BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE AUTAUGA NEWS
Top Photo credit Selti.org.
The Town of Coosada called an emergency meeting this morning to discuss a proposed annexation by the City of Millbrook, one which Coosada Mayor Jim Houston feels is being done illegally.
Lacking a quorum, as three council members did not attend, the meeting was more of a discussion and no official action could be taken.
Lori Davis, the City Clerk for the City of Millbrook, was in attendance, and took part in discussions.
The property in question is referred to as the Green Property and is located at 4480 Chapman Road. Currently it is bordered on two sides by the City of Millbrook city limits. Its other borders are with the police jurisdiction of Coosada. The property is not in the city limits of Millbrook or Coosada presently. The property owner approached Millbrook about annexing officially into the City of Millbrook. That issue had a first reading at the last regular council meeting July 9. A second reading is expected to be held at the next regular Millbrook City Council on July 23 at 6 p.m. Under the law, municipalities are allowed to annex a quarter acre at a time of unincorporated properties bordering neighboring cities. With this being the case, the city of Millbrook will complete the annexation of the entire one-acre property over the next few meetings.
This morning, Coosada Mayor Jim Houston, and Coosada council members Howard Goza and Anthony Powell were present. Not in attendance were council members Lucille Landrum, Brent Post and Roosevelt Watkins.
Mayor Houston said Coosada sent a letter to Millbrook Mayor Al Kelley requesting that Millbrook cease in pursuing annexation of the Chapman Road property. He said that he has not received a response from Mayor Kelley. Coosada’s attorney has also reached out to Millbrook’s attorney but has not yet received a response. Houston affirmed again that if the current proposed annexation moves forward, he believes it is illegal.
Both letters to the Mayor and city attorney were at the beginning of this week.
Councilman Goza then spoke up. “We need to get a good attorney to handle this matter and stop this junk from now on.”
Houston told Goza that Coosada has a town attorney for this issue, as well as a separate attorney that is handling other ongoing legal matters.
Goza said, “We need a different town attorney than the one we’ve got because he presents things late. And some of them we have won and some of them we haven’t. And nothing ever materialized. I think we need to visit that area and hire another attorney for the town.” Mayor Houston said that was noted and it would be put on a future agenda.
Councilman Anthony Powell then spoke up, saying, “Something is going on that our county commission knows about, and Al Kelley knows about, but we are being kept in the dark.”
He then asked where Coosada’s County Commissioner for District 5, Desirae Jackson, is on these matters. Mayor Houston said he had not yet approached Jackson.
“We need to burn her phone line up because she has neglected us,” Goza said.
Powell said the town should be using its “chain” or points of contact to work through all of these legal matters. Houston said he would get in touch with Commissioner Jackson on this matter.
EAN asked Commissioner Jackson about her position on the annexation, and she stated, “The County Commission has no jurisdiction or involvement in municipal annexations, and it is not a matter that would come before the commission for consideration. This is solely a dispute between the Town of Coosada and the City of Millbrook.”
The EAN believes it is worth noting that because Coosada has filed a lawsuit against the Elmore County Commission, it could, theoretically, infringe on communications.
The Town of Coosada is currently involved in two lawsuits. One is against the Elmore Fire Fighters Association regarding what should be the official map of Elmore County and individual jurisdictions. Mayor Houston said there are several different versions of the county map. That litigation has reached the discovery process, Houston said. But the final outcome of which map should be considered is still up to opinion.
The second lawsuit filed by Coosada is against Elmore County Commission regarding road maintenance jurisdictions.
Coosada has also filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office regarding the recent annexation by Millbrook of Rodgers View Court neighborhood. They feel that the annexation several months ago did not meet official requirements, even though the state legislature voted in favor of the annexation. In that matter, all 12 property owners approached Millbrook requesting to be annexed. Though the annexation was successful, the Town of Coosada is hopeful that the AG’s office will present an opinion in their favor.
During the unofficial meeting this morning, Millbrook City Clerk Lori Davis was recognized, and said that the City of Millbrook would like a conversation with Coosada officials.
“We are not trying to have any beef with Coosada,” Davis said. “These people (wanting annexation into Millbrook) are coming to us. And I personally don’t know any way legally to turn them down. Part of this property is located in the City of Millbrook Police Jurisdiction.” Mayor Houston said that the landowner should be coming to Coosada rather than Millbrook. Davis countered that legislation says that Millbrook can handle it.
Both Houston and Davis agree that any pending Attorney General’s opinion could clear a lot of the confusion.
Houston said Coosada is using a map provided by Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (CARPDC) which he claims shows the Chapman Road property falls in Coosada’s PJ. The official map which Millbrook recognizes is the E911 map, which shows the property in question is bordered by both Coosada and Millbrook.
In the case of Rodger’s View Court, residents told the EAN their main concern was lack of services to the Coosada Police Jurisdiction, and they wanted services to come from Millbrook. Many used the word “extortion” in connection with the letter that was sent to all residents of the PJ.
Those concerns stem from Coosada’s failure to file proper reporting paperwork resulting in them no longer being able to collect certain fees imposed by the Town.
Mayor Houston stressed that Coosada police and fire departments are still honoring the PJ.
According to officials we spoke to this afternoon, Coosada is still receiving fire fees paid when property tax is paid. EAN has confirmed that fire fees collected within the Coosada Fire District are being allocated to Coosada, as has historically been done.
However, Coosada opted to begin charging additional dues to residents in the PJ if the want fire and police services. Those who opt out of being annexed but remain in the PJ could be charged in excess of $10,000 per call if they do not agree to pay the additional dues.
In a letter from Coosada to residents in the PJ, the terms of the agreement are lined out.
Residents in those areas would have to sign a contract.
“If you do not have a contract and the town of Coosada fire and rescue responds to a 911 call at your location, you will be charged for each response that could exceed $10,000.” Per the letter.
Under fire rates, residential dwellings are charged $350 per year; commercial firms or corporations are charged $750 per year; gas plants $10,000 per year, airports $5,000 per year, vacant property less than 100 acres $68.82 per acre and over 100 acres has a maximum contract of $1,351.52.
For HAZMAT, there are three levels which are $784, $2,800 or $6,608 per year.
Fire contracts are billed each October and are due by Jan. 1. The contract term is January through December and rates are prorated.
In other discussions during the unofficial meeting, Coosada Councilman Goza questioned Millbrook City Clerk Davis on why “Millbrook is interested in trying to take Coosada over.”
“We are not,” Davis responded.
Goza said that for 14 years Millbrook has been trying to take over. Davis said she could only speak for the past three years since she has been a city clerk.
“We only want to do what we can legally do,” she said. “We have sought many legal opinions on this, and we truly believe that we are correct. We do not want to do anything illegally. And we certainly don’t want to infringe on any other town’s or city’s rights.”
Officials have stated that property owners have rights. Those that are in an area where they could choose to be annexed into one town or city limits over the other, have the right to do so. A police jurisdiction is not within city limits, and subject to state’s annexation laws.
Goza than asked if Millbrook is “so hungry for money because they are in debt and so behind on that project over there (17 Springs) that the county is working and running county equipment when they should be attending to county business and not Millbrook’s business.”
Editor’s Note: To be clear, Elmore County Commission is one of five partners that came together to create 17 Springs. The other four are the City of Millbrook, the Elmore County Economic Development Authority, the Montgomery Area YMCA and Elmore County Schools. The County Commission has done dirt work on the 17 springs property as part of their in-kind donation relating to their partnership.
Once the facility is completely operational in mid-2025, it will be available to the public as a whole. According to the partners, the project is not behind, but is on schedule.
