May 3 workshop off
By Daniel Brannigan
The Community News
Consolidation talks between Annetta, Annetta North, Annetta South and Hudson Oaks took a different turn this week as discussions have been revamped and could now focus on two separate mergers between the four east Parker County municipalities.
Future discussions are likely to focus on the possibility of a merge between Hudson Oaks and Annetta North and a merge between Annetta and Annetta South.
Hudson Oaks Mayor Pat Deen and city staff recently determined that a merge between the four municipalities, as previously discussed, would put a financial strain on the city, which has by far the biggest budget of the four.
“While we see value in it, it is a large undertaking that does not make sense to do,” he said. “To have any significant progress at all, Hudson Oaks can’t take in that size and scope of land without a need for it.”
For one, Hudson Oaks would immediately need to provide police protection for the areas it would join with and it does not have the budget to add enough officers to cover it.
Deen will recommend to the city’s council members that discussions now focus on merging between Hudson Oaks and Annetta North.
He said there is “a lot of merit” in talking to Annetta North as the two cities could combine their connecting extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs) and work together to solve water issues.
Annetta North Mayor Ken Hall said he expects his city to participate in workshops with Hudson Oaks and begin focusing more on details, including how to preserve the rural nature of the small city and keep its ordinances intact.
Hall said the “default” option would be for the three Annettas to merge, but likened it to “three poor boys getting together.”
“The Annettas, singularly or collectively, are going to have to come up with income, which means the deadly word…taxes,” Hall said. Annetta Mayor Olan Usher noted that Annetta and Annetta South would be considering a merge amongst themselves for now.
The joint consolidation workshop scheduled for May 3 at Annetta City Hall has been canceled because a number of council members could not attend and due to the new focus among the four municipalities.
For more on this story, see the April 20 issue of The Community News.
