Published: July 14, 2008 10:43 pm         

Oak Hill officials pessimistic about possible annexation bid

OAK HILL — Mayor Bill Hannabass and city manager Tom Oxley concurred Monday evening with each other’s chagrined prognostications about the outcome of an upcoming Fayette County Commission meeting that will determine the fate of Oak Hill’s bid to annex more than 650 acres of Wolf Creek Park.

“My impression is that all three (commissioners) will vote ‘no’ on annexation,” predicted Hannabass, at the city council meeting.

“The hearing portion is over. There will be no more comments. I don’t know how they’ll justify not annexing Wolf Creek Park,” Hannabass added.

The duo’s sentiments came on the heels of a commission meeting last Friday in which members of the Urban Renewal Authority — owners of the hoped-for, mixed-use industrial park — expressed opposition to any annexation of the remaining two-thirds of Wolf Creek Park’s 1,000 acres.

Last November, commissioners approved the city’s request to annex the 330 acres known as the residential portion of the park. Oxley said Monday that he thought annexation of the rest of the park was still up for consideration.

“To us, it was on the table,” he declared, referring to a letter he received from the URA in September 2006. “They said that other parts (of the park) would be deferred until later. Apparently, that’s not going to fly.”

Hannabass described the situation as a “bad deal” for Oak Hill. “It was a bad deal for Oak Hill to think all of it was up for annexation,” he lamented.

According to Hannabass, the URA commissioned a $30,000 study which concluded that business and occupational taxes are not a deterrent to employers. URA members had claimed Friday that such taxes could prove detrimental to URA efforts in attracting new businesses.

Council member Jeff Atha said Oak Hill’s would-be annexation of the park would not be adding another regulatory body, as URA representatives have argued. The move would simply substitute one regulatory body for another, Atha asserted.

When Oxley was asked by a member of the general public about the reason many county commissions seem to balk at annexation, the city manager replied with “loss of control.”

The commission will meet at 1 p.m. July 25 to vote on the matter.



Hannabass and Oxley attended Friday’s commission meeting to plead the city’s case.

According to the URA, Oak Hill’s plans could deter new businesses, whose presence is necessary to pay off the $2 million debt still owed to creditors that financed the development of the park.

URA members said they need the freedom to develop the park without concerning themselves with another regulatory entity when meeting with potential buyers or leasers.

Oxley argued that the city’s annexation application meets all the necessary criteria to be approved. It filed an application Dec. 14 with the commission for a boundary adjustment to annex 654.18 acres of Wolf Creek Park.

Oak Hill would provide sewer service, and the city would offer police and fire protection with the mutual aid of other local agencies and departments.

Public water would be provided by West Virginia-American Water. Solid waste collection would be performed by one of several licensed collectors now operating in Oak Hill or the county.

Additionally, the city would adopt the county building code and collect a building permit fee as prescribed by the county. Those funds would be sent to the county for administrative and code enforcement costs.

Eventually, future B&O taxes and ad valorem taxes would help the city maintain streets, sidewalks and street lights, among other things.

— E-mail: mhill@register-herald.com