Residents oppose Jacksonville Annexation plan

While the city of Jacksonville would like to extend their city limits by annexing property along whites gap road,  residents of the affected area told the council Monday they want no part of it telling the council that they do not want to be brought into the city limits.

Last month the council had approved a measure that would allow the Alabama Legislature to annex land on the city’s behalf; the Whites Gap residents said people who live on their road are overwhelmingly against the idea.

Several members of the group spoke, saying they bought land outside of Jacksonville because they wanted to live in unincorporated communities, and they do not want to be subject to building codes that can limit what residents there can do on their property.

The mayor also said the city began considering the move because some homes just outside city limits are zoned for Jacksonville City Schools. As a result, Smith said, children in those communities are going to Jacksonville City Schools, but their parents’ property tax revenue is being paid to the county system.

Smith has also said in the past that, as part of the annexation plan — which was also discussed publicly last spring — the city plans to close islands of unincorporation inside the city. The change would bring some businesses, as well as the Germania Springs area, into the city for the first time. 

In action Monday, the city council awarded a bid to Gadsden’s Boatner Construction Company, which has agreed to build the city public safety complex for $10,781,435. Officials last week opened bids from four construction companies, revealing that Boatner provided the lowest responsible bid.

Monday’s decision was the next formal step in the process.

Officials said last week that Boatner would likely begin the project in late February, and that the company would have 18 months to finish it.