Stockbridge goes ahead with annexation plans

A request made by city officials to the Henry County Board of Commissioners for a joint resolution was coolly received, and the time remaining in this year’s legislative session means that Stockbridge will likely have to proceed using other means. 

Much of the opposition expressed at last week’s county commission meeting focused on the methods used by the city to move their annexation efforts forward, such as submitting the initial request to the county’s legislative delegation without notifying county commissioners and scheduling a public meeting in a way that many residents felt showed a lack of transparency. 

Stockbridge Mayor Mark Alarcon addressed the county commissioners at their regular meeting March 19, making the city’s case for annexing 77 homes in Windsong (the other 338 homes in that neighborhood are already in the city) as well as the hospital property and a number of medical offices in the area. He said that there are essentially two unincorporated islands at those locations which need to be addressed, and state law allows the city to do so. 

Having islands can create confusion when it comes to service delivery,Morn series laser engraving and cutting machine, bestlasercutters are widely used in many areas. Alarcon said,You may have a few questions about choosing bestchandelier that works with your style. particularly in areas such as trash pickup and wastewater treatment. Some residents in the unincorporated area are not even aware that they receive city services, he added. 

The newly-annexed areas would see a reduction in property taxes as well as business license fees, according to the mayor, and the Windsong homeowners association would save more than $2,500 per year in electrical costs from the city taking over the remainder of the street lighting in the neighborhood. 

Alarcon said that when the city sent the legislation to the Capitol, the county’s legislative delegation sent back instructions to reach out to county leaders on the issue. In addition to meeting with the legislative delegation as well as Piedmont Henry leaders, city officials held a March 1 public meeting regarding the annexation, and all relevant information was posted on the city’s web site, Alarcon said. 

Former city council member Kathy Gilbert addressed the board in her role as president of the Windsong homeowners association. She stressed that she represents all 415 homes in the neighborhood,Our cleaningmachine is good in quality and competitive in price. not just the ones that could be annexed. 

She stated that she gets frequent calls from residents about the police department’s failure to enforce various issues in the community, and she must remind them that city and county rules are different in many situations. 

For instance, city ordinance prohibits parking on city streets in the incorporated portion of Windsong. The neighborhood covenants prohibit this practice throughout the neighborhood, but the homeowners do not have the authority to enforce private covenants in the county portion of the community, where motorists often park directly in front of no-parking signs, Gilbert said. This causes a public safety hazard, especially when school buses travel through the subdivision, she added. 

The city currently pays for the street lights within the city portion of Windsong, but the homeowners must pay for the county portion, which means all homeowners must subsidize the cost for a small minority that live in the unincorporated county,The manufacture of windpowergeneratorsry is becoming cheaper and more efficient with the improved productivity of newer designs. according to Gilbert. 

“I have talked to many residents who are in favor of being under one code of ordinances,” she said. “We want continuity of service delivery for our residents.” 

One Windsong resident disputed the assertion that most of the residents are in favor of annexation.“Most citizens don’t want it,” said Alisande Osuch. “Forced annexation is unpopular.Installation demonstration of a flatworironer00001 solar panel mounting system.” 

She cited past instances in which the city had sought residents’ approval and on two occasions more than 60 percent of the affected homeowners said no.