The city of Byrnes Mill just got a little bigger.
The Byrnes Mill Board of Alderpersons voted 4-0 June 26 to annex an approximately .95-acre vacant lot at 27 Walters Place into the city limits. Ward 1 Alderman Bob Prado and Ward 2 Alderwoman Cindy Davies were absent from the meeting.
It was a voluntary annexation, so Byrnes Mill residents were not required to vote to approve it.
The lot is just behind Captain D’s in House Springs and is now a part of the city of Byrnes Mill.
The city purchased the lot from the House Springs Preservation Inc. group for $79,000 and closed the deal on May 3.
House Springs Preservation is a nonprofit corporation that was formed in 2020 to oversee a different piece of property nearby that includes the historic spring after which House Springs is named.
Jefferson County previously owned that piece of property, located at highways MM and 30, and considered it a park. However, the county sold it to House Springs Preservation for $10 when a medical marijuana facility applied for a permit to open on another nearby lot at 3 Walters Place. The county’s zoning order prohibits medical marijuana facilities from being located within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, church or park, so to get around that problem, the county sold the spring property to House Springs Preservation, which has cleaned up and improved the property and the spring since then.
As part of the deal to sell House Springs Preservation the spring property, the County Council asked for a commitment from the Northwest Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce to agree to help maintain the property.
Around the same time House Springs Preservation got the spring property, it acquired the property at 27 Walters Place from Pecl Investments Hwy. 30 & MM LLC, which developed the Walters Place retail center, along with $50,000 to be paid over five years, said Danny Tuggle, one of the three officers who oversees the nonprofit, along with Vicky Jas and Derrick Good.
Tuggle said the money has been used to improve and maintain the spring property.
He said the group didn’t have any use for the property at 27 Walters place and it had been for sale ever since House Springs Preservation acquired it.
No one had much interest in it until Byrnes Mill officials reached out to buy it, Tuggle said.
He said House Springs Preservation will also use the $79,000 from Byrnes Mill to take care of the springs property.
Byrnes Mill Mayor Rob Kiczenski said city officials have some ideas for how they may use the land, including the possibility of developing a farmer’s market or a dog park there.
The parcel of land has yet to be zoned, but Kiczenski said the city anticipates it will be zoned for commercial use.
Kiczenski said purchasing the property “was part of an effort for the city to diversify its holdings,” adding that it makes sense for them to buy property when they can.
“We were very limited on our funds and where we can have an investment,” he said.
During the June 26 meeting when the city annexed the vacant lot, Kiczenski referred to a previous annexation attempt in 2010 when Byrnes Mill tried to annex a 10-acre area in the House Springs business district. The attempt failed because it was an involuntary annexation that required a vote, and most Byrnes Mill voters opposed the proposed annexation.
Kiczenski said that annexation attempt caused a lot of debate and resistance, so any further annexations would only be voluntary ones.