JACKSON PROPOSAL DEFEATED; ANNEXATION FAILS TO GET NEEDED VOTES

JACKSON -- A combination of low voter turnout and greater-than-expected opposition led to the narrow defeat Tuesday of a proposal to annex 345 acres of land into the city of Jackson.

Because it has been defeated twice, the proposal cannot be resubmitted to voters for at least two years.

Unofficial totals provided by the office of Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller showed the issue received 451 yes votes and 298 no votes. That was a simple majority, but the law requires a two-thirds majority on a second attempt.

The proposal failed by 47 votes, Miller said.

When the issue was before voters in November, it was approved by a vote of 1,945 to 502 in Jackson, but was defeated by a vote of 17 to 1 in the area to be annexed.

Voter turnout Tuesday was extremely light, Miller said. Only 749 voters, or 15 percent of the 4,858 eligible voters, cast ballots.

Some observers said the rainy weather may have been a factor in the defeat, but city officials tended to discount that. City officials expressed disappointment, but said the defeat would not cause any immediate problems.

Mayor Carlton Meyer said low voter turnout in support of the annexation led to the defeat. "We knew the opposition was there, but the low turnout would be more of a surprise," he commented after learning of the results.

Alderman Leonard Dambach agreed. "We didn't get enough people out to vote," he said. "But I don't know what more we could have done. There were several articles in the papers about the election. It appeared people were not that interested."

The mayor said: "It leaves us with some holes out there. That's the only bad part about it; trying to get city services out to the people to came into the city on a friendly basis."

Bob Nitsch, one of the property owners opposed to the annexation, said voters reacted to the Sawyer Act, a state statute that enables a city to annex land against the wishes of property owners.

Nitsch said: "The Sawyer Act is wrong. When they take you to court and you have no say, this is wrong, and I think the people came out for us."

Nitsch, who farms about 188 acres, is a major property owner in the area proposed for annexation. The area extends northeastward from Jackson along East Jackson Boulevard (Highway 61) and Bainbridge Road, toward Interstate 55.

Although the city cannot bring the issue to a vote for another two years, the mayor speculated that as the city continues to expend and develop in that direction, some of those who opposed annexation may change their mind and seek annexation on a friendly basis.

City officials had said the annexation was necessary to provide for the orderly growth of Jackson. The annexed land would have been subject to the control of the city planning and zoning commission.

Here's how the issue did in the four voting precincts: Byrd 1, yes, 80, no, 69; Byrd 2, yes, 123, no, 90; Byrd 3, yes, 137, no, 76; Byrd 4, yes, 111, no, 58; and absentee, yes, none; no, 5.