By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
“Equity” was the buzzword of the day, sounded by local drainage commissioners last week during a public hearing that exceeded two hours and ended in a controversial decision.
Despite opposition voiced that evening from dozens of affected residents, commissioners voted unanimously Oct. 4 in favor of annexing some 2,199 parcels – or 13,920 acres – into the Norway Dover Drainage District.
Based on preliminary figures, the district will soon have the authority to tax property owners within a total of 4,067 parcels and 32,000 acres once the process is complete.
Last week’s NDDD decision follows a number of public meetings on the annexation issue. It came as a reversal of a 2009 county-initiated court injunction that halted a similar annexation effort attempted at the time.
“We’re trying to make it fair and equitable for all of the people in the watershed,” Alvin Wilks, chair of the commission, told the crowd. “That’s what this is all about.”
Proponents of the annexation state the new tax payers will now contribute toward an amenity they have long benefited. Opponents – many of whom are the property owners being annexed into the district – have questioned the methodology.
Before ruling on the annexation last week, commissioners heard nearly a dozen impacted property owners voice a myriad of concerns at the public hearing.
“I’m surrounded by swampland, and I don’t believe I drain into anything,” said Deborah Tryfter, who lives in a single-family home within the annexation area. “What I’m concerned about is subsidizing farmers.”
Property owner Donna Kidd said water tends to collect on her land within the Town of Raymond.
“I’m supposed to see a benefit,” Kidd said. “I’d like to know what that benefit will be.”
Other speakers echoed similar sentiments. Some questioned the methodology used to draw the new boundaries.
Mark Madsen, president of the civil engineering firm Nielsen Madsen & Barber, has been retained by the commission to review the full scope of the annexation effort. Madsen said county records and global information system (GIS) data were the criteria used.
“I’m using data that’s already out there,” Madsen said. “I’m not re-creating anything or making anything that’s new. I’m not going to everyone’s property.”
Next on the agenda
While plans are in motion to proceed with the proposed boundaries as drawn, Madsen and commissioners are accepting property owners’ objections and say they will review each one.
“There are some properties that we’re still looking at, particularly with the people who are on the fringes,” Madsen said.
Deciding to annex is just one step in what is a lengthy process. Redrawing the map will trigger an assessment for all property owners, and the process will then entail community meetings, a public hearing and opportunities to object once a decision has been rendered.
The district’s expanded boundaries primarily affect properties in the townships of Norway and Dover. But it also touches on small areas of the townships of Raymond, Rochester and Waterford, as well as the village of Waterford.
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