by Dennis Dalman
A final orderly annexation agreement with LeSauk Township was approved unanimously by the Sartell City Council at its Jan. 6 meeting.
The agreement allows the City of Sartell to take jurisdiction of 22 parcels of property that have previously been in LeSauk Township but that have been “islands” within the Sartell city limits for many years.
The orderly annexation agreement is actually a legalized update from previous agreements between the city and the township that occurred in 2020 and 2021.
The parcels in the agreement are either surrounded by city jurisdiction or located along Pinecone Road within city limits.
An open public meeting was held last year so township residents could react to the annexation proposal. Some residents at the meeting strongly opposed being annexed into the city.
Township residents also had a chance to weigh in on the proposal via letters, email and other forms of communication with city officials.
There are some exceptions drawn into the agreement document that would allow former township residents in the newly annexed areas to continue some of their land-use activities, such as wood-chopping. And in certain cases, barring public-health issues, existing septic systems and private wells can continue to be used.
There is also a provision that city taxes would be raised incrementally during a period of five years or more and that fees for city utility hook-ups (like water/sewer) to those parcels of property would be reduced.
The annexation action is expected to diminish problems and concerns about there being so many township “islands” in the City of Sartell. Those “islands” (parcels of property) are technically within the jurisdiction of LeSauk Township, although they are bordered or surrounded by land that is within the city limits. Such “islands” can cause jurisdictional confusions when it comes to city/township services and even safety concerns.
