Two improvement districts expand range

Two of the county’s improvement districts are expanding their range after receiving the blessing of the county commissioners.

The districts for Kara Circle and Windy Way and for Tower Ridge made similar requests; both wished to add a couple more properties to their roster.

At last week’s meeting of the commission, Nancy Brown attended on behalf of the first district, explaining that the properties had recently changed hands and the new owners would, “Like to be part of the group”.

The district, in return, would like to add them, she said.

County Clerk Melissa Jones explained that the process is simple when everyone agrees.

“They don’t have to hold an election to expand,” she said.

An election is unnecessary, she told the commissioners, if the current members of the district and the proposed new members consent.

In this case, she said, the landowners and the district’s voters had all signed a petition and the minutes of the district’s board reflect approval.

“The requirements are met,” Jones said.

County Attorney Joe Baron explained that the resolution needed to approve the expansion has been written to include all the known information about the history of the district and all facts and findings regarding the district.

This has been done to enable easy access to all relevant information in the future, he said. Jones stated that the resolution will be recorded along with the new plat showing the whole area included in the district.

“This looks like it really cleans it up,” commended Commissioner Fred Devish as the resolution was approved.

The second district, for Tower Ridge, started the process to add new members in 2022, according to Jones. However, it was never completed.

The district was recently informed that the application would be closed if it wasn’t soon finished, which would mean starting over.

Following the same process as the first district, the Tower Ridge district filed its petition and board minutes, said Jones.

“They actually went one step further,” she said, creating their own ballot and asking people across the whole area to vote on the matter.

This expansion was slightly different to the first in that the new members are already making use of the water well and are being charged by the district.

The commissioners moved to approve the resolution and thus enabled both districts to expand their territory.