Chelsea Springs neighborhood explores annexation into city
Facing what residents called extremely high water bills and mounting dissatisfaction with elected officials in Sylvan Township, members of the Chelsea Springs board of directors, a subdivision with 51 homes on the outskirts of Chelsea, continued to explore the possibility of annexation into the city.
Tuesday night, the five members of the subdivision’s board of directors and the Chelsea City Council held a work session that looked at the potential ramifications of annexation.
City Manager John Hanifan said that he’d be glad to answer any resident’s questions, but reminded board members that there are three parties involved in this situation: the city, the township and the residents of the subdivision and ultimately, approval would be up to the state boundary commission.
“We are not going to be the driver to bring you into the city,” Hanifan said.
Board members approached the city in November “to begin a conversation on the mutual benefits of Chelsea Springs Condominium Development annexing into the City of Chelsea.”
The email request said that “the residents and Board of Directors representing Chelsea Springs are extremely dissatisfied with the services provided for water and sewer by the Sylvan Township. We also have grave concerns with the uncertainty of the political and financial stability of Sylvan Township.”
In addition to costly water bills, which one board member said have reached $250 per quarter, as township residents, property owners in the subdivision are also currently on the hook for about $13.2 million in township sewer and water system debt as well as $1.25 million owed to the Washtenaw County treasurer,as the result of a lawsuit by a developer.
Elected officials in the township said Sylvan is unable to make its May interest-only bond payment for the utilities and residents are facing an undetermined tax increase, which will be determined by a judge or by a consent judgment later this year.
Currently, township residents pay less than 1 mill for operations while residents in Chelsea pay about 13 mills in city taxes.
Annexing the subdivision into the city “is a no-brainer for us (Chelsea) from a revenue side,” Hanifan said.
He provided board members with a sample city summer tax bill for a home with an equal taxable value and SEV of $77,000, which showed it would cost a Chelsea Spring’s resident about $1,000 more.
The subdivision is contiguous to the city, densely populated and newly built, so it wouldn’t require a large amount of city resources to include the subdivision into the city, but elected officials wanted to be sure that the board members understood all the ramifications.
Deneil Harney, president of the homeowner’s association, told City Council that the board members were exploring annexation in response to high water bills charged by Sylvan Township. “We believe there’s an opportunity to pay less to Chelsea.”
In fact, one member of the board of directors said he paid $800 a year for water, which was more than his gas and electric bills combined.
“My heart is with you,” Council Member Cheri Albertson told the Chelsea Springs board members. “You deserve better service, but you need to consider more than just water. The issue is will you still be happy inside Chelsea and paying the level of millage you will in Chelsea? You need to think about this carefully.”
Hanifan reminded the board that annexation is “a forever decision. This is a serious decision. We haven’t had an annexation since we became a city.”
Patrick Zieske, one of two members of a township citizens' group called Free Sylvan, who attended the work session, said, “They (the residents of Chelsea Springs) have the worst of both situations - a high water bill and the debt." He cautioned the board members that according to his research, even if the subdivision was annexed into the city, residents would still be faced with the township’s utility debt.
Hanifan said the city's attorney was researching this situation.
Several members of the Free Sylvan group plan to challenge the current township board in the upcoming election, and if elected, have vowed to work with residents to help solve the problem.
Chelsea Springs board members said they plan to put together a list of annexation questions for the city and they'd like the answers in writing, so they could put together information about possible annexation for all home owners in the subdivision.
Hanifan said the board needs to provide the city with a proposal, and it's expected that the board and the City Council will schedule future informational meetings on the topic.
Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page.
Comments
Patrick Zieske
Wed, Apr 11, 2012 : 11:30 p.m.
Good article; shows some of the complexities of the issue. We in freesylvan are eager to project a more helpful attitude. But please be careful with interpretation of the following sentence: "Several members of the Free Sylvan group plan to challenge the current township board in the upcoming election, and if elected, have vowed to work with residents to help solve the problem." A casual reader might get the impression that someone made a campaign promise to lower their water bills or their debt payments. That would be an inaccurate interpretation of what actually happened. We made no promise of financial relief nor could we at that point. However, we certainly did pledge to work with them, to remain engaged in an effort to find the best solution we can, recognizing (as the article quoted John Hanifan) that there are three parties involved in the situation: the City, the Township, and the residents of the subdivision. In actuality, there is also the County, Leoni Township, the bondholders, and the State in the sense of the governing state statutes. We all shared an understanding that we're in a difficult, complicated mess.
Rod Branham
Wed, Apr 11, 2012 : 10:55 p.m.
Several members of the Free Sylvan group plan to challenge the current township board in the upcoming election, and if elected, have vowed to work with residents to help solve the problem. Not sure where this came from but never has this come from the Free Sylvan group or anyone within it. Even if the board is replaced, anyone new does not have a magic wand to make the debt go away. The debt will NOT go away and we are stuck with it no matter what. A new board would indeed be willing to explore options to help alleviate some of the pain from the debt. There is nothing that anyone can do about the debt now except for us to all pay it.
Patrick Zieske
Wed, Apr 11, 2012 : 6:29 p.m.
It still might benefit our neighbors in Chelsea Springs to make the move because right now they pay $250 per quarter per household just to have their water service -- before they even use a drop. The City's water rates would be substantially lower than that, assuming that the subdivision could be hooked into the City system. Overall it's a complex financial calculation with many variables and a moving target... How do you accurately predict the tax rates and water rates of the future? Other considerations were also discussed in the work session yesterday such as upgrades to the subdivision's roads to make them compliant with the City's standards. Personally, I'd rather work together with the residents of Chelsea Springs to try to solve our problems together within Sylvan Township, but we can understand if the math works out in a way that favors another choice for them. $800 savings on water and $1000 extra taxes.... At first glance, it's a close call. Even with a new Board, there's no guarantee of relief. Our financial predicament puts the whole township is a tight spot.
Rod Branham
Wed, Apr 11, 2012 : 4:33 p.m.
It doesn't benefit them at all. They are still responsible for the debt according the the township attorney and the board.
justcurious
Wed, Apr 11, 2012 : 2:23 p.m.
"Patrick Zieske, one of two members of a township citizens' group called Free Sylvan, who attended the work session, said, "They (the residents of Chelsea Springs) have the worst of both situations - a high water bill and the debt." He cautioned the board members that according to his research, even if the subdivision was annexed into the city, residents would still be faced with the township's utility debt." So, according to this, they would reduce their water bills (maybe $65 a month), but pay 13 mills instead of 1 mill for operations, and still get the bill for the lawsuit? How does this benefit them?