Jackson board rejects annexation of Fruitland

A resolution that confirmed the city of Jackson's opposition to an annexation request by group of Fruitland residents was unanimously approved at Monday's board of aldermen meeting.

"The resolution is unfavorable to the annexation petition," said Jackson Mayor Barbara Lohr.

The issue of annexation has been before the aldermen since their Oct. 14 meeting when a new annexation petition was submitted by a group known as Friends of Fruitland, who are seeking to incorporate the community into a fourth-class city. Under state law, the petitioners must be denied annexation by cities within 2 miles of Fruitland before any incorporation plans can proceed.

The city of Jackson had one year to accept or deny Friends of Fruitland's annexation request from the time of its submission.

City attorney Thomas Ludwig, who read the resolution to the aldermen, said that while the resolution acknowledged Fruitland would be well served by the utilities and services Jackson has to offer, there is no contiguous border between the two municipalities and that creating one would require extensive legal action.

"It can't be done in the time frame we have to work with," Ludwig said, "and so the petition is denied."

The resolution denying the annexation request now allows petitioners to take another step toward their goal of incorporation. Ludwig said at the Oct. 14 meeting that if the city of Jackson turned down the annexation request, petitioners would need the approval of the Cape Girardeau County Commission before the incorporation question is put before Fruitland voters.

Deborah Griffin, senior vice president of Friends of Fruitland, was not present at the board of aldermen meeting but said in an October interview with the Southeast Missourian that Fruitland residents would have to wait for the year after the filing of the petition to expire before they could vote on a measure of incorporation.

"That will give us the time we need to make sure our petition is proper before the county commission looks at it again," Griffin said.

The group's first annexation request came in 2011, when it attempted to incorporate the Fruitland community into a village. The action prompted the city of Jackson to hold a vote in February 2012 on whether to annex parts of Fruitland, and Jackson voters answered "no."

In April, the group was advised by an attorney hired by the county commission that its previous petition was invalid and the incorporation question could not be placed on the ballot because the group did not approach nearby cities with the annexation request. The group also needed to re-collect signatures from residents. The annexation petition also needed to be remapped to include the "original footprint" of the Fruitland community.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo.

Fruitland, Mo.