Pelzer annexation includes entire voting precinct

0
1649

By David Meade

The entire Pelzer voting precinct was originally defined as the area to be included in the Pelzer Annexation Referendum vote on Tuesday, however there was some uncertainty over the last week after Williamston Town Council unanimously approved first reading on a ribbon annexation on 13 properties that would have cut the Pelzer voting precinct almost in half and blocked Pelzer’s annexation of the old Sky City shopping center and other businesses along Hwy. 20 to intersection at Hwy. 8. The move would also have blocked properties along Depot Road from the annexation.

That question was answered Monday night when Williamston Town Council tabled second reading on the ribbon annexation.

According to one of the property owners, almost every one of the 13 property owners decided they did not want to be a part of the Williamston strip or ribbon annexation stating that “it went too far” into the Pelzer area.

Eight property owners attended the meeting Monday which and went into executive session with council for approximately an hour and a half for discussion before council came out and the motion was tabled.

The Williamston annexation had been on the fast track by Williamston Mayor Mack Durham who secured the needed signatures over a two week period in an effort to help out the Depot Road residents, and property owners who did not want to be included in the Pelzer annexation.

Williamston’s ribbon annexation would have included just a 10 foot strip across each of the properties, however if it had passed on second reading, it would have taken the 13 properties out of the Pelzer annexation and blocked the adjacent properties, including those on Depot Road, by making them non-contiguous to Pelzer.

Most of the Depot Road residents did not want to be a part of Pelzer because they would gain nothing and their annexation was an oversight by Pelzer town officials who had intended the annexation to only include the mill village. Many of the Depot Road residents have water service provided by the Town of Williamston.

The property owners who backed out of the Williamston ribbon annexation did so because “It went to far into Pelzer” according to property owner John Roache who attended the Williamston meeting and then came to the Pelzer Town Council meeting being held the same night.

Rumors that some of the 13 property owners were thinking about backing out began surfacing last week.

Williamston Council was too hold first reading on the annexation of Life Journey Church in Pelzer during the special called meeting, however it too was tabled.

Durham said Tuesday he will be meeting with Pelzer officials to look at ways to get some of the properties that did not want to be included in the Pelzer annexation out of it.