UPDATE: Be sure to follow the comments on this post.
At last night's Selma Town Council meeting, a full house was in attendance. Most were there for the public hearing on the proposed annexation of five territories. Most of the people were from the McCormick Heights subdivision, not too far from here. People were passionate in their opinions about being annexed.
I don't blame these people one bit. I am on the record as not being in favor of forced annexation except under some common sense, strict conditions. I don't always agree with Mr. Tony Tetterton, especially on the topic of quiet zones for the local railroads here in Selma. I don't agree with the idea that he was allowed to comment in the public hearing, since he is not personally affected by the proposed annexation, he not a resident of the town, and does not pay property tax to the town.
However, last night, he was correct in what he attempted to convey. There are other valuable properties that could be annexed and it would make sense to annex them since they are totally surrounded by the town city limits. They are mostly commercial properties and get all the benefits of being in the town but technically are not. He was also right about it being a political thing that they are not being considered instead of the residential areas. Tony is further correct that the only reason for the proposed annexation is tax revenue.
Mr. Tetterton had a 15 minute presentation but was not allowed to give it. He was only allowed the same three minutes that everyone else was granted. However, that three minute rule was not enforced once he left the meeting. That was just unfair. If there is going to be a time limit rule, apply it equally. I do not believe the time limit was appropriate to begin with.
I heard grumblings from the crowd near me that if they get to vote in the upcoming election, they will do everything they can to vote out anyone who voted for the annexation. Mary Tyndall (who has been at Johnston Medical and Surgical Supply as long as I can remember) said so in her three minutes of commentary, which were the first ones given in the public forum.
I hope that the residents remember this when it comes to the election in November. Here is the column I wrote for The Selma News on involuntary annexation.
Here is The Smithfield Herald article on the council meeting.
3 comments:
I appreciate your comments about my point of view, but I disagree with you about not being affected by this annexation. I do live within the 3 mile radius of properties that can be annexed and should the city be successful in annexing Area 3 (Anderson at I95) then I can be annexed by virtue of "adjacency”. The Catch-22 is that should the city illegally (and I mean that in the sense by not properly following NC statutes) annex the farm land/forest land in Area 3, then I have no legal “standing” to legally challenge the annexation. When they then next try to annex my property, I cannot go back and say, “You illegally annexed the very land that now allows the town to annex me.”
With regard to speaking at the public hearing, NC statute specifically permits municipal residents and those in the annexed areas to speak. There is no prohibition on allowing anyone else to speak and after all, it is a “public hearing”. Surely you would agree that any vagueness in the statute should favor a concerned citizen’s right to express an opinion. The funny thing is that my primary intent in addressing the council was to enlighten them. Mr. Simmons report was an absolute blunder. It will never pass judicial review, and I predict that come next meeting there will be significant changes. Charles Hester did not know this and neither did Mrs. Johnson nor Mrs. Lacy. Further, the report (a legal document) was never reviewed by the city’s legal counsel! I personally believe Hester knew about the 3.5 million dollar properties, but don’t believe the others did.
With regard to the quiet zone issue, I realize it is very contentious, but you have, to some degree, misunderstood my intent. I never had any notion to create a “Quiet Zone” along the NS line that runs through the middle of Selma, that was Mr. Jackson idea. But as Chairman of the board that I asked for, I felt obliged to accommodate his wishes. My original intent was to stop the horns at the 3 private and 1 public crossings on Lizzie Mill Rd., though only Council Member Johnson knew it, in my conversations with NC-DOT I agreed to pay for the safety upgrades myself.
What has surprised me about both the annexation and quiet zone issues is that few people take the time to learn and understand the facts before taking a position.
Sincerely,
Tony Tetterton
Thanks for the feedback, Tony. I still do not believe that you are immediately affected by this annexation, since it does not concern your property. It may set up something contiguous to yours, but the bottom line is that it is not your property being considered presently.
Although appreciate your zeal and intelligently prepared information, the truth of the matter is that town meetings are for town citizens. Others may spectate. By definition, the Selma Town Council Meeting is for Selma. Do you get up and speak at Smithfield's Town Council Meeting, not being a resident of Smithfield? I doubt it. Those who do not live in Selma and pay Selma taxes should have no say in how Selma does business.
Sorry, but this is a fundamental principle of local autonomy in government. There are different levels of government: the family, the Church (for those within the Church), municipal, county, state, and national. South Carolina residents do not have a say in how North Carolina runs its government. Wake County residents do not have a say in how Johnston County is run. Canadians do not have a say in how U.S. affairs are conducted. Those who are not Selma residents do not have a say in how Selma conducts its governmental affairs.
Now, should a resident who has time desire to have a proxy speaker, that is an entirely different thing. The residents in question that are being considered for annexation should have been allowed to have a presentation on their behalf, regardless of from whom it came. If they as a group wanted a full presentation, it was WRONG of the council to refuse to hear it. I felt it bad judgment on their part.
I have no doubt that the report was flawed and have even less doubt that the council members were ignorant of the flaws. If this process has not been properly reviewed, then this is a major problem and inherent flaw of the way our town is being run. I have seen things like this in the past when I used to work in Selma, and now that I have lived here in Selma for a while, this is one reason I decided to run for town council.
Of course Hester knew about the other properties. He was on the planning board for a while, has been in this town for over forty years, and is in the real estate business. The whole reason for this is sheer political favoritism.
What you said about the quiet zone is news to me. None the less, the issues that were presented were pretty much for the entire town. Again, it goes back to my earlier statements regarding allowing those who do not live within the town dictate how the town handles its affairs.
Furthermore, I have a problem with creating a quiet zone to benefit one particular business, especially one outside the town limits.
With the quiet zone, it is hard to say that the issues were not known after repeated updates and presentations given by you. When you were scheduled for a full presentation before the council, you never showed up. I have little sympathy on that one.
As to the annexation issue, I have little doubt as to the council's lack of knowledge or desire thereof. I don't take issues like this lightly, nor should they.
Tony, I do not endeavor to be adversarial in any of this. I actually find you to be intelligent, fairly articulate, and passionate about what you believe. I like that about you. We may not agree on all things, but that does not mean I want to be an adversary. You are actually the sort of guy I would love to sit down with at Sweetwater's and have dinner or a cold beverage with. The nation's great thinkers used to do such things at pubs in centuries past. This is a forgotten method of fellowship and communication.
P.S.
You missed the daytime meeting after the no-show council meeting so I am sure you are not aware that Hester had the nerve to admit that he himself has filed a lawsuit to resist the City of Asheville from annexing him. He admitted that the land should probably be annexed but he sued nevertheless.
Seemed very hypocritical to me.
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