A decision handed down by an administrative law judge Thursday bodes well for the survival of Midway Township.
If the annexation case had gone the other way, the city of Proctor stood to gobble up Midway Township in its entirety, effectively erasing it from the map.
"There's a lot of relief out there," said Earl Elde, chairman of the Midway Township Board of Supervisors. "People are very happy with the decision, but I still don't think we've probably seen the last of Proctor's takeover efforts."
Ken Butler, the attorney who represented Midway Township in the annexation proceedings, noted that Proctor has now made four attempts to annex part or all of its rural neighbor to the west.
The city has the next 30 days to file an appeal to the St. Louis County
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District Court, if it so chooses.
Proctor Mayor David Brenna expressed his disappointment with the decision, saying: "I'm just shocked. We did it the way the state said we were supposed to. I can't believe they shot the whole thing down."
But Brenna said he's not inclined to file an appeal and spend more money litigating the case.
"As far as I'm concerned, I think it's done. But there are four other city councilors who can vote on this," he said. The Proctor City Council is expected to take up the matter at its next meeting on March 17.
John Bray, the attorney representing Proctor in the case, did not return a message the News Tribune left at his office Thursday afternoon.
Administrative law Judge James LaFave cited a Minnesota statute requiring him to deny an annexation "where the increase in revenues for the annexing municipality bears no reasonable relation to the monetary value of benefits received by the subject area."
He noted that the annexation would increase the property taxes Midway Township residents pay by 63.4 percent, while Proctor residents could expect a property tax cut of 28.7 percent. LaFave said that aside from potentially quicker police response times, Midway Township residents could expect to derive few other discernible benefits of being a part of Proctor.
"On its face, it was just absurd," Butler said of the financial effects of the proposed annexation.
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More than 600 Midway Township residents signed a petition opposing Proctor's efforts to annex their homes.
LaFave also concluded that based on the testimony he had heard and his tour of the area, there was little likelihood that much of Midway Township would be converted to suburban or urban use within the foreseeable future. At present, 63 percent of the township is covered in woodlands, and another 21.5 percent of it is home to wetlands. If most of the township remains rural in character, LaFave concluded there was little rationale for annexation.
Brenna disagreed, suggesting the judge had shortsold the opportunities for development in the area, particularly along the Interstate 35 corridor.
Duluth City Attorney Gunnar Johnson said he was pleased with Thursday's decision. Duluth has opposed Proctor's effort to annex Midway Township. Assuming Proctor doesn't file an appeal and the matter is resolved, Johnson said nothing should stand in the way of an orderly annexation agreement signed by the city of Duluth and Midway Township. That document would allow for the orderly annexation of land Duluth already owns in Midway Township as part of the Spirit Mountain area but would require the approval of township representatives to annex any land north of Interstate 35.
Butler said the orderly annexation agreement could be enough to fend off any future annexation overtures by Proctor for the next 20 years.
Johnson expressed optimism that Thursday's ruling will send a strong message to Proctor.
"I do think that after this decision that Proctor might not have as great a desire to pursue an annexation of Midway Township," he said. "This ruling may take some of the wind out of their sail."
