LAUREL HILL — The City Council voted 4-1 Thursday night to annex former Laurel Hill City Councilman Johnny James and his wife Ernestine’s property into the city.
It’s been 20 months since the couple learned their Robbins Road home is adjacent to, but not in, the city limits.
A 1960s clerical error is to blame.
Someone else’s mistake a half-century ago cost James his council seat in April 2015 and launched his $2,050, year-and-three-month quest for annexation into the city he loves, and loved serving.
In April 2015, city attorney Dan Campbell determined that James was ineligible to retain his council seat. James immediately said he would seek annexation.
“I'm a person to do the right thing and I always did the right thing,” James said at the time.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
At the April 2015 meeting, the council voted 3-1 to reappoint James after annexation to fulfill voters’ mandate to have him as their councilman.
Councilman Scott Moneypenny, who has consistently opposed the James’s annexation, voted nay.
However, Campbell found there is no city charter provision for a council member to take a leave of absence and declared James’s seat was vacant.
In November 2015, the council appointed Travis Dewrell to fill the remainder of James’s term. Now a resident of Laurel Hill, James can run for his former seat in March 2017 if he chooses.
CONTENTION
Thursday's vote was not without contention. As he has done at previous meetings, Moneypenny produced new arguments not previously disclosed to the council or James on why the annexation should not occur.
His latest salvo involved the property's deed, which Moneypenny claimed was invalid because yet another clerical error listed the wrong parcel identification number.
Moneypenny claimed the number means an estate in Louisiana that holds the same number actually owns the property.
City attorney Dan Campbell, however, said the ID number isn't important.
"The legal description is the only thing that is important," Campbell said. "The parcel ID number is just a convenience for the tax collector. It is not a legal description of the property."
FINAL ATTEMPT
Moneypenny then said that the city's new annexation policy, passed months after James's application for annexation was accepted, should apply retroactively and he thus owed the city more money.
"How long are you going to drag this out?" resident Mike Hanula asked. "You've had him (James) jumping through hoops for more than a year. If you're going to squawk about some kind of application, you should've said something on day 1."
Council members and residents expressed frustration at Moneypenny's continued presentation of impediments.
"Down the road you come up with another ordinance and you try to make him adhere to it," resident Jeff Senterfitt said. "That is not right…(You) come up with another ordinance after you took his money."
"The point is, you go by the legal description and what is real and tangible," Councilman Travis Dewrell said. "The real and tangible facts are that Johnny James owns that property."
"This is one of those things we have been discussing for too long," Councilwoman Debra Adams said.
"Let's get this man annexed into the city and let's move on, for crying out loud," Councilman Daniel Lane said.
Over Moneypenny's protests, Dewrell moved and Adams seconded approval of both ordinances, one approving James's annexation and one amending the city's comprehensive plan to reflect the addition of the property.
The ordinances passed 4-1 with Moneypenny voting nay.
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CHRONOLOGY OF AN ANNEXATION
Since April 2015, former Laurel Hill City Councilman Johnny James has been endeavoring to have his property annexed into the city after a 1960s clerical error, discovered in November 2014, forced him to leave his council seat. Here’s a timeline:
●Early 1960s: The Robbins family annexes its Robbins Lane property into Laurel Hill. Through a clerical error, some property on the north side of the street, including that now owned by Johnny and Ernestine James, is accidentally omitted
●March 2009: James is elected to his first term on the Laurel Hill City Council
●March 2013: James is re-elected with 86 ballots cast in his favor
●November 2014: James and more than 20 other Laurel Hill residents are informed that a review of property records indicates they are not city residents as previously thought
●Jan. 8, 2015: James attends his last council meeting as a voting member while city attorney Dan Campbell begins researching his status.
●March 2015: More than 70 residents sign a petition requesting the council allow James to retain his seat
●Feb. 5, 2015: James attends the regular council meeting, but is not a voting councilman. The meeting is cancelled due to lack of a quorum
●April 2, 2015: Campbell declares James ineligible to retain his seat. James steps down after the council votes 3-1 to have him take a leave of absence from the council to annex his property.
