Mayor: Annex Freeney property before rezoning, clean out sewers without borrowing, pass anti-blight ordinance

New City Council members Logan Nance,
foreground; John Holloway, opposite;
and Stacy Thurman talked as holdovers
Sara Hicks and Bruce Southworth listened
before the meeting. (Click for larger view)

The Midway City Council will be asked to annex a 137-acre farm next to Midway Station before the property is rezoned, so the council can have final say on the rezoning, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said Monday night.

The fate of the Homer Freeny property, which was originally supposed to be considered by the county planning commission in November, was one of several points Vandegrift made in his annual report to the council as he began his second four-year term. He said it should be annexed first "to ensure that future development will have a very significant impact on city revenue and thus on our opportunities to improve infrastructure all over the city." Vandegrift also said:

• The city will spend "roughly $160,000" to video and clean out all the old sewer lines, without having "to borrow any money or to dip into any reserves."
• He will renew his efforts to pass an ordinance making it easier for the city to crack down on owners of blighted property, with a new code enforcement board to handle cases.
• Stephens Street will get edge and center lines when warn weather arrives, as part of the city's plan to slow down speeders.
• He will appoint an affordable-housing task force to provide suggestions for infill development of housing rather than new subdivisions. "There is no appetite for new development of housing or for any kind of residential sprawl," he said.
• City employees will be slated for a 5 percent pay raise in the budget he will offer this spring, up from the recent 3 percent annual raises.

"We've got a lot going on, and a lot left to do," Vandegrift said as he began to read the report. In closing, he said, "We’ve so far laid the groundwork to be able to improve infrastructure, to enhance our quality of life, and to truly reach a goal I talked about 4 years ago and which I now believe is firmly within our grasp: to become the model for small cities in the 21st century."

For the full text of the mayor's report, click here.