The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Joplin Metro

Discussion

February 1, 2009

Annexation plan on Duenweg ballot

By Debbie Robinson

news@joplinglobe.com

DUENWEG, Mo. — Voters in Duenweg on Tuesday will decide a proposal to annex land on the west side of Highway 249 and the north side of Seventh Street.

Voters will cast ballots at the Duenweg Fire Department.

Mayor Russell Olds said the issue arose nearly three years ago, when several property owners requested to be annexed into the city.

The annexation proposal was prompted by the purchase of land for Highway 249 by the Missouri Department of Transportation, Olds said. “They (MoDOT) became a property owner,” he said.

Because of that, he said, the highway land would have to be annexed into the city before any residences west of the highway could be annexed.

“We’ve got to get across the highway,” Olds said. “There’s a huge area out there.”

He said the state agency became a landowner and had to be included in any voluntary annexation plan, but a solution was not found, leading to the involuntary-annexation proposal on Tuesday’s ballot.

“There’s no fault to MoDOT,” Olds said. “They’ve been very cooperative.”

No residences are in the area to be annexed, Olds said.

If the annexation is approved, he said, the measure will allow for homeowners west of the highway to be annexed into the city.

“It’s always been an effort of the city to grow and prosper,” Olds said.

Residences in the area already receive most utilities from the city, and they would start getting police protection if the measure is approved, he said. Road management and maintenance also would be provided.

If more property owners request voluntary annexation, he said, the city eventually will earn revenue from property taxes.

Text Only
Joplin Metro