Dexter expects boundary commission to rule on its cityhood quest in June
Dexter Village officials are hoping that the State Boundary Commission will make a determination on its proposed city boundary in June.
Dexter Village President Shawn Keough said he got a call from Kevin O’Brien, the State of Michigan surveyor from the State Boundary Commission, who had reviewed the village’s latest cityhood petition.
Keough said it’s expected that the village’s cityhood boundary petition would be reviewed June 16, but he has not heard anything official yet.
Originally, the village petitioned to keep its boundaries the same as they are now, but three sections of the village - the old village, the Westridge subdivision and The Cedars of Dexter - don't touch each other and on March 18, the petition was returned as “legally insufficient.”
On April 12, 2010, the council voted to resubmit the petition and changed the boundaries to include Gordon Hall and the back half of the Mill Creek Sporting Goods store property so all the corners meet. The new boundaries square off the corner and make them contiguous.
If the new petition is found to be “legally sufficient” then the state would set a date and hold a public hearing in Dexter on the proposed boundary.
If the Boundary Commission decides it should move forward, within 45 days any citizen can obtain signatures on a petition asking for a referendum. If no referendum petition is filed, village voters will elect a nine-member charter commission to write a city charter that’s then sent to the governor for approval.
Once approved by the governor, the village electors have a vote on the charter and if approved, the Village of Dexter becomes the City of Dexter.
So far, the village has spent about $40,000 on the process, most of it on the boundary map, officials said.
The council adopted a resolution declaring its intent to pursue city status and incorporate as the City of Dexter in May 2007.
Dexter’s Website has extensive information about all the steps involved as well as the history of the process to date.
Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter with AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Dexter stories, visit our Dexter page.