Vote on Fruitland incorporation likely Monday

Cape Girardeau County commissioners should decide Monday whether to ask voters to choose Fruitland's future.

Commissioners are expected to vote on whether a ballot question will go before voters that could allow Fruitland to become an incorporated city.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said during Thursday's commission meeting that an attorney who has been reviewing the newest version of an incorporation petition for the county will present findings Monday. Commissioners then will decide if the question should be put before voters in the area that would be incorporated.

Some Fruitland residents have sought to incorporate since 2011 in an attempt to be able to act as a municipality that can pass ordinances to regulate effects of mining industries in the area. A petition submitted in August 2011 that asked for Fruitland to become an incorporated village was rejected by the county when commissioners voted not to place an incorporation question on the ballot.

Fruitland had to be turned down for annexation by nearby cities before it could incorporate on its own, according to state statute. Cape Girardeau was not interested in annexation, but Jackson was. A vote by Jackson residents in 2012 nixed the city's plan to annex parts of Fruitland. A legal battle ensued, and it was decided in court Jackson could not annex right of way leading to the village, and hence shared no boundaries with Fruitland.

Fruitland residents who filed the petition in January told commissioners they have met all requirements for incorporation set by the state constitution and laws, and have answered requests made by commissioners related to the previous petition.

Residents at Thursday's meeting said they would return Monday, eager for an answer to their request.

The commission will meet at 10 a.m. Monday, an hour later than its regular meeting time, at the county administration building in Jackson.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

Fruitland, MO

1 Barton Square, Jackson, MO