Rescind Bauxite land add, foes urge

LITTLE ROCK — BAUXITE - Last year, the mayor of this tiny Saline County town went door-to-door asking residents to join the city limits.

With a petition for voluntary annexation in hand, Gary Duncan made his pitch: Join Bauxite and it will extend sewer services and provide police protection. Plus, he warned them, they could end up being incorporated by another city.

The petition met county muster and in December some 276 acres along West Sardis, Mount Olive and Alexander roads became part of the town with a population of 448.

But now owners of more than half of the parcels that were annexed want out. Their fight to get out of the acquisition has sparked a heated battle that includes accusations of fraud and what some characterize as a fight over a way of life.

One resident says his name was forged on the annexation petition - a claim the Arkansas State Police are investigating. Other residents say they were misled into signing paperwork they thought was only to put the question of annexation on a ballot to be voted on. And they claim the entire annexation should be void because there simply weren't enough legitimate signatures.

"I don't want to be in your city," Rick Hatten told the Bauxite Town Council during a meeting last week where he and about 40 other residents asked them to undo the annexation. He said his name was forged on the annexation petition.

"Leave us alone," one woman shouted.

But their pleas to get out of the deal have gone unheeded.

A petition to "detach" the newly annexed land failed April 21 when the Council declined to vote on it.

Brian Butler, an attorney for one couple fighting the annexation, told the Council he was prepared to fight the issue in Circuit Court.

Duncan, serving his first term as mayor, offered few responses to residents' accusations and outbursts.

When residents persisted in asking why he wanted the land, he answered: "You will be part of some city. If one city surrounds another it becomes part of that city."

In an interview, Duncan said he wants to protect the town from being eaten up by one of the nearby cities that are taking in land.

Nearby Alexander, Bryant and Benton all have plans to expand their limits. But annexation experts - both private attorneys and government attorneys - disagreed with Duncan's assertion that those cities' potential growth could force Bauxite to be incorporated into another city.

Irene and Tommy Thompson were unmoved by Duncan's claims and refused to sign the petition in support of annexation. They are now fighting the annexation even though just 3 acres of their land was incorporated. And even then, some records don't even include that piece of property as part of the annexation.

But the issue has agitated them enough that they hired Butler, the real estate attorney.

"Nothing was done right," Irene Thompson said.

Butler said he is preparing to file a lawsuit in Circuit Court by the end of May. He says his research has found Bauxite never had enough signatures from landowners to move forward so the deal should be void.

For a voluntary annexation, the more than one-half of real estate owners in the affected area must agree to it. And the majority of real estate owners must represent more than one half of the acreage affected.

Saline County Judge Lanny Fite approved the petition after county officials determined enough signatures had been gathered and other requirements had been met. The announcement ran in a local newspaper. And a hearing was held in Fite's office, where one resident attended to voice concern over tax increases. During a 30-day appeal period, no complaints surfaced.

For Hatten, who has made a criminal complaint alleging his signature was forged on the annexation petition, he says his quality of life is at stake.

He owns horses and teaches horseback riding. He fears Bauxite rules could limit the number of horses he keeps and unfairly dictate how he houses them. He also doesn't want to have to pay for city building permits or face code enforcement or pay higher taxes.

"I have a dream," he told the Council about his decision to live in the country.

Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Ken Casady requested the Arkansas State Police to look into the matter. Last week, the matter was still being investigated.