Raising a question: Should city now un-de-annex land?

A state agency has raised the question with Electric City of whether it might consider re-annexing some of the land it de-annexed last year after annexing it several years ago.

Mayor Diane Kohout told the city council last week that some of the land the city had been advised could not be developed into valuable real estate actually could be.

Land owned by the state's Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, can be developed with local partners. In fact, the land on which Sunbanks Lake Resort sits is DNR land that earns revenue through taxes paid by the business. The funds from that land go into a state school fund to benefit K-12 schools.

The lease for the Sunbanks land is long-term, up in 2066, Electric City Clerk Peggy Nevsimal said at the meeting.

Kohout said she'd been contacted by a DNR official on the matter. It seems a parcel that was de-annexed in an election in February 2024 is owned by DNR and could be commercially developed, which could benefit that same school fund - and Electric City.

She described the parcel in question as land on which the state Dept. of Transportation sits and the land on the other side of SR-155 on the north side of Osborn Bay.

"I just wanted to bring it forward to you and see if you guys can mull it around or whatever," Kohout told the council. It could be one topic to discuss at a council "retreat" coming up later this year, she suggested.

The idea seemed to go over well with some council members, who wanted to more information.

The city annexed the land, along with three other large parcels in 2009, including the area that includes the Sunbanks resort that now supplies the city with much of its lodging tax revenue to support tourism development. The city had been advised those areas, which required city resource to support, such as police and other services, were untaxable and not developable.

"Well, that's not true," Kohout said, "and I'm not sure why it was never told to me, either by attorney or planner or whomever that I was talking to about these parcels."

She said DNR would prefer any development be into business, not residential, since that would raise more money for the school trust fund.

"He suggested maybe another RV park, strip mall, ... a gas station, some sort of, you know, business, besides maybe adding to the residential area," Kohout said.