The city of Gluckstadt has planned for $500,000 in legal fees for the annexation case against the city of Madison, but that amount could be just the tip of the iceberg.
There’s no way to know what the case will end up costing, said Gluckstadt Mayor Walter Morrison, but one thing is for certain. “City government is committed to doing what’s best for the city regardless of what it costs,” he said.
Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler expects legal fees could amount to “several hundred thousand dollars” for the city of Madison, but the cost will not deter the city.
“We’ll have to have expert witnesses and lawyers who are annexation lawyers,” she said. “It could drag on and go to the state Supreme Court. I know if things don’t go as we have planned, we won’t stop.”
Hawkins-Butler said Gluckstadt’s opposition to the city of Madison annexing four square miles north of Madison’s current border and south of Gluckstadt’s current border, which is Gluckstadt Road, came as a surprise.
The city of Madison agreed to support Gluckstadt’s incorporation and she had meetings with some of the individuals leading the efforts (Morrison was not among them) and formed “a gentleman’s agreement” that the city of Madison would eventually annex the property.
“So much for the gentleman’s agreement,” she said. “They have decided to oppose us.”
Lawyers John Scanlon and Jerry Mills of Mills Scanlon Dye & Pittman represent Gluckstadt and Kelly D. Simpkins of Wells Marble represents the city of Madison.
The city of Madison began the annexation process on May 2, and Gluckstadt followed on July 11. Madison County Chancery Court Judge James Walker consolidated the two cases into one during a hearing on Sept. 25.
Both cities contend the property is in their respective path of expansion.
The property is in the direction of growth for the city of Madison and in its sewer area, Hawkins-Butler said. Belle Terre neighborhood, Magnolia Speech School and 350 acres of property on Bozeman Road that were recently rezoned C-2 by Madison County fall within the proposed annexation area, she said.
Madison County’s zoning ordinance differs from that of Madison the city and allows some uses not allowed under the city’s zoning, she said.
“Madison’s C-2 zoning is much more detailed and more conducive to creating community,” she said. “The county’s zoning allows for truck stops, mini warehouses and storage units. Their zoning creates an industrial park in my opinion next to Cherry Hills and Belle Terre neighborhoods. We are in litigation (with the County) over that.”
The property being contested provides another entrance into Madison and that makes the annexation case also about the quality of life for the area, she said.
Numerous property owners in the proposed annexation area have said they would rather be part of Madison the city than Gluckstadt, Hawkins-Butler said. “They are more tied to us,” she said.
The proposed area for annexation includes some residential, some commercial and some undeveloped land and the city of Gluckstadt would have no problem providing city services, Morrison said.
Gluckstadt needs the property in question because it cannot grow to the north as far as Mississippi Highway 22 because of Canton, Morrison said.
The additional property would spur both residential and commercial growth for Gluckstadt, which has between 4,000 and 5,000 residents, and grow its tax base, he said. Gluckstadt can provide city services to the area, he said.
The city of Madison doubled its size with annexation in 2002, Hawkins-Butler said. At the time, the judge involved said the area north of Madison and south of Gluckstadt was not “ripe,” Hawkins-Butler said.
“The property abuts our city,” she said. “We feel like since 2002 it is ripe for the city of Madison.”
The annexation case is set to be heard on Jan. 2, 2024 in Madison County Chancery Court.
