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If an effort by Waynesville and St. Robert to annex Fort Leonard Wood's population is successful, the cities’ populations — and potential for economic development — will grow exponentially.
St. Robert City Administrator Alan Clark and Waynesville Mayor Pro-tem Luge Hardman made the announcement at the Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon Wednesday.
Work began on the project, which focuses solely on population, in late March.
“We do not want any taxation at all,” Clark said after the luncheon. “This annexation is simply for the population.”
Economic benefits
The question “Why don’t we have (fill in the name of your favorite retailer or restaurant)” can be mostly answered in a few words— the population figures aren’t there. The 2000 Census shows Waynesville's population is 3,507, while St. Robert's is 2,760. Those numbers don’t measure up for large retailers who look at the numbers and say, “Nope, too small.”
“Typically, they’ll look at our area and see that we’re a very small city, and we might not fit their demographics,” Waynesville City Administrator Bruce Harrill shared, noting there have been instances where businesses have decided not to locate to the area because of the reported population.
It’s not necessarily a fair assessment, though. With the permanent party, family member and trainee populations at Fort Leonard Wood, the number of people in St. Robert and Waynesville on a given day can reach upward of 35,000.
“The population in our area is, a lot of the time, not reflected on the census,” Harrill said.
Clark understands the problems not having an accurate picture of the bodies physically in the county on a daily basis.
“They (companies) do that research on the Internet,” Clark said, adding that unless company representatives make a trip out here, they don’t see what the installation means to the communities’ economy.
“This is really, really, really going to help the cities economically when it comes to growth,” he said. “With those numbers coming up, it attracts those family businesses, those retail businesses.”
Population only
Annexation of military installations is not uncommon. Fort Bragg, N.C., Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., have all had populations annexed into surrounding communities.
The cities will not take over any services on Fort Leonard Wood and no taxes will be collected. The annexation is about population only.
“This has no impact, zero impact, on their (military personnel) home of record. I cannot emphasize that enough,” Clark said.
The population will be divided evenly between the two cities and the annexation does not include the PX or Commissary area to avoid a tax situation.
If an effort by Waynesville and St. Robert to annex Fort Leonard Wood's population is successful, the cities’ populations — and potential for economic development — will grow exponentially.
St. Robert City Administrator Alan Clark and Waynesville Mayor Pro-tem Luge Hardman made the announcement at the Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon Wednesday.
Work began on the project, which focuses solely on population, in late March.
“We do not want any taxation at all,” Clark said after the luncheon. “This annexation is simply for the population.”
Economic benefits
The question “Why don’t we have (fill in the name of your favorite retailer or restaurant)” can be mostly answered in a few words— the population figures aren’t there. The 2000 Census shows Waynesville's population is 3,507, while St. Robert's is 2,760. Those numbers don’t measure up for large retailers who look at the numbers and say, “Nope, too small.”
“Typically, they’ll look at our area and see that we’re a very small city, and we might not fit their demographics,” Waynesville City Administrator Bruce Harrill shared, noting there have been instances where businesses have decided not to locate to the area because of the reported population.
It’s not necessarily a fair assessment, though. With the permanent party, family member and trainee populations at Fort Leonard Wood, the number of people in St. Robert and Waynesville on a given day can reach upward of 35,000.
“The population in our area is, a lot of the time, not reflected on the census,” Harrill said.
Clark understands the problems not having an accurate picture of the bodies physically in the county on a daily basis.
“They (companies) do that research on the Internet,” Clark said, adding that unless company representatives make a trip out here, they don’t see what the installation means to the communities’ economy.
“This is really, really, really going to help the cities economically when it comes to growth,” he said. “With those numbers coming up, it attracts those family businesses, those retail businesses.”
Population only
Annexation of military installations is not uncommon. Fort Bragg, N.C., Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., have all had populations annexed into surrounding communities.
The cities will not take over any services on Fort Leonard Wood and no taxes will be collected. The annexation is about population only.
“This has no impact, zero impact, on their (military personnel) home of record. I cannot emphasize that enough,” Clark said.
The population will be divided evenly between the two cities and the annexation does not include the PX or Commissary area to avoid a tax situation.
Population estimations show there’s roughly 6,200 permanent party members, 15,800 active duty family members, and 13,300 trainees on the installation. Equating 35,300, the population split will add about 17,500 people to each city.
“The population is going to be divided equally. And that’s just the right thing to do,” Clark said. “That is a major impact for Waynesville and St. Robert.”
Though there won’t be any financial implications for people living on the post or the cities, a successful outcome will include restructuring political boundaries — a practice that happens after every census. What it means for people living on Fort Leonard Wood is the door to public service will be opened. Though there are some restrictions for serving in political office while on active duty, opportunities will be available.
“They can now sit and be appointed to the park board, planning and zoning commission, they could run for office if they want to,” Clark said.
Support from the Fort
Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs External Communications Chief Mike Alley said the paperwork is going through the chain of command and the effort has support from installation officials.
“The command understands how important this is and is fully supportive,” Alley said. “We are working very closely with the Corps of Engineers to make this happen.”
It may take some time before a definitive answer is delivered, but the hope is approval, if granted, will come in before the 2010 census.
“This is nothing more than a voluntary annexation process,” Clark said, explaining it would follow the same protocol a subdivision goes through when it wants to be included in the limits of the city.
“To this point, it’s been going smoothly,” he added. “This has been something we have been wanting to make public for a while. We can’t let this bypass us.”
