Map from Jefferson County probate judge order
This map shows the roughly 1,245 acres spread out over 3.3 square miles along South Shades Crest Road that are in the Indian Ford Fire District in green and pink. The green parcels represent property owners that have asked to be annexed into Helena.
A Jefferson County judge on Monday set a new date for residents in the Indian Ford Fire District to vote on whether the Fire District in southwestern Jefferson County should be annexed into the city of Helena.
The election initially had been scheduled for Aug. 8, but Helena two weeks ago postponed the election due to a court battle with Hoover over both cities’ efforts to annex part or all of the Fire District.
Jefferson County Probate Judge James Naftel II on Monday rescheduled the election for Sept. 12 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It still will be held at Southcrest Baptist Church at 4317 South Shades Crest Road.
The Indian Ford Fire District covers about 1,245 acres spread out roughly along South Shades Crest Road and Morgan Road, according to a map provided by the probate court. Helena Mayor Brian Puckett said it covers roughly 3.3 square miles and has roughly 2,000 residents.
Helena claims it originally began the annexation process on June 12 by accepting a request and petition for annexation by the Indian Ford Fire District and then setting an election for residents of the Fire District to vote.
Helena claims the city of Hoover then illegally began interfering with its annexation election by trying to entice certain property owners in the Fire District to petition for Hoover to annex them instead. Hoover offered tax breaks and other financial incentives for some of the property owners, who did indeed ask Hoover to annex them.
At Helena’s request, Jefferson County Circuit Judge David Hobdy on July 18 issued an order blocking Hoover from moving forward with annexation efforts in the district and giving Helena time to get its paperwork in order.
Hoover had argued that the state statute Helena used to call for an annexation election had been declared void by the Alabama Supreme Court and attorney general and that Helena did not follow all the guidelines set up under a more general law regarding municipal annexations.
But Hobdy sided with Helena “in the interest of justice and to allow the citizens of the entire Indian Ford Fire District to have their voices heard.”
Hoover appealed Hobdy’s ruling to the Alabama Supreme Court and later asked the Supreme Court to both dismiss its appeal and direct the circuit court to dismiss the entire case, saying the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to block Hoover’s annexation efforts. Helena and the Indian Ford Fire District on Monday asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Hoover’s appeal without any instructions to the circuit court.
Helena’s mayor said Monday he is thrilled that a new election has been set, giving residents of the Fire District a voice in the decision.
The Jefferson County Board of Registrars on Aug. 7 confirmed that Helena had obtained signatures calling for the election from at least two qualified voters in each quarter quarter of the Fire District, and the Jefferson County assistant tax collector on Aug. 10 confirmed that Helena had obtained signatures from owners of at least 60% of the land in the Fire District, Puckett said.
Those are the requirements of the state statute that Hoover and the circuit court judge said Helena needed to follow, so the election is firmly set, and Hoover is still prohibited from interfering in the election, Puckett said.
When asked how he felt voters in the Indian Ford Fire District might vote on Sept. 12, Puckett said he is “cautiously optimistic.”
However, “you never want to say the game is over before the game is over,” he said.
Puckett also noted while the Indian Ford Fire District officially is only in 3.3 square miles in Jefferson County, the district also provides fire service to about 500 properties in roughly 2 square miles in unincorporated Shelby County via contracts.
Helena already has an automatic aid agreement with the Indian Ford Fire District and is committed to provide fire service to those unincorporated Shelby County residents if Helena is successful in annexing the Fire District, Puckett said.
