(Estherville)– A proposal to voluntarily annex 120 acres of land west of the current city limits drew a considerable amount of discussion at Monday’s Estherville city council meeting.
It was reported that all but one landowner in that area have signed a petition in favor of voluntary annexation…easily meeting an 80 percent requirement by the state.
Under city policy, the city would pay for asphalt paving of streets in the newly annexed area. The developer would be responsible for the costs of any paving that surpasses the city’s requirement. The city would pay half the cost of curb and gutter.
The main sticking point though is over sanitary sewer. City Administrator Steve Woodley estimates it would cost about 230-thousand dollars to extend sanitary sewer to that area. As part of the annexation proposal, he suggested the council add a provision requiring the developer to charge an additional three thousand dollars a lot. That money would go back to the city to help it recoup atleast a portion of the cost. The drew concern from Eric Anderson, who’s family is overseeing the development. He says their goal was to keep the lots as affordable as possible. But Woodley cautioned the council accepting anything less could set a precedence for any future annexations. After considerable discussion, the council voted unanimously to accept those provisions and allowed the proposed annexation to continue to the next step–that’s a consultation with various taxing entities that would be affected.
Anderson told KUOO news his family is very excited about the proposed development and being able to participate in Estherville’s future growth.
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