Residents spurn Springdale annexation bid

West Columbia will woo four neighborhoods to join the city after residents in that area on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected Springdale’s bid to add it.

“We’ll make a proposal, and if they don’t want to come in, that’s fine,” West Columbia Mayor Joe Owens said. “We’ll be happy to be their neighbor anyway.”

Residents of the square-mile area along U.S. 1 west of I-26 turned down Springdale‘s annexation bid 348-44 at a referendum.

The rebuff came after several residents railed against higher taxes and municipal requirements for home upkeep.

“We’re ready to put this behind us,” Springdale Mayor Michael Bishop said,. “We’re going to work on building a better Springdale no matter if it is the same size or bigger.”

The area on the north side of his community is home to about 1,000 residents and about 70 businesses.

West Columbia officials urged residents to look their way before the ballot, saying their city can provide more services at cheaper cost than smaller Springdale.

Meanwhile, voters in Gilbert settled on choices for Town Council in retaining incumbent Donnie Cason and picking Nancy Harmon for the post from which her husband retired.

Harmon received 46 votes, Cason 36 and town Zoning Administrator Fred Taylor 27, according to unofficial results.

This story was originally published April 14, 2015 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Residents spurn Springdale annexation bid."