Negotiations continue on Country Club Road annexation

The city of Washington is attempting to annex Country Club Road into the city limits. The road is privately owned by the Washington Golf and Country Club. In an interview Monday, Washington City Attorney Craig Arbuckle said the city wants jurisdiction over the road for developmental purposes.

?The city wants to have a good gateway into developing the area on the south city limits,? he said.

Vogel Construction is planning to build a subdivision north of the golf course which will connect to Country Club Road. The subdivision is known as Oakwood Village. The subdivision will contain 20 lots. The road from the subdivision will intersect with Country Club Road where Country Club Road turns south to the golf course.

Tim Vogel, owner of Vogel Construction, said nothing is set in stone and that he is still in negotiations with the city regarding financial incentives to be annexed into the city.

Arbuckle said that the city wants to annex Country Club Road voluntarily. To do that, the city must negotiate with the Washington Golf and Country Club, Vogel Construction and the property owners who live on Country Club Road.

?We always try to avoid involuntary annexation,? Arbuckle said. ?In this case, we want to improve that road. We?re in the business of public streets. It make sense for the city to undertake that improvement. That road will not only be an access to Vogel?s subdivision but also west of that.?

At Wednesday?s city council meeting, Arbuckle announced that the city would offer tax incentives to the property owners who would be annexed into the city. If the property owners were annexed into the city, they would pay about one-third more in property taxes since Washington?s city taxes are higher than the township taxes. The city would be willing to let the property owners continue to pay township property taxes for the first 10 years after they are annexed into the city.

Arbuckle said he would like all negotiating parties to have an agreement worked out in the next two weeks. He said that whether Oakwood Village would connect to Lincoln Street north of it is also under negotiation.