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Decision protested Unswayed, Jenkins board will pursue Pequot annexation Staff Writer JENKINS TOWNSHIP - More than 30 people filled the tiny Jenkins Township Hall Tuesday night, the majority to protest the township board's decision to pursue orderly annexation with the city of Pequot Lakes.
But the large turnout didn't appear to sway the township supervisors' decision and a group of township residents said they've hired an attorney to file an injunction to stop the annexation.
Later this month the township board plans to meet in a special workshop session to go over the draft proposal for orderly annexation with Pequot Lakes.
During the township annual meeting in March, only three residents showed up to discuss the possibility of annexation, which had been on the agenda. All seven people in attendance, including board members, voted to recommend the township board explore the possibility of annexation, which the board approved later that night. In June the board petitioned for annexation into the city of Pequot Lakes.
Brainerd attorney Tom Fitzpatrick, who was hired by the township board, told residents that the board was still in the process of exploring the possibility of annexation. He said board members looked at nearby Jenkins and Pequot Lakes and decided that Pequot Lakes had more available resources, a larger budget and staff, offering more for residents if the township were to be annexed.
Also, Pequot Lakes had annexed Sibley Township in 2002 by orderly annexation and the process appeared to be a positive experience, he said. Sibley Township residents now serve on the city council, he said.
"Pequot Lakes is considering the same thing (with Jenkins Township) so that leads me to believe it was an acceptable arrangement," said Fitzpatrick.
According to information obtained from the county auditor's office, Fitzpatrick said Pequot Lakes has two tax rates, 66.7 percent for those with access to city services and 33.3 percent for rural areas within the city, which would include Jenkins Township if it were to be annexed. Fitzpatrick said the city of Jenkins has a single tax rate of 49.3 percent.
An audience member, a member of the Jenkins City Council, disputed the numbers, saying that he believed the rate would be more like 18-20 percent for those within the township if it were to be annexed into Jenkins.
Several residents complained that the board didn't give them proper notice that annexation would be a topic at the annual meeting and that the board was not listening to the majority of the people within the township.
Steve Cox, who along with Tim Keen, has spearheaded the group opposed to annexation, said they have a petition signed by 120 residents also in opposition. Cox said the township has about 420 residents and of those, 186 registered voters.
"They're not gonna stop. They're going to go full steam ahead," Cox said of the township board.
Keen told the board it appears to only have four options: table the issue, call for a referendum vote, go the legal route or resign.
"We're not being listened to," said Keen. "We're not being taken into account. We want to do this with our eyes wide open."
But the three township supervisors at Tuesday's meeting questioned where all these people were during the annual meeting and at previous town hall meetings. With the ongoing growth in Jenkins Township and the county, they believed the county is overloaded with planning and zoning issues and felt a neighboring city would become a better advocate for those in the township.
Dennis Czech, a township supervisor, expressed concerns about the overloaded workload at the county planning and zoning office and how township issues weren't a priority because of this. If Pequot Lakes annexed the township, it would handle these issues.
Sharon Thurlow, a township supervisor since 1985, said she did not plan to change her mind and intends to continue this annexation process. She said 66 townships dissolved into cities last year in Minnesota and it was important that Jenkins Township made its own decision, rather than be forcibly annexed.
"We did not make this decision lightly," Thurlow said. "To say the decision we made had no basis, that's wrong. I feel I made an educated decision. I feel what this board is doing is in the best interest of this township. The people who are in favor are not the vocal ones. You are the vocal ones."
Several audience members criticized Thurlow, saying that she and the other two township supervisors were not listening to the "will of the people."
"The will of the people should have been there at the annual meeting," responded Thurlow. "You were not there."
"It's an easy, obvious no-brainer decision to be annexed by the city of Pequot Lakes," added resident Carl Bullen, which elicited groans from the rest of the audience. Bullen said Pequot Lakes offered fire, police, city water and sewer services that the city of Jenkins does not. "It's a five-minute no-brainer."
Robert Macnamara, a township supervisor, said in his 30 years on the township board they've averaged about 10-13 people in attendance at the annual meetings.
"Where have you been the last 30 years I've been on the board?," Macnamara asked the crowd. "We concluded (at the annual meeting) it was better for the future of this township to be annexed to the city of Pequot Lakes. ... We can't even say you elected us because you guys didn't come to vote. You probably didn't even know where the town hall was or had been inside it until now. I've seen almost 30 years of no concern and no interest."
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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