Dexter Officials Weigh Options Following State Boundary Commission's Ruling on Cityhood Petition

Heaping criticism on the State Boundary Commission, the Dexter Village Council is seeking answers why its .

On Monday, the council voted 6-1 to authorize its attorney, Tom Ryan, to request a copy of the state’s file on the village’s cityhood petition in order to determine what Dexter’s next step should be ahead of the council’s next meeting Sept. 12.

“I feel this was a very unfair result,” Village President Shawn Keough said.

Last week, the Boundary Commission held a hearing on Dexter's petition, which was challenged by Webster Township and the Dexter Area Historical Society. At issue was whether land in the village's agreement to share tax revenues with Webster Township, including Gordon Hall, can be included in the proposed city boundary.

“The attorney general saw our petition as legally sufficient, yet somehow, when Webster Township’s attorney spoke, they clouded the issue with a bunch of details that were not relevant,” Keough said. “What amazes me is that not one of the members of the commission commented on the map before voting no.”

Keough said he was also frustrated with the Dexter Area Historical Society, which he said he has personally helped on numerous occasions, including serving as master of ceremonies for , a recent fundraising activity for Gordon Hall that raised $20,000.

“I feel a little betrayed," he said. "I don’t know why a nontaxable piece of property that no one lives in has been such an impediment to our cityhood petition."

Paul Bishop, a member of the historical society, said the society appreciates Keough’s efforts but said they have no bearing on the village’s petition.

“We’ve told (the village) from the beginning that we don’t want to do this, but somehow they are blaming us,” Bishop said.

Bishop explained that the Gordon Hall property is currently divided between Scio and Webster townships, yet the village’s petition brings only Webster Township’s portion into the proposed city boundary.

“Both townships have an agricultural easement on the property because they gave us money to purchase the property,” Bishop said. “There is no provision to be bought out of the easement, so if the village’s petition was approved, we would be dealing with three different municipalities every time we wanted to plan something at Gordon Hall.

“We don’t want another 33 percent bureaucratic overlook on our property.”

Bishop said the hall would also come under Dexter’s zoning restrictions rather its current rural zoning guidelines.

“Judge Dexter built Gordon Hall in Webster Township, and we want it to remain in Webster Township,” he said.

Originally, the village petitioned to keep its boundaries the same as they are now, but the three sections of the village — the old village, the Westridge subdivision and The Cedars of Dexter — don’t touch each other, so its first petition was returned by the boundary commission as “legally insufficient.”

On April 12, 2010, the council voted to resubmit the petition and changed the boundaries to include Gordon Hall and the back half of the property so all the new city corners meet. The new boundaries square off the corners and make them contiguous.

"The village wants to bring in two pieces of property that are not in the village now; that's why we are against their petition," Bishop said. "They can't blame us. We're just telling the facts."

Keough said he believed the commission was “afraid” of a legal challenge from Webster Township. However, with the decision, Dexter Trustee Paul Cousins said he would support a legal challenge by the village.

“I’m ready to take this to court,” Cousins said. “I don’t know what we can do to satisfy these parties, but I’m not willing to spend a lot more time arguing on this issue.”

For more information on Dexter's cityhood petition, visit the village's website.