SPANISH FORT – Commercial property owners along US 31 and Jimmy Faulkner Drive are being asked to allow their parcels to be included in legislation to annex land into the Spanish Fort corporate limits.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliott, is intended to bring in sites that are already surrounded by property that is part of the city, Mayor Mike McMillan said.

“It's not about a land grab,” McMillan said at a City Council work session Monday, March 15. “It's not about sales tax dollars. It's not about all that. It's just making the city whole, filling our voids and taking away a lot of the confusion.”

McMillan and council members have been talking to property owners about the annexation proposal. The mayor said most owners that he has contacted support the idea.

“Of the ones I've talked to, I've only had one tell me no, point blank tell me no,” McMillan said. “The rest I've spoken with are either in favor of it or don't have a problem, I did have a conversation with Sen. Elliott, the sponsor of the bill, at his request, that's why the city is meeting with all the property owners involved. He did indicate to me that he would carry the bill forward, except for the ones that didn't want to come into the city, so we can craft this to drop those out of the annexation package and move forward with all of the others involved.”

In many areas in or around Spanish Fort, some parcels are inside the city limits but have not been annexed into the municipality. City Attorney David Conner said having unincorporated property within the city limits creates problems for emergency services.

“The discussion that you had with the chief, both chiefs, the chief of police and the fire chief over the confusion of jurisdictions depending on which parcel you are, response to calls, mutual aide responses, fire district versus city district, is all part of the reason that this needs to be cleared up in a series of annexations,” Conner told City Council members on March 15.

“This is not a situation where the city is doing a wide, sweeping large-scale annexation. Basically, we're coming in and asking for the Legislature to help us fill in gaps in the areas surrounded by the corporate limits of the city and you're attempting to annex property that has traditionally been knowns as the Spanish Fort community to try to keep us together, help us develop together,” Conner added.

Councilman Curt Smith said Spanish Fort already provides services to those residents and business owners whose property is in the proposed annexation area.

“Whether you annex into the city or not, you are benefitting from all the things that we are doing as a city, as a municipality, to improve this community. Whether bring in Brentwood a big fancy new neighborhood with a lot of dollars and cars that drive to your store,” Smith said. Whether we're improving roads, public works, zoning, efforts to make the school with extra tax money for the school, providing the police and fire support that we give them. All those things they're getting, but it costs money. And to improve those services it's got to be paid for.”

McMillan said the areas are all part of the same community.

“We all go to church together,” McMillan said. “We all go to school together socialize together. We're all part of the total picture of pushing Spanish Fort forward.”