●May 7, 2015: Campbell advises the council that there is no provision in the city charter for a councilman to take a leave of absence, so James’ seat is vacant
●July 18, 2015: James holds a fish fry fundraiser to raise the $2,050 annexation fee charged by Laurel Hill
●July-October 2015: The City Council deadlocks on monthly attempts to fill James’ seat
●Nov. 5, 2015: The City Council votes 3-1 to accept James’ application for annexation, then unexpectedly appoints Travis Dewrell to fill James’ vacant seat. Dewrell had withdrawn his application for the seat Sept. 3, but accepted the appointment.
●March 3, 2016: Ordinance annexing the James property and amending the city’s comprehensive plan to reflect the annexation pass 3-1, with Councilman Scott Moneypenny voting nay both times.
●April 7, 2016: The second reading of the James annexation ordinances was postponed when Moneypenny reported the vote was incorrectly advertised.
●May 5, 2016: Mayor Robby Adams vetoes an ordinance adopted April 7 establishing a city annexation procedure that might be used by opponents to deny the James’s petition for annexation. The veto was nullified because it occurred past the state’s 10-day veto window.
●June 2, 2016: Re-advertised ordinances annexing the James property and amending the city’s comprehensive plan pass 4-1, with Moneypenny voting nay on both.
●July 7, 2016: After contentious debate, the council approves 4-1 on second reading the ordinances annexing James's property into the city, with Moneypenny casting the nay votes.
Since April 2015, former Laurel Hill City Councilman Johnny James has been endeavoring to have his property annexed into the city after a 1960s clerical error, discovered in November 2014, forced him to leave his council seat. Here’s a timeline:
●Early 1960s: The Robbins family annexes its Robbins Lane property into Laurel Hill. Through a clerical error, some property on the north side of the street, including that now owned by Johnny and Ernestine James, is accidentally omitted
●March 2009: James is elected to his first term on the Laurel Hill City Council
●March 2013: James is re-elected with 86 ballots cast in his favor
●November 2014: James and more than 20 other Laurel Hill residents are informed that a review of property records indicates they are not city residents as previously thought
●Jan. 8, 2015: James attends his last council meeting as a voting member while city attorney Dan Campbell begins researching his status.
●March 2015: More than 70 residents sign a petition requesting the council allow James to retain his seat
●Feb. 5, 2015: James attends the regular council meeting, but is not a voting councilman. The meeting is cancelled due to lack of a quorum
●April 2, 2015: Campbell declares James ineligible to retain his seat. James steps down after the council votes 3-1 to have him take a leave of absence from the council to annex his property.
●May 7, 2015: Campbell advises the council that there is no provision in the city charter for a councilman to take a leave of absence, so James’ seat is vacant
●July 18, 2015: James holds a fish fry fundraiser to raise the $2,050 annexation fee charged by Laurel Hill
●July-October 2015: The City Council deadlocks on monthly attempts to fill James’ seat
●Nov. 5, 2015: The City Council votes 3-1 to accept James’ application for annexation, then unexpectedly appoints Travis Dewrell to fill James’ vacant seat. Dewrell had withdrawn his application for the seat Sept. 3, but accepted the appointment.
●March 3, 2016: Ordinance annexing the James property and amending the city’s comprehensive plan to reflect the annexation pass 3-1, with Councilman Scott Moneypenny voting nay both times.
●April 7, 2016: The second reading of the James annexation ordinances was postponed when Moneypenny reported the vote was incorrectly advertised.
●May 5, 2016: Mayor Robby Adams vetoes an ordinance adopted April 7 establishing a city annexation procedure that might be used by opponents to deny the James’s petition for annexation. The veto was nullified because it occurred past the state’s 10-day veto window.
●June 2, 2016: Re-advertised ordinances annexing the James property and amending the city’s comprehensive plan pass 4-1, with Moneypenny voting nay on both.
●July 7, 2016: After contentious debate, the council approves 4-1 on second reading the ordinances annexing James's property into the city, with Moneypenny casting the nay votes.
CHRONOLOGY OF AN ANNEXATION
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Johnny James's property annexed into Laurel Hill