SPRINGTOWN -- The issue of whether to annex into the town the property of several Springtown-area residents will again be on the agenda at next month's regular meeting of the town council.
A motion made by councilwoman Linda Taylor, just before the close of the May 12 meeting, asked that the item be put back on the agenda at next month's meeting. Her motion passed, with Taylor, Don Jech and Chuck Guess voting in favor of the measure. Karee Barrett abstained and Terri Glenn voted no.
Taylor's reasoning, she said, was to have more discussion on the matter. She said she didn't think all the facts were fairly presented at the April meeting when the annexation petition was discussed and failed in a 2-2 vote, with one member of the council absent.
"Most of the people wanted to be annexed in for the benefit of the town," she said.
Preston Barrett, Springtown's mayor, told the Eagle Observer after the meeting, he was disappointed to see the matter coming back up because it is divisive to the town. He also indicated, should the petition be accepted by council vote, he would likely veto the council decision because he didn't view the annexation to be for the good of Springtown.
Barrett said he has informally talked with the majority of voters who cast ballots in the last election and they were not supportive of taking in the additional properties and residents because at least a portion of the residents were supportive of Springtown merging with Gentry and because Springtown residents wished to keep the town's identity and have its own government rather than ending up being a small minority in Gentry someday.
Barrett pointed out that, if the land of all the petitioners was accepted, the borders of Gentry and Springtown would be much closer than two miles, making the fears of some Springtown residents more probable than some have indicated.
Both Mayor Barrett and his wife Karee, a member of the council, said they were all for preserving Flint Creek, but they did not wish to do it at the expense of the rights of the property owners who own land along the creek. They said property owners should not have to worry about their property being taken from them or the quietness and the tranquility of the town being changed in an effort to preserve the creek, the spring or to provide public walking trails in the historic town.
Mayor Barrett said, if the town had been awarded the grant for a walking trail, it would also have had to bear the expense of maintenance for 15 years, something Barrett said the town might not have been able to afford.
In other business, the town council approved minutes from the April meeting, as well as the town's finance and street department reports. According to Shane Bauman, the town's clerk, treasurer and recorder, the financial report did not reflect the refund to the Federal Emergency Management Agency of $30,000 which was expected to be mailed out yet last week.
FEMA requested that money awarded the town to repair the old low-water bridge on Aubrey Long Rd. on Flint Creek be returned because repairs to the bridge were not completed to FEMA specifications. The town eventually built a new bridge over the creek and had the old bridge removed. The town appealed FEMA's decision twice, but both appeals were denied, leading to the return of $30,000 in FEMA grant money.
Mayor Barrett reported to the council on street projects, saying that grant funding had been awarded to repave Springtown Road up to the edge of town and that he would be visiting with the county judge about the county paving the road the rest of the way up the hill to prevent washing and gravel coming down on the paved road.
Also discussed was the procedure for people to be added to the council agenda. According to the council's rules which were in place prior to the last election, residents can fill out a form with the city's clerk prior to the meeting and be allotted three minutes to speak to an issue on the agenda in the public comments portion of the meeting. To allow an individual or group more time would require rules be suspended by a two-thirds vote of the council or a rules change.
General News on 05/20/2015