Edgerton Mayor Don Roberts stated in a letter to the Johnson County Commissioners “The City of Edgerton has always scrupulously followed the legal requirements for annexation and zoning of property in its jurisdiction”. The mayor should familiarize himself with Kansas Statute 12-520.

Kansas Statute 12-520 (g) reads “(g)No city may utilize any provision of this section to annex a narrow corridor of land to gain access to noncontiguous tracts of land. The corridor of land must have a tangible value and purpose other than enhancing future annexations of land by the city.”

Perhaps Mayor Roberts would be so kind as to explain just what is the tangible value and purpose of the narrow strip of land near 199th & Gardner Rd. brings to the city, other than allowing Edgerton to cross Gardner Road and unilaterally annex the 600+ acres on the East side. It’s hard to believe that NorthPoint plans to put a very small warehouse on it.

Last month, Judge Vano dismissed a lawsuit brought by a group surrounding property owners due to lack of standing. However, in his comments Judge Vano stated that it appeared Edgerton had made an illegal annexation and that the Kansas Attorney General should review the case since he is the only one who does have standing. If the mayor’s comments are genuine, shouldn’t he be concerned that it appears that The City of Edgerton has violated Kansas Statue 12-520 (g)?

If Mayor Roberts sincerely believes the city is not in violation of the statue, he should request that the Attorney General challenge it so that the court can make an official ruling.

Righteous statements are cheap. If Edgerton is truly committed to scrupulous compliance with the law, the mayor should fully support a judicial review of this matter. I would think the Johnson County commissioners would also want to get this issue resolved. The Commissioners don’t have to decide if the annexation is legal or not but they have an obligation to make sure it is decided. Without the use of the narrow strip of land in question, the 600 acres east of Gardner Rd. could have only been brought into the City of Edgerton using an island annexation meaning that it does not touch the current city limits. Island annexations are approved or denied by the county. That being the case, if Edgerton violated 12-520(g) it effectively denied the Johnson County Commissioners their right to review the annexation and it denied Johnson County residents their right to weigh in on the matter. We are a nation of laws. If we ignore our laws or pretend that violations of the law didn’t happen, what are we left with?

From Dennis L. Koch