HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-09-21 Public Comment - G. Stober - AnnexationFrom:Gil Stober
To:Agenda
Subject:annexation of county properties
Date:Tuesday, November 9, 2021 1:00:12 PM
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Dear commissioners,
In regards to the annexation of county properties surrounded by the city, it was stated at thestart of the quarantine that the issue was being tabled as it was bound to draw a lot of heatedpublic comment.
This is true, it would have, and will, but why? Is it because the people who live on theseproperties have some sort or weird allegiance to the county and can’t abide being a “cityresident”? I don’t think so. I think it comes down to what things usually come down to in thiscountry: money.
I live on Valley Drive, in the county, on one of these properties. When the parcel across fromme was developed and annexed into the city, I and the other property owners here were giventhe option of annexing, and not surprisingly, no one took the city up on the offer. Why? Quitesimply, as near as I could figure, we were looking at costs of $50,000 to $75,000 each. To payfor things that we already had. No, we didn’t have a paved street before, but we did just finewithout one, and we already each had our own water and septic systems.
Many of the folks that live on these properties are retired and on fixed incomes (I’m 65 myselfand while I’m not currently retired, I don’t know how many working years I have left). Someare young people just starting out, working jobs that barely pay enough for them to survive.What becomes of us when we’re handed a bill for many thousands of dollars? Sure, ourproperty is more valuable now and being in the city may raise the value even more, but thatextra money is only accessible if we sell.
I don’t believe that the county residents surrounded by the city are naïve or ignorant, but I doknow that when I built my place in 1985, I had no idea that the city would grow as fast as ithas. I doubt you did, either.
At one of the last in-person meetings I attended, the then city manager as much as called uscounty residents “freeloaders”, and accused us of taking advantage of the city. Really? Thatwas incredibly offensive. I think an accurate analogy would be if I parked my pickup atCostco, and while I was in shopping, a couple Costco employees loaded a big screen TV and arefrigerator onto my truck, and then demanded I pay for these items. With very fewexceptions, we haven’t asked to be annexed. Why do you think there is such a thing as “city-initiated annexation”?
I think that most of us know that sooner or later, our properties will be annexed, the questionremains how it will be done. And calling a forced annexation a “city-initiated annexation”doesn’t make it any less threatening. There can be an easier, less aggressive way for the city toannex these properties though, one that brings these properties into the city and yet doesn’tforce anyone out of their home or even out of the area.
Cities, typically having a much longer lifespan than people (Bozeman is 157 years old), canafford to be patient. I would propose that Bozeman adopt a policy that doesn’t force anyone to
annex, but instead, annexes properties when the property is transferred. The property is sold,it’s annexed. The current owners die and the property is passed to an heir, it’s annexed. At thatpoint, the money is available to pay all the annexation costs. With the number of older folkson these properties, coupled with the transient nature of many area residents, I would hazard aguess that it might take 20 or 25 years for the majority of these properties to be “brought intothe fold”, but it would be so much less threatening for these people now, and easier for the cityto process these annexations piece-meal than all at once.
Another idea would be to use some of the federal infrastructure money that will surely becoming our way to help county residents annex.
I ask that you consider these ideas, or other ideas that will, in the long run, accomplish yourgoal of annexation, but not force anyone from their home or this beautiful area. Bozeman cancertainly afford to do that.
We’ve got affordable housing now, and we surely don’t like the idea of being forced into“unaffordable” housing.
Gil Stober
395 Valley Drive