What’s in it for us?
That was the question potential city residents asked, in some variation, over and over Thursday night during a city of Columbus town hall on annexation.
About 60 citizens joined the mayor and city council, city department heads and annexation consultants at the Trotter Convention Center to hear the city’s pitch about taking in two areas east of the city. The first borders Ward 2 and Ward 3, and is bounded by Highway 82 in the north, Armstrong Road to the east, Lehmberg Road to the west and Deerfield Drive to the south.
The second is adjacent to Ward 1 and Ward 2. It is bounded by South Lehmberg Road on the east, the area adjacent to Scott Drive to the south, Hargrove Road to the west and Vernon Branch Creek to the north.
Vice Mayor and Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens and Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones suggested the annexation last year, and the city also considered bringing in Columbus Air Force Base before rejecting the idea due to prohibitively high costs.
Thursday night pitted the city’s narrative that it was trying to accommodate underserved residents and ensure future growth against some residents’ resistance to annexation.
The city: People deserve better services
Chris Watson, consultant with Oxford-based urban planners Bridge and Watson, said one driver of the city’s desire to expand was to provide city services to people who clearly need them.
“(Columbus Fire and Rescue) is already responding into this area on a monthly basis,” Watson said. “There is a city police officer deputized so he can patrol (Housing Authority) properties. If there wasn’t a need for municipal services, these things wouldn’t be happening.”
Access to city fire services will drastically improve the fire insurance rating in the affected areas from a Class 7 to a Class 3, which will in turn substantially reduce residential and commercial fire insurance costs.
Fire ratings are set by the Mississippi State Rating Bureau and are based on response times, training, available equipment, record keeping and emergency communication, among other factors. The lower the rating, the better the service.
Other, less urgent needs also exist, Watson said.
“If you drive through the area, you can see a significant need for planning and zoning based on what’s on the ground,” Watson said. “There is a significant need for code enforcement.”
Of course, there are costs for adding those services. According to Watson’s study, those come to about $224,539 for the first area and $266,745 in the second.
Those numbers are likely to come down, Watson said, as the city reassesses manpower and resource needs to serve two areas rather than three.
“We originally had to take into consideration the traffic along Highway 45 and the need to respond to traffic accidents,” Watson said. “We are going to revisit that number, and it may now involve fewer officers.”
Reduced costs for salaries and equipment will knock a “chunk” out of the city’s costs, Watson said.
The people: Thanks, but no thanks
Residents, both inside and outside the area under consideration, weren’t buying it, though. Of the 10 people who commented, none spoke in favor.
Tanya Beemster, who lives on Winston Road, cut right to the chase: some people just don’t want to be in Columbus.
“We grew up hunting, fishing, riding four-wheelers,” Beemster said. “Y’all want to take all of that away. If we wanted to live in the city, we would have bought (land) in the city.”
Bob Willis, who also lives on Winston Road, questioned whether the city would address drainage issues and could provide street lights and better paving.
“If you become part of the city, you now have a partner to get some forward movement on your issues,” Watson said. “The reality is that the annexed area will get rolled into the city’s annual capital improvement program. Y’all would become part of that.”
Former city councilman Jay Jordan, who does not live in the affected area, questioned why these areas were necessary to take in.
“I see very little growth in the areas being discussed,” Jordan said. “What comes to my mind is the path of growth, like when Tupelo annexed where Barnes Crossing is, because it’s in the path of growth. There’s a lot of tax dollars in it, and there’s little to no sales tax dollars in this area (of annexation).”
Jordan also argued that annexation of these areas would drive the city’s median income down.
“Restaurants and retail look at numbers, but they look at numbers that are higher,” Jordan said. “You’re bringing in more people, but that median income is going to drop and restaurants are going to say, ‘They can’t afford our services.’”
Attorney Chad Mask of law firm Carroll, Warren and Parker disagreed with Jordan’s reasoning.
“If (income) was a factor the courts considered, poor folks would never get annexed,” Mask said. “That’s not how it works. Another one of the factors is whether there’s a need for services.”
The population density in the study areas is just under a thousand people per square mile, Mask said, which is very high for Mississippi.
“It’s remarkable these areas haven’t been annexed by prior administrations,” Mask said. “If you look at it as a revenue question, you’re right. But those folks deserve services, just like people who live in $300,000 houses.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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