North Carolina law allows towns to reach out to areas near them that meet certain requirements and bring them into their corporate limits. If the town follows the letter of the law, it doesn’t matter whether those citizens approve.

Property owners adjacent to Maggie Valley, however, don’t like the law and don’t like what town aldermen are trying to do. They have formed the Good Neighbors Association of Maggie Valley and are trying to raise $20,000 to retain an Asheville law firm known for fighting forced annexations.

“The support we got last week was very encouraging,” said Robyn Browne, one of the leaders of the anti-annexation group. “We got a pretty good start, and people really seem to have the resolve to stop this.”

The collecting started last week when about 175 annexation opponents met at The Stompin’ Ground with Ron Akins, head of the Good Neighbors Association of North Carolina. After Akins spoke, a line of people with check books open formed at the table where the money was being collected.

Chip Eifler was among the first to offer up his money.

“I wouldn’t mind being in the city if I got something for it. I won’t get street lights, snow removal, or anything. And the police are never up there,” said Eifler.

The town, however, was slated to vote on the annexation May 8 (the Smoky Mountain News was printed before the vote occurred). Unless several aldermen changed their minds, the annexation was expected to pass. If that’s the case, opponents vowed to take the case to Superior Court.

“The best thing that could happen would be for the town council to simply abandon their plan,” Akins said in an interview after the meeting. “There is nothing but a war ahead of them.”

Paul White, another leader of the anti-annexation group, does not live in the town and is not a resident of the areas slated for annexation. He told the group last week that at least two aldermen - Ernie Ulmer and Roger McElroy - were the “enemy.” He said aldermen Jan Pressley might waver and that Mayor Ralph Wallace had forsaken supporters.

“He needs to be reminded of who stood behind him,” White said.

Maggie Valley has been studying the annexation of the two tracts for quite some time. The 60-acre and 122-acre tracts are located on opposite sides of Soco Road, the highway that forms Maggie Valley’s main street. They are almost exclusively residential and would increase the town’s population by 464 to 1,107 - a 72-percent increase - while increasing the land area by just 17 percent. The annexation would also add $14.45 million to the town’s tax base, increasing annual property tax revenues by $60,715. With the additional sales tax reimbursement ($68,552) and Powell Bill monies ($11,771), the town could expect to increase its annual revenues by $141,038.

 

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