Lacey History this week 1978

A proposed annexation of 5000 acres of property in Hawks Prairie has split the Lacey Planning Commission and the Lacey City Council.

Those in opposition to the move took control of the Lacey Planning Commission by a 4-3 vote – – removed the current chair Harry Wanschers and elected Kay Boyd as chairman.   Richard Johnson, a member of the Lacey City Council was defeated for re-election by Bob Jensen – a former planning commission member who opposed annexation.   Johnson had been pushing for the annexation.

Four members of the city council, including Mayor Karen Fraser favor annexation of some of the property, while three others led by newly elected councilmember Bob Jensen, oppose the move.   Fraser is reluctant to move with a split vote.

The concern of councilmembers and planning commission members is that the area is rural, that it does not fit the character of the community and that it will require significant expenditures of public money to provide services to the area.

(Editors note:  When Kay Boyd became mayor, a decade later, the city did annex significant portions of Hawks Prairie and touted it as the future of the city.)