| Annexing Fort Leonard Wood proposed to increase cities’ Census 2010 stats |
By: Darrell Todd Maurina
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Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009 5:41 pm
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Waynesville Councilwoman Luge Hardman and St. Robert City Administrator Alan Clark present annexation plans.
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FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Oct. 15, 2009) — In a bid to increase Census 2010 population statistics for Waynesville and Saint Robert, officials from those two cities announced Wednesday that they plan to seek voluntary annexation of housing areas on Fort Leonard Wood so both cities will have a larger population and be more attractive to potential developers.
“A while back, I kind of alluded to something that was in the works,” said St. Robert City Administrator Alan Clark at Wednesday’s monthly lunch meeting of the Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber of Commerce. “There are lots of things going on behind the scenes that a lot of you folks don’t know about ... A lot of cooperative efforts are involved with both cities and with both cities and the Waynesville R-VI School District.”
Those efforts, Clark said, include a proposal to have the military authorities petition to voluntary annex the property of Fort Leonard Wood into the two cities in a way that equitably divides the population between each city. The city administrators and mayors of both cities support the proposal, Clark said, and the post’s generals and garrison commander “have been behind this 150 percent.”
“I pray to God this thing comes to fruition where that annexation will be completed before the 2010 census so those numbers will now start being counted, both equally, in Waynesville and St. Robert, because you know how important those numbers are when it comes to economic development. This is a fine example of the cooperation that goes on between the two cities,” Clark said. “This cannot happen and would not have happened if it had not been for the cooperation between both cities. That’s just one example of what goes on behind the scenes that a lot of people don’t know about.”
Both cities are also growing in other ways as well.
Waynesville City Councilwoman Luge Hardman said her city has had “a record-breaking year” in housing with 73 building permits issued so far and two new subdivisions, Sandalwood which is in the West Waynesville area and the new Townsend Subdivision which will be a single-family residential subdivision replacing the existing Dogwood Trailer Court on the east side of Highway 17 at the northern edge of the city limits.
Other projects include a makeover for the city’s flood-damaged recreational vehicle park, replacement of a trailer as the airport operations building, and construction of a new building for the Waynesville Park Department behind the city police station, which is the old city hall.
“There’s a lot of growth in Waynesville, a lot of rooftops,” Hardman said.
Residential growth is also underway in St. Robert.
Clark said three residential subdivisions are in process that will eventually add about 200 new buildings to the city of St. Robert, and construction is planned to begin next month on the city park and pool project. Other projects include capital improvements for the city’s sewer lines, water lines, and electric lines, as well as the old Fields Hotel property next to Fort Leonard Wood.
Many of the projects aren’t yet public, however.
“There are lots of things going on behind the scenes that a lot of you folks don’t know about,” Clark said. “A lot of cooperative efforts are involved with both cities and with both cities and the Waynesville R-VI School District.”
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THIS ARTICLE: Annexing Fort Leonard Wood proposed to increase cities’ Census 2010 stats
Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009 5:41 pm
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