The trial challenging Indianola’s planned annexation of county land on the east and west ends of the Highway 82 corridor began this week in the Sunflower County Chancery Court.
Multiple land and homeowners are objecting to the proposed annexation. The annexation plan includes large swaths of farmland, commercial properties and over 30 single-family residences. Under the current proposal, the city would also annex a portion of the Dollar General Distribution Center property that remained with the county when the facility opened decades ago, as well as the Mississippi Delta Community College Capps Center, which is near the distribution center.
Chancery Court Judge Debra Giles is presiding over the case (City of Indianola v. David Allen et al), which is set to resume on April 7 after a full day of testimony this past Tuesday.
This week’s hearing began with testimony from Indianola Mayor Ken Featherstone, who was questioned extensively about the necessity and implications of the proposed annexation.
Featherstone emphasized the city's growth trajectory, stating that expanding the city’s footprint, including its services, into the newly annexed areas could be essential for both current and future residents.
Featherstone faced pointed questions from opposing counsel during cross-examination regarding the city's ability to provide adequate services after an annexation and any added benefits that might come to the county landowners.
When pressed about the timeline for implementing services like water and sewer, Featherstone admitted, “We don’t have a timeline.”
Attorneys for the objectors pointed out that the city’s ordinance suggests that water and sewer infrastructure are provided when “economically feasible,” while the city’s five-year plan seems to promise these services within five years.
“These are just weasel words, aren’t they mayor?” attorney for the objectors, Jerry Mills, asked.
Featherstone responded in the affirmative, possibly misunderstanding the question.
Attorneys for the city notified the court that the city had taken off the table several tracts of land that appeared in its original annexation plan. Mills objected several times to the city referring to those tracts as the “settlement area” because no legal settlement had been reached.
At one point, Giles ordered the attorneys to leave the courtroom and confer and come to an agreement on how that land would be addressed.
After that conference, it was no longer referred to as the settlement area.
Featherstone continued to face scrutiny from opposing counsel. Mills asked whether the city had obtained consent from the state for the proposed annexation of the Capps Center, something he said was required by statute.
Featherstone said that to his knowledge, the city had not made that request to the state.
Mills asked Featherstone why Indianola needed more farmland, noting that perhaps the majority of the proposed annexation territory is currently used for agriculture.
Mills pressed Featherstone about the city’s financial condition, including its audit delinquency, seeming to indicate that the city is prepared to annex over 30 new homes without the ability to provide up-to-date financial data to those citizens.
Featherstone noted that while the audits from 2019 to the present have not been completed, the city does have accurate accounts of its finances, including cash on hand, which Featherstone testified is just over $7 million of liquid assets.
The attorney inquired about the turnover of city clerks and gaps between clerks.
The city swore-in its new clerk, Stephanie Washington, this past Monday night. Washington is the city’s third clerk in four years.
Featherstone was questioned further about the city's sewer services and the intergovernmental fire agreement.
The city and the county have yet to come to an agreement on this year’s contract, but the agreement remains in place until one of the parties decides to terminate it, meaning that the city is still providing fire services to the five-mile radius outside the city limits.
This testimony set the stage for two additional witnesses called by the city. Ty Windham, manager of the Public Protection Department at the Mississippi State Rating Bureau, testified about the factors affecting fire protection ratings.
He explained that 50% of a city’s rating depends on its fire department, 40% on water supply, and 10% on communication. Windham noted that Indianola currently holds a class 6 rating while the surrounding county is rated as class 10, the worst of the classifications.
Windham asserted that Indianola could provide adequate fire protection from day one of the annexation, emphasizing the importance of trained personnel and sufficient water supply.
Attorney Mills pressed Windham as to whether the property owners in the proposed annexation area would receive any added benefits they are currently not receiving under the city-county fire protection agreement.
The city said that it does plan to run new lines, hydrants, and being in the city would make the area a priority response area. Under the current deal, if the city had calls in the city and county simultaneously, the city would be prioritized.
The third witness of the day, Tim McCann, an environmentalist with over 35 years of experience at the Mississippi Department of Health, spoke about wastewater management and the potential health risks associated with inadequate septic systems. He presented evidence of malfunctioning septic tanks in the annexation area and stressed the need for a centralized sewage plan to prevent environmental hazards.
As the hearing progressed, Giles announced that the next court date would be April 7. She noted that this case, originally anticipated to take three weeks, is now down to an anticipated four days.
