Council amends annexation legal description to add half of 220 Second Street; ordinance 15-29 passes

The Tonganoxie City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 15-29 on April 21, 2025, amending the legal description contained in Ordinance No. 15-16 to include half of 220 Second Street as part of a voluntary annexation near the Tonganoxie Business Park.

City staff explained the underlying annexation originated in late 2023 when two property owners petitioned to annex land near the business park. The county initially treated the parcel as an island annexation and declined to approve it, prompting district court proceedings in which a judge later found Ordinance 15-16 valid. Following that decision, Leavenworth County indicated it would recommend the annexation and the city is now finalizing a minor correction to the legal description to include the half of the roadway adjacent to the annexed property.

Staff said the corrected legal description affects only the west side of the roadway adjacent to the annexed parcel and does not annex the entire road. If approved tonight, staff said the item would be submitted to the county clerk to establish appropriate taxing jurisdictions.

A council member moved to approve Ordinance 15-29, described in the motion as "an ordinance amending the legal description in section 1 of ordinance number 15-16 that provided for annexation of certain land in Lehi North County, Kansas into the limits and boundaries of the city of Tonganoxie, Kansas," and the motion passed unanimously.

Staff and council described this as a final step to allow the county to complete the annexation process and create the necessary taxing jurisdictions; no additional conditions were recorded.