday’s meeting that residents in that area have expressed some interest in being annexed into the city for the sake of an address change. The street that goes that area, which is Lakeshore Drive where it passes within Okoboji’s city limits, changes to a numbered street in the area of where the county has jurisdiction. Some residents in that area have indicated having a Lakeshore Drive address may increase the value of their properties.
In an effort to head off any annexation, the supervisors Tuesday expressed interest in talking with the residents about changing the street’s name to Lakeshore Drive. The cost of changing 911 signs to reflect the new name has been estimated at about 16-thousand dollars.
However it was pointed out that if that portion of the street that lies outside Okoboji’s city limits was to be also named Lakeshore Drive, that it could become an issue with 911 and dispatching emergency vehicles.
It was stated at Tuesday’s meeting the county’s 911 board has not endorsed such a change because of that and the cost to change the signs.
