By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — A Syracuse town council member wants to see the town grow but contends it is landlocked by lakes to the east, uncooperative farmers to the west and challenging soils to the south.
The answer, he said, is to leapfrog further to the south using what is often called non-contiguous annexation.
Town Council Member Larry Siegel says they’ve been able to do that to the north with the support from Elkhart County officials and he wants Kosciusko County officials to do the same.
Siegel on Tuesday asked if the county commissioners would provide a letter of support that could provide impetus for state lawmakers to adjust legislation involving noncontiguous annexation that’s already in the pipeline.
One option would be for the town to piggyback onto House Bill 1472 which would allow the city of Plainfield to move forward with non-contiguous annexation under certain circumstances.
In general, the General Assembly has traditionally opposed noncontiguous annexation in the past.
A year ago, State Rep. Dave Abbott authored a bill that would have allowed towns to leapfrog unincorporated property specifically to annex a proposed residential property. At the time, the town was trying to support development involving the land formerly known as Southshore Golf Course, which is south of town limits.
The plan was viewed as controversial because the town council president was directly involved in the development. The legislation failed to gain momentum.
Siegel said the current plan is more open-ended and declined to discuss last year’s proposed development.
Siegel said the town is currently working through a second major annexation in Elkhart County and said neighbors to the north have been happy to realize additional tax income.
At the same time, he said several developers have walked away from nearby projects elsewhere because there is no ground within the town to develop.
“Do we want to fix this problem or do we not,” Siegel asked the commissioners rhetorically. “Do we just want to keep growing into Elkhart County or not?”
“Our home county is Kosciusko County, but we have to have some non-contiguous annexation. We have a unique situation where we’re landlocked,” he said.
But time is short for legislative cajoling and county commissioners chose not to take immediate action and instead took it under advisement.
Commissioner Bob Conley was blunt about the circumstances.
“I know time is of the essence, but you can’t close the barn door after the horses are out. That’s kind of what you’re trying to do here,” Conley said. “I wouldn’t want to put my name on something I know nothing about.”
Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell argued the town is not truly landlocked, pointing to farm ground to the west that could be an option. Siegel said they’ve tried to work with two farmers who own that land and they have had no cooperation, which he said he understands.
Mitchell pressed Siegel on whether the town council had approved a letter specific to the new legislation and Siegel said council’s outlook had not changed.
All three county commissioners expressed a willingness to work with the town in the future on the issue.
