City schedules Sept. 4 public hearing on Dobson Branch Road annexation after council vote

Cookwell City Council voted July 17 to approve Resolution R250609, which schedules a public hearing by referendum on Sept. 4, 2025, for a proposed annexation of land along Dobson Branch Road north of the city limits.

The council-approved resolution does not itself annex the land; it sets the date for a public hearing and begins the notification process, Planning staff said. The revised annexation boundary was adjusted after property-owner inquiries to include contiguous parcels and now totals about 275 acres, according to the planning presentation.

Planning staff told the council the study-area includes 374 dwelling units with an estimated 842 residents. Projected annual revenue from the annexation was presented as $179,299.72 in property taxes and about $150,280.16 in state-shared taxes, totaling approximately $329,579.88. Staff also projected additional annual costs to provide city services of about $388,000, broken down as roughly $87,000 for street maintenance, $16,000 for solid waste and $285,000 for sewer service. Planning staff said the total estimated cost to provide city services over time is approximately $7,657,000.

The planning commission reviewed the revised annexation map and plan of services and recommended the council examine the plan's sewer-service language, which the commission said does not include a date for when sewer service would be provided. Staff noted the resolution had been postponed at the council's June 5 meeting and that the planning division would start public-notification steps if the council approved the resolution.

Councilman Gilbert moved to approve the resolution; Vice Mayor Eldridge seconded. The motion carried on a 4-0 recorded vote.

During the public-comment period, a resident who lives outside the city, Carol Fleetwood, asked for clarification about the annexation's population, the criteria used for annexation and whether the change would affect county commissioner districts. Planning and council members responded that the Sept. 4 hearing will be the formal opportunity for public input and that county commissioner districts would not be changed by the city's annexation — the city would gain voters inside its municipal elections but county districts continue to cover the same geography.

The council will take public testimony on Sept. 4 on the proposed referendum and the plan of services before any final annexation decision is made.