WINFIELD - The Putnam County Commission unanimously voted Thursday night to deny the city of Winfield's request to annex two tracts of land that sit adjacent to the current city limits.
Winfield sought to annex 223 acres by minor boundary adjustment.
"With all respect to the mayor and the city of Winfield, I don't think we should even be here tonight," said Commissioner Joe Haynes. "I don't think anyone could possibly see this as a minor boundary adjustment."
The other commissioners, Stephen Andes and Andy Skidmore, also questioned whether 223 acres would be considered minor. Andes looked up the definition of minor in Webster's Dictionary.
Timothy LaFon, an attorney for the city of Winfield, pointed to a previous instance as a precedent for large annexations by minor boundary adjustment.
The city of Morgantown annexed approximately 643 acres through a minor boundary adjustment, LaFon said.
But Morgantown already owned 639 of those acres on which it operated and maintained a municipal airport, according to documents provided to the Commission by County Attorney Jennifer Scragg Karr.
None of Winfield's representatives, including LaFon or Mayor Randy Barrett, could tell the Commission how large Winfield is currently.
The commission was required by state law to consider several different factors before making its decision. One of those factors was whether the annexation would benefit the county as a whole.
"Overall, it's not really in the best interest of the county," Commissioner Andes said during deliberation. "Most of the people outside the city of Winfield are opposed to it. The services that they receive are already being provided and are already being paid for."
Residents say they already pay for those services. One of them is the city's sewer system which customers inside city limits and outside pay for equally.
The recently scrutinized sewer system increased its rate by 50 percent for all customers and plans to increase rates again by 21 percent after most of a new sewer plant is constructed.
This rate was increased not to fully finance the new sewer plant's construction, Barrett said, but to finance an engineer to draft the plans for it.
"We've done some terrible things to some old people who just can't afford it," Barrett said. "We're sure not going to do it again. We just can't."
If the Commission approved the annexation, customers would have to pay an additional 2 percent utility tax, according to Barrett.
"That 2 percent utility tax goes back into the general fund of the city," Barrett said. "You know, we're processing bills, reading meters, up there getting the bills out... Those funds go to pay for clerical stuff," not the sewer system.
Despite this, LaFon questioned a civil engineer who previously worked for the city and Putnam County about the damage storm water run off has on the city's sewer system.
Which, as LaFaon pointed out, is in part due to people outside the city's limits.
When the sewer plant was originally licensed to operate in the mid '80s, it could only treat 150,000 gallons of water a day, officials said. After significant growth in Winfield, the Department of Environmental Protection allowed it to treat 300,000 gallons of water a day without requiring an increase in the size of the facility.
Barrett likened this to a bucket not changing sizes but being forced to hold more water.
He said if he had been around when the city opted to extend sewer lines down into the area, he would have allowed it only if that area agreed to come into city limits.
"If we hadn't have put them on the system," Barrett said, "our bucket wouldn't be as full as it is now."
If the sewer system continues to leak ammonia nitrogen into the Kanawha River, the DEP could issue fines up to $25,000 a day to the city. Barrett said the city has entered into negotiations with the DEP to avoid these fines.
"We're going to meet again in August," Barrett said. "But I think in about September, we're going to have to start paying fines. I don't see how we can avoid it."
Business in the area under consideration would also have to pay a B&O tax. Retail businesses would pay 0.25 percent while service businesses would pay 1 percent.
None of the revenue generated from the B&O tax would go to support construction of the new sewer plant, Barrett said.
Winfield representatives also suggested that people outside city limits should help to support the Winfield Volunteer Fire Department. But they already pay a $35 a year fire user fee charge, just like city residents, Barrett said.
Barrett wasn't surprised by the decision. He wasn't immediately sure after the meeting if the city would consider appealing the decision in circuit court.
"The city still has other options," Barrett said after the meeting. He wouldn't elaborate on those options but said the city could appeal the decision or consider shrinking the area it seeks to annex.
"Those people, those businesses are thriving because we're spending money in our town to make it cleaner and a safer place to live," Barrett said. "They're getting everything for free."
Reach Jake Jarvis at jake.jarvis@wvgazette.com, 304-348-7905 or follow @NewsroomJake on Twitter.