City considers Newtown annexation

No one thinks of annexation as the solution to a problem, but in this case it is. While annexing one business, elected officials will be correcting a long-standing problem.

Current policy states that a property must be with the city limits in order to get city sewer. However, Kingwood Foodland in Mt. Leo has been on city sewer for an estimated 20 to 25 years without being in the city limits.

To correct this, the business will be annexed. While discussing this situation, elected officials were also made aware that some Newtown area property owners want to be annexed into the city if they are offered sewer, while some property owners do not want to be annexed regardless of sewer.

Specifically, there are five to six homes on Bridge Builders Road that do not want to be annexed.

?I have a petition on my desk that says those people don?t want to be annexed,? said Vice Mayor Donald Hillis. ?If we could leave them out, we should.?

The current plan is to annex a portion of the highway and let the property owners who want to be annexed ask for it. That way the property owners who are interested in annexation will be allowed to do so while leaving out those who do not.

James C. Hailey & Company will be asked to take a look at the property in Newtown and make recommendations on where the pumping station should be and what options are available in regards to getting sewer service to the properties.

The proposed annexation in Newtown will have to pass the Planning Commission and two readings by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.