City officials said they will move forward with annexation ordinances for the Palmyra and Bamboo Lane neighborhoods even after receiving a county letter of objection that raises legal questions about the process.

At an agenda-review meeting, city staff reported the county’s letter arrived within the last two days and objects to key technical aspects of the annexation and the city’s interpretation of a power-of-attorney. City staff also told commissioners they had learned the county is exploring buying the city’s Westwater water-treatment plant or the city’s water and wastewater utilities, a change that would affect existing water-service agreements.

Why it matters: county action could trigger a formal dispute process that delays or alters the annexation, and a utility transfer would change who provides water service to the neighborhoods at issue.

City staff said legal counsel is preparing a written response and will brief each commissioner one-on-one before the commission proceeds with final actions. “We did receive the letter of objection from the county,” City official Dan said; he added staff has “had time to unpack it and prepare a response.”

Legal counsel warned of the statutory dispute route the county could take. Daisy, legal counsel, said the county intends to initiate the Chapter 164 dispute-resolution process if the city proceeds with second readings. “They send us notice, they go to their board, and initiate the statutory process,” Daisy said, adding that if informal talks do not resolve the matter, mediation can follow before any court action.

Commissioners discussed trade-offs. Commissioner Turkin said he did not want to pause the city’s annexation process at the county’s request and expressed concern that a pause might be taken as a sign of weakness. “I just don’t trust that if we stop midway through, that the county is then going to do their due diligence and take us seriously,” Turkin said.

City staff and legal counsel told commissioners that not all pending annexation items attracted county objections: the staff noted three other annexation items had letters indicating the county had no objection. The county’s letter of objection, staff said, specifically targeted the Bamboo Lane and Palmyra items and focused on the power-of-attorney and service-agreement issues.

Staff also flagged other legal risks: an owner within an annexation area could sue the city over the annexation or zoning change. “They would have standing, and there are a variety of legal issues associated with that based on the underlying water-service agreements,” Daisy said.

What happens next: staff and legal said they will finish the city’s written response and share it with commissioners when ready, and the city appears prepared to go forward with the second readings for Palmyra and Bamboo Lane unless the commission directs otherwise. If the county files under Chapter 164, the process provides for intergovernmental meetings and mediation before litigation.

No formal vote on annexation was taken during the agenda review; city staff characterized the discussion as direction to proceed while legal follows up individually with each commissioner.