HOCHATOWN – The group of residents seeking to incorporate the small town of Hochatown filed their petition with the McCurtain County Board of Commissioners last Friday.
That filing starts a process that will, over the next two months, determine whether a public election is scheduled on Hochatown’s incorporation question.
Oklahoma law requires the group’s petition to be in writing and must be signed by at least one-third of the registered voters residing in the town, as shown from the last general election or by at least 25 registered voters who live in the proposed town, whichever number is greater.
Oklahoma City attorney Lysbeth George, the attorney for the group seeking to incorporate, said organizers had no problem getting the required number of signatures.
“They exceeded that number a few weeks ago,” George said.
Dian Jordan, the petition organizer, said more than 125 residents had signed the petition. Jordan said the group needed 107 to get on the ballot. “I know we have 125 and I know there are several more than have signed that haven’t been counted yet,” she said. Court documents show that 319 Hochatown residents are registered to vote.
George, the attorney, said the petition had to include the name of the two, a survey and plat, and the resident population of the town – including address of the individuals who live in the area of the proposed town – and a breakdown of proposed ward or a list of trustees and positions.
Once the petition is filed the McCurtain County Board of Commissions must take some type of action within 30 days. “They will have to put it on their agenda for some type of vote,” George said. “They can either approve or deny the petition.”
Though the issue of Hochatown’s incorporation has been contentious for several years, both Jordan and George said the main issue clouding the debate is a strip of land that was annexed by the city of Broken Bow in 1998 for a water main from water treatment plant to Broken Bow.
State law prevents incorporation by a town that is within three miles of another town. Because the land annexed is within a three-mile radius of Broken Bow, the incorporation proposal has become controversial.
In her filing, George said the strip was excluded by a state law that said land annexed by a municipality that is completely nonadjacent to the corporate limits of the municipality was exempt.
“That land is exempt,” George said. “That’s our position, though they might try to quibble with that.”
Jordan said she was hopeful the McCurtain County commission would hold a hearing and then approve the petition and place it for a public vote. “That’s the goal,” she said. “Incorporating helps with growth and the economic development of the whole county.”
George agreed. “We hope everyone sees the benefit of this,” she said. “At some point it’s just business.”