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City administrator: June 30 public hearing and called meeting will decide annexation at 1220 Golf Course Road
Summary
City Administrator James Fincher told the Board of Aldermen the June 10 motion does not decide annexation itself but advances the annexation request to a required public hearing on June 30, with a called meeting to follow the hearing for the final up-or-down vote.
City Administrator James Fincher told the Newport Board of Aldermen on June 10 that the council's vote regarding an annexation petition for property near the golf course is only to move the process to a public hearing, not to approve or reject annexation.
'This is not a vote tonight on annexation. This is is a vote to move the process forward to the public hearing phase,' Fincher said during the meeting, adding that the city must follow the current state-law process requiring a hearing before a final up-or-down vote.
Fincher explained the state law change that removed routine forced annexation and replaced it with owner-request or referendum-based annexations. He said that under the current process a resolution at this meeting advances the petition to a public hearing, after which the council may hold the required final vote.
At the meeting staff placed the annexation property description in the record as: 1220 Golf Course Road, referenced by tax parcel identifiers staff provided.
A member of the public, James Bailey, asked whether the up-or-down vote would occur at the next regular session or at a called meeting; Fincher replied, 'There'll be a called meeting immediately following the public hearing.' The hearing is scheduled for June 30, 2025; staff said the mayor intends to call the meeting for the vote prior to June 30 if procedural timing requires it, but the administration told the council it expects the called meeting to occur on the same day as the hearing.
Several residents who identified themselves as living near the golf course attended the meeting to ask questions about whether their homes are already inside the city limits and to confirm that the hearing will allow public comment. A resident, Lisa Rick, said those present 'do not want the golf course closed' and asked how many golf-course-area homes already lie inside city limits; staff responded by referring to parcel counts.
Fincher acknowledged that the city has had to learn the new annexation procedures: 'I've read the whole thing and then I thought, what? And I went back and read it again,' he said, noting the change from 2 up-or-down ordinance votes under the old law to the current resolution-plus-hearing approach.
The board voted to advance the annexation petition to a public hearing (Resolution 2025-10). Staff will publish the hearing notice and provide the annexation packet before June 30; the council will take the final vote only after the public hearing and the called meeting scheduled by the mayor.
No final annexation decision was made at the June 10 meeting; the only formal outcome was the council authorizing the matter to proceed to public hearing.
