College Station Annexes Wellborn

After over a yearlong battle, the College Station City Council voted tonight to annex the community of Wellborn. According to an article in the Bryan-College Station Eagle, the community, which the city staff says has 84 homes in the proposed annexation area, will be eligible to vote in the upcoming May elections and use city sanitation services. College Station's police and fire departments previous began preparations to provide service to the area tonight. For all intensive purposes the question of whether or not College Station will annexation of Wellborn is over, but the debate surrounding the annexation seems to be far from over.

During the meeting Mayor Berry allowed a couple residents of Wellborn to speak to the City Council about annexation, which seemed to be the final words from the residents of Wellborn before the vote to annex. Justice of the Peace Mike McCleary asked the City Council to table the vote until the cost of annexation was furthered studied. McCleary went on to raise questions about the cost to the city, the county, and the citizens of Wellborn. Wellborn resident, Linda Hale, said that there are a lot of myths surrounding the annexation of Wellborn. These myths she said included that if Wellborn is not annexed that College Station would not have room for growth, and that if Wellborn incorporates it will create conflict with College Station.

John Crompton asked questions about “back of the envelope math” about the tax revenue that could be generated from annexation. Jess Fields spend his time asking about the short term and long term cost of annexation. Dennis Maloney raised concerns the estimates about assumptions that there would be no growth, and that he expect “explosive growth” over the next few decades. Katy-Marie Lyles asked about mechanisms that might be in place to preserve the “rural lifestyle of Wellborn,” and Bob Cowell, Director of Planning & Development Services, answered that there are no mechanisms available other than zoning to preserve the current character of Wellborn. Dave Ruesink asked about the benefits to both Wellborn and College Station residents from annexation, and Lance Simms, Assistant Director of Planning & Development Services, touted the services being extended to the residents of Wellborn and the ability of College Station to manage growth as benefits. Jana McMillan inquired about the cost to residents of tying into the College Station waste systems, which Cowell said would typically cost about $400.

After asking questions, the council members then gave their own statements. Ruesink said that the Wellborn annexation is one of the “more important issues that we have ever dealt with.” He went on to say that the “the intent of the annexation is not to destroy a community; it is to preserve it.” McMillan read a prepared statement that said that she “cannot support the idea of forcing people to join the city against their will,” and then asked that the vote to annex Wellborn to be tabled until after mediation. Lyles began her statement by saying that she was “going to vote to support annexation,” and then spent time address statements that she believes are untrue. Maloney spent his time reviewing the history of the area of College Station, and that Wellborn residents had over a century to incorporate but chose not to. He also said that not annexing Wellborn would cost residents millions if they are allowed to be “bookended” by the two cities. Field’s spent time discussing the frustration surrounding the issue. Fields that that “this country was founded on one single thing: the right to vote,” and went on to say that he would vote against annexation because he was choosing the “individual.”

In the end, the College Station voted to annex the community of Wellborn, and the vote was the expect 5-2 margin with Fields and McMillan dissenting. However, while the issue of whether or not Wellborn will be annexed may be over, the politics of the debate and the vote will range on for another month at least. On May 14th we will find out if the upcoming city election is going to be a referendum on this issue. But for now the Citizens for Wellborn are now residents of College Station.

*For more information about the details of the annexation read the City of College Station press release and Annexation Service Plan.