Published: July 04, 2008 12:24 am            

Annexation suits moving ahead

Hearing scheduled Wednesday on May lawsuit against Mayor Goodnight’s plan

Kokomo attorney Dan May will ask for a temporary injunction against the East Side Annexation at a court hearing Wednesday, the first hearing scheduled for three lawsuits filed against Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight’s plan.

Howard Superior 2 Judge Stephen Jessup will preside over the 1:30 p.m. hearing.

Remonstrators from both the East Side and West Side annexation areas are hoping to kill Goodnight’s plan in court, alleging the city didn’t follow proper notification procedures and hasn’t provided accurate information to the public.

Goodnight is seeking to annex 14.2 square miles of unincorporated Howard County into the city, a plan he said would turn Kokomo from the 16th largest city in Indiana to the 12th largest.

His annexation plan is divided into two parts, each of which must be passed as a separate ordinance by the Kokomo Common Council.

But “involuntary” annexations, initiated by a city council, can only be stopped by a petition containing signatures from 65 percent of the property owners within the targeted annexation area.

And even areas where such petitions have been successfully collected, such as the Home Place neighborhood surrounded by Carmel, have seen the final question of annexation decided in court.

While May is representing the East Side Annexation remonstrators, Indianapolis attorney John Price is representing the West Side anti-annexation group.

Both May and Price filed suit last month. May filed two separate actions, which will be consolidated into one case.

Thursday, May said he’d discussed moving his case out of Jessup’s court with city attorney Derek Sublette, but has not filed for a change of venue.

Wednesday, Jessup could temporarily prevent the city from moving ahead with the annexation process, and ask city officials to address any of the concerns May raised in his lawsuit.

But whether Jessup rejects or grants May’s request for a temporary injunction, he won’t rule on the merits of May’s lawsuit Wednesday.

“We could get a preliminary ruling on whether the city complied with the [annexation] statute, but if we lose on the temporary injunction we don’t lose the entire lawsuit,” May said.

Meanwhile the West Side remonstrance group awaits a decision on a trial judge.

Both sides are in the process of reaching a mutual agreement on a judge from choice of three possibilities, Sublette confirmed Thursday.

As of Thursday, the city had yet to file a formal response to either lawsuit.

The city is expected to file a brief Monday in anticipation of Wednesday’s hearing on May’s temporary injunction request.

Then Tuesday, the city’s formal response is due on May’s original complaint. The city will have longer to respond to the additional complaint May filed June 24 on behalf of petitioner Karen J. Kessler.

The city’s formal response to Price’s lawsuit is due Thursday.

Scott Smith may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com

        

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