by Ted Stone
staff writer

About 40 people turned out Sept. 28 for a public hearing on the City of Baudette’s proposal to annex land south and west of the present city limits, including the industrial park south of town and Lake of the Woods School west of the city.
Baudette Mayor Rick Rone began the meeting with a short explanation of some of the reasons the city wanted to expand its borders, including the need to pay for sewer and water services that have already been extended beyond city boundaries. The city also needs additional land for future development, Rone said.
After he spoke, Rone asked for comments from residents in attendance, after which he and city counselors were peppered with questions and comments for nearly two hours. About half of those in attendance appeared to be residents of the area slated to be annexed, many of them speaking up about the issue, but none in favor of the annexation.
Bob Goudge, who lives within the area marked for annexation, spoke first, in opposition to the plan, saying among other things that the city was infringing on his rights to sell his home in a rural market. Goudge’s comments were followed by others from residents questioning the wisdom of city expansion. Chuck Wilemon wanted to know how much his taxes would go up if his property were annexed. Odetta Freier asked if the Humane Society building, which is inside the proposed annexation, would be allowed to operate if the property were inside city limits. Rone answered in the affirmative.
Several people complained about having to pay city taxes when no city services would be provided to them. Others said that although they received water and sewer services from the city, they paid for them just the way residents inside city limits do. A few people questioned the propriety of annexing Lake of the Woods School property, when the school serves the county, not just the city.
Several members of the audience had connections to North Star Electric Co-operative and it was pointed out that the company could see its tax rate go up on land it owns inside the proposed annexation. Dan Hoskins asked if an agreement could be made to prevent City of Baudette electrical services from competing for North Star customers inside the proposed area, but Rone said the city couldn’t make that kind of agreement even though the city had no plans to extend its electrical territory to new parts of the city.
Lake of the Woods County Commissioner Ed Arnesen felt there might be a security issue involved if city law enforcement replaced policing now handled by the Sheriff’s Department. Later in the meeting, Arnesen said that he would go on record as being opposed to the expansion.
For the annexation to take place Baudette City Council must pass a joint resolution with the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners, followed by a Minnesota Municipal Boundary Adjustments hearing. Alternately, a resolution from the City Council partitioning Municipal Boundary Adjustments, including details of the proposed annexation, could begin a state process to examine a contested boundary adjustment proposal. That process could include mediation and arbitration proceedings before an outcome would be rendered.