Commission introduces annexation ordinance

Following a lengthy back-and-forth Thursday evening, the Clovis city commission voted to introduce an ordinance for annexation of 593 acres of land northwest of Clovis that includes the site of a new school.

CNJ staff photo: Tony Bullocks

Clovis Schools Superintendent Terry Myers said construction at Gattis Middle School is 25 percent complete. The school in northwest Clovis is scheduled to open in the 2013-14 school year.

After the 8-1 vote from the commission — Randy Crowder was the dissenting vote — the ordinance can be approved as soon as the next meeting, set for May 17.

The land belongs to Sid Strebeck, and includes a 30-acre tract that he donated to Clovis Municipal Schools. That land is the site of the future Gattis Middle School, set to open in the 2013-14 school year.

Strebeck said an annexation would allow the city to take advantage through gross receipts taxes of construction and sales of homes he and partners plan to develop. The school, Strebeck said, is currently being built using a lower GRT rate due to the land being located outside of the city.

Along with other partners, Strebeck said the land could house more than 2,800 units and could generate millions to the city in property taxes.

Crowder, however, saw plenty of fault with Strebeck's numbers, and said many of the benefits would come to the city, annexation or not. He said the city would see gross receipts tax money from residents shopping at local stores no matter what, and that the city would actually lose money on sewer fees because county residents tapped into the city system pay double what city residents do.

City Manager Joe Thomas gave a 10-year projection to city commissioners in prior individual meetings, but noted his projections included possible additions of another fire department substation and did not account for potential commercial development.

He added that the figures assumed house values of $100,000 each, when Strebeck noted that houses would be in the $125,000-$500,000 range.

"They're not intended to be hard numbers," Thomas said, "and that was stressed in each of the meetings I've had with you."

Crowder also took issue with Strebeck's projections. At the podium, he estimated that the development could have 150 homes in the first year. But Crowder said Strebeck submitted written projections of 505 homes in the first year and 2,873 units for the entire area — an amount approximate to Colonial Park, which took decades to fill out.

"That is incredibly optimistic," Crowder said. "A really strong year is 250 to 300."

Strebeck noted that if he were to do the project as a county subdivision, he could build and offer homes using the lower out-of-town GRT rate.

"That would give me a $6,000 price advantage (on other developers)," Strebeck said.

Commissioner Sandra Taylor-Sawyer asked Thomas if the chip-seal road would be adequate for the type of traffic a development would create. Thomas and City Engineer Justin Howalt said the road is adequate for neighborhood-level traffic from standard-sized vehicles.

Commissioner Bobby Sandoval thanked Crowder for the information, but asked for a vote because the issue before the commission was only the introduction to the ordinance.

Mayor David Lansford noted that the commission could look at a phased annexation, and reduce future city obligations to build new streets.

"We've got $60 million in road improvements that have been staring at us for decades," Lansford said.

Clovis Schools Superintendent Terry Myers, reached prior to the meeting, said the city's action wouldn't have bearing on the school construction.

"That school's 25 percent complete already," Myers said. "We're at full tilt either way. It was never a prerequisite the city annex that land. That's an issue that's between the city and county and the people of the town."