Greenwood, Bargersville to talk about annexation area to see if deal can be reached

By Jason Michael White, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer

Bargersville and Greenwood are going to discuss whether they can reach an agreement about how land in the Center Grove area should be divided.

The meeting is part of an agreement reached among attorneys representing the town, city and three property owners in the annexation area, which the town and city both are trying to annex into their borders.

The meeting was initiated by Greenwood, said Nicholas Kile, an attorney representing Bargersville.

Bargersville will put its annexation plans on hold until a judge decides whether the town has the legal right to annex 3½ square miles of the Center Grove area.

Both sides will try to reach an agreement about what land in the Center Grove area should become part of Bargersville and what land should become part of Greenwood.

Greenwood and three private property owners have filed a lawsuit against Bargersville, claiming the town doesn't have the proper consent to annex land on State Road 135 north to Stones Crossing Road.

An initial hearing was set for Thursday on Greenwood's request for a judge to temporarily block Bargersville's annexation plans, but a document filed in court Tuesday afternoon asks the judge to call off the hearing and for both sides to meet by Monday to begin negotiations.

The purpose of the initial meeting between Bargersville and Greenwood representatives is to figure out whether further negotiations would be useful, Kile said.

The lawsuit has not been withdrawn; if Greenwood and Bargersville are unable to reach an agreement on boundaries, the case will proceed.

Sewer service is driving much of the battle.

Bargersville already has infrastructure to provide sewers to the land; Greenwood is working on a utility project for some of the same land. Whichever municipality gets the undeveloped land also will be able to sign on new sewer customers as property is developed into homes and businesses.

The Bargersville Town Council could still vote on whether to approve the annexation, but the town would not actually extend its boundaries until it got an OK from a judge, Kile said. The earliest the town council can vote on the annexation is Friday.

Bargersville officials say they have consent through sewer agreements to annex the land, but Greenwood officials say sewer agreements are not a proper way to get consent to an annexation.

A court hearing may not be necessary to settle the dispute if Greenwood and Bargersville can reach an agreement outside of court, said Wayne Turner, an attorney representing three property owners in the annexation area.

One of the key issues is whether Greenwood and Bargersville can agree on a dividing line to show which parts of the Center Grove area would be annexed into the city and what property would be annexed into the town, city council member Bruce Armstrong said.

Also, he wants to consider whether Center Grove area residents want to become their own city or town or merge with Greenwood or Bargersville.

Armstrong expects that he, Mayor Charles Henderson and possibly another council member will be involved with negotiations with Bargersville representatives, he said.

Bargersville Town Council President Steve Welch had not had a chance to read the agreement as of late Tuesday afternoon.

In previous interviews, he has said that he is philosophically against drawing a line on a map to divide the Center Grove area, because he says those types of decisions should be consumer-driven.

Kile will report back to the town council after initial discussions, and if the town wants to proceed with talks, the town council and city council would meet in public to negotiate, he said.