The Bridgeport News
by Jeff Toquinto, News Editor
BRIDGEPORT (Thursday,December 5, 2002)
The final of three annexations that began at the end of July reached its conclusion Monday when the Harrison County Commission approved the annexation of land from the Charles Pointe development into the city of Bridgeport.
Approval of the annexation came following a public hearing on the matter. City Attorney Norm Farley made the presentation on behalf of Bridgeport.
With the approval, Bridgeport will add nearly 152 acres of land to its borders. In the last four months, Bridgeport has added more than 170 acres of land thanks to its last three annexations.
"We felt as if there was good support from the county commission in regards to this project," said Haws. "Their support will help tremendously."
Earlier, Bridgeport brought in nearly 15 acres of land for the purposes of the Lodgeville Road upgrade and extension, and four acres housing the new Rish Equipment business along State Route 279.
The reason for the delay in the last annexation was two-fold. The addition of the Charles Pointe land into Bridgeport was contingent upon Bridgeport receiving a $1.4 million EDA grant for infrastructure at the site, which the city eventually received.
The other delay was out of the city’s hands. Initially, the annexation was to have taken place last month, but the lack of a quorum by the Harrison County Commission moved the public hearing and approval process to this week.
Since 1991, and including the latest round of annexations, the city has done more than 30 annexations. The total added land mass is in excess of 3,500 acres.
Those numbers should rise if development occurs at Charles Pointe. The developers of the 2,000 acre site, which is located just outside Bridgeport’s municipal limits, have already said it will bring in land into Bridgeport as development occurs at the site.
"We have agreements with the owners of the Charles Pointe properties to annex in stages as it makes sense," said Haws. "This is the first annexation that makes sense and there should be more in the near future."
