Martinsville City Council: Landowner requests annexation of property into city

MARTINSVILLE — The Martinsville City Council held a public hearing related to a citizen's request to have the city annex their property.

The request is voluntary; the landowner owns all of the land in question. Consequently, a public hearing was held during the meeting.

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The ordinance was drafted as part of the petition to annex the property. At this time, no action has been taken on the ordinance. The council will make its decision during its next meeting on Monday, Sept. 12.

City Attorney Dale Coffey proceeded to discuss a resolution with the council and its significance in the annexation process. Coffey explained the city must provide a written fiscal plan before the property can be annexed. The purpose of the fiscal plan is to outline the type of services the city will provide to the property and the associated costs of those services once it is added to Martinsville.

The current assessed real estate value of the property stands at $277,500. The annexation area is near the eastern boundaries of the city's corporate limits.

The annexation is expected to lead to an increase in the assessed value of the city. Martinsville will receive additional property tax revenues when the land is developed at a future time.

Currently, the property is receiving services from the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, the Washington Township Fire Department and Morgan County EMS. Within a year of the proposed annexation, these services will be transferred to the Martinsville Police and Fire Departments. The county's EMS will continue to provide medical services.

The city will begin offering trash services to the residential household located on the annexed parcels within the next year. The city will also be responsible for the maintenance of roads during this period.

"Any future development that would happen on site, the developer would be responsible for building infrastructure, which would include water, sewer, roads, streetlights, those sorts of things. So it will not be a burden to the city of Martinsville in the future," Coffey said.

The city currently provides water and wastewater services up to Morgan Street. If the annexed parcel is developed or divided into separate parcels at any point in the future, the land would be obligated to receive these services from Martinsville as well.

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The developer is responsible for any future construction within the designated area. This includes adding sidewalks, street lighting, new streets and related infrastructure projects.

The resolution was passed by the council. The decision was reached unanimously by all council members in attendance. However, Phil Deckard II was not present at Monday's meeting.

In other business

The council approved a resolution which permits the issuance of bonds for the Martinsville Redevelopment Commission totaling $2.58 million. The bonds are intended to help pay for infrastructure projects focused on overhauling and maintaining sewer lines and sidewalks in the city.

The resolution was approved.

The next meeting of the Martinsville City COuncil is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12, in council chambers at Martinsville City Hall, 59 S. Jefferson St.

Board of Works

The Martinsville Board of Works approved a contract with BCA Environmental Consultants, Inc. to accelerate the city's participation in the EPA's Brownfield Grant Program.

Mack Porter, the executive assistant to the mayor, provided an update on the city's search for a consultant to aid its participation in the EPA Brownfield Grant. Martinsville received a bid from BCA Environmental Consultants, Inc. that was brought before the board earlier this month. The grant the city received is for a total of $400,300.

"We'd like to make a recommendation to the board that we accept BCA as the consultant," Porter said. "They're going to submit a contract, which we will bring back to you for full consideration at the meeting on September 12. So you'll actually see the numbers."

A motion was made and accepted to approve the contract recommendation.

Gary Oakes, director of planning and engineering, opened three bids for water and sanitary sewer extension projects related to ongoing work at I-69.

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The lowest bid was submitted by Reed & Sons Construction Inc. for a total of $634,928. Milestone Contractors submitted another proposal in the amount of $784,959. Finally, the last bid was from Sub-Surface of Indiana, Inc. The bid was worth $808,515.

The city will select which company and bid it decides to enter into an agreement with at the next meeting on Monday, September 12.

City Superintendent Mac Dunn presented three bids regarding the first phase of the city's sidewalk project. The first bid Dunn announced is the proposal from Edward & Jones Concrete, Inc. for a total of $1.52 million

The other bids are from Milestone Contractors ($1.67 million) and Wallace Construction, Inc. ($745,041.62).

The city is in the process of investing in new curbs and sidewalks as part of a two-phase project. Dunn said phase one involves adding new curbs and sidewalks on more than 30 blocks within the city. Phase two is expected to include a similar number of new or replaced sidewalks.

The winning bid will be confirmed during the next meeting.

The board also approved a bid for the Hanna Farms Water and Sewer Project. The bid was submitted by Sub-Surface of Indiana, Inc. It was worth $2.85 million.

The decision was made after Oakes provided the board with additional information concerning the extensive project.

Lastly, the following sewer adjustment applications were approved.

  • 289 Duo Drive — $45.04

  • 35 Cramer Place — $85.58

The next meeting of the Martinsville Board of Public Works and Safety is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12, in council chambers at Martinsville City Hall.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Martinsville City Council: Landowner requests annexation of land