Land owners from the Kirkland Avenue area and Chestnut Street were again in attendance at the Irvine City Council meeting to question why they should now pay city taxes on land where they’ve paid county taxes for decades.
Danny Click said there is no record showing that the property was annexed.
Mayor Ernest Farmer said, “All I have is the map.” He said as far as he is concerned, if property is included within the city map, that city taxes should be paid on it.
“The city council voted on and approved this map,” said Farmer.
City Attorney Rodney Davis said the map on display at city hall is the same as the one from the Secretary of State’s office. He said he had spent a day or a day and a half looking for record of changes made to the city boundary but has been unable to find anything.
Dwight Arvin and Margaret Durbin also addressed the council about being billed for city taxes.
Arvin said “I just don’t see how…it is hard for me to comprehend how there is no record of it being annexed.”
He also said the Jewel Ridge Coal Company paid taxes on the property before he purchased it in 1963. “There has to be some sort of documentation,” he said. He also noted that the city started out with 20 and one half acres.
Davis said he has searched for “every single thing I can find,” and he regrets that the landowners have not been satisfied with the findings, or lack thereof.
Durbin said her property was purchased in 1978, and she recalls the city trying to annex it in the 1990’s, but it didn’t pass. She also said she and her husband had established a business, but they had never had to have a privilege license there.
Mayor Farmer said he thinks the city will have to “move forward from now.”
“This council is trying to correct something that someone else made up.”
Councilman Burkhart said, “I know that there are questions…maps were generated based on something. They were not just pulled out of the air.”
“We have to have lines, boundaries; if we don’t, everybody’s going to be lined up wanting out.”
A second reading for the pay scale ordinance was on the agenda, but it was tabled until the next meeting because Attorney Davis had to leave the meeting early.
Members of the council had some comments on the proposed merger between Irvine and Ravenna.
Mayor Farmer said property tax on a $60,000 house in Ravenna is $300, but the same property taxed under Irvine’s rates would be $255.
Councilman Tommy “Tobo” Bryant said, “Personally, I’d like Ravenna to come in.” He pointed out that Ravenna would not be “taken over” by Irvine, but that the two would merge. He also said Irvine would take on Ravenna’s debt.
Councilman Glenwood Tipton said he too is for the merger.
Joe Crawford was present at the council meeting to report for the Estill Development Alliance.
He said he has received positive feedback about the candidate forum. Other civic engagement projects considered for the future include a newly elected official’s academy and a prospective candidate workshop.
Crawford said the EDA and EKU Cares are sponsoring a club at the high school that is focused on community service.
Also, the Irvine Chamber of Commerce will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Mike’s Travel and Tax-Wise which have recently moved businesses.
Crawford announced a “Zombie Walk” at Lily Mountain on October 31 and November 1, a Friday and Saturday night.
He said Leadership LEAP will be taking a trip to Damascus, Virginia to see how they are using trails to revitalize their local economy.
He also announced that signs have been ordered marking Highway 89 that runs through Estill County as a “Scenic Byway.”
Councilman Bryant said the Twin City Kruzers raised 450 for Toys for Tots on Saturday night despite the rain. He said including other projects, they now have a total of $900 for Christmas gifts for children.
Mayor Farmer said the Hospice 5K Color Run was a success and had a good turnout despite gray skies.
Farmer said the city will be getting salt from the county again this year, but the rate has jumped from $72 a ton last year to $99 this year.
City Clerk Robin Sewell said there have been applications for two privilege licenses. One is for a heating and cooling business at 133 Main to be operated by Dustin Arvin, and the other is for a restaurant and sports bar on Main Street in the Witt building. D and W Enterprises has applied for that license.
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Property owners and city council gridlocked over boundaries
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