Athens council hears pre-annexation plan from county children’s services ahead of building project

Athens County Children’s Services told the City Council Planning and Development Committee on Monday that it is pursuing a pre-annexation agreement to bring its new campus into the city so the project can access larger water service lines. The agency’s executive director, Otis Crockman, said construction on the roughly 28,800-square-foot building has begun and that a larger sprinkler line on Jacobs Road is a key reason to seek annexation.

The proposal matters because the city will ultimately provide drinking and firefighting water service to the site if the annexation proceeds. Mayor Patterson described the measure as a political-subdivision annexation and said council will petition the county board of commissioners in November 2026 for final annexation. "This is a different type of annexation," Patterson said, adding the county has already agreed to move the process forward.

Crockman told the committee he first raised annexation while planning the building project after learning the property sits on county land. "We started on this project last year and construction is underway," Crockman said. He said earlier conversations with the mayor and with city staff identified annexation as a way to secure the larger water supply the new sprinkler system will require.

The county commissioners approved the organization moving forward with the pre-annexation on Sept. 16, Crockman said. Crockman also told the committee the agency expects to employ about 100 people at the new site (92 currently on staff) and estimated the city could gain roughly $110,000–$120,000 a year in tax revenue from worker payroll contributions.

Councilmember Thomas asked whether the pre-annexation is legally binding across personnel changes; Crockman replied there is language in the draft that contemplates conditions and that the signed county document is a positive sign that the parties intend to proceed. The mayor and Crockman said the agency expects to occupy the new building in October 2026.

Staff and council discussed who will build and pay for the water improvements. The mayor said the city will construct its portion of the delivery system up to the point where responsibility shifts to the annexed property, and the work will be bid out. An engineer must evaluate the final scope of work, but the mayor estimated the water-line upgrades could cost roughly $50,000 or less depending on required work.

The pre-annexation measure will appear for first reading at the city’s Oct. 6 business meeting; the administration said it will confirm whether the item requires three readings or an expedited suspension of rules. Crockman said the agency will share tours of the facility as construction proceeds.

The discussion was technical and mostly procedural: council members asked about timing, the legal strength of the county’s approval, construction traffic and neighborhood impacts, and whether the agency has concrete plans for any excess land on the site. Crockman said the board supports annexation and that the agency has no specific plan yet for additional acreage.

The committee did not take a final vote Monday; the item moves next to first reading at the Oct. 6 business meeting.