Missouri Governor signs bill allowing St. Joseph to bring Rosecrans Memorial Airport into city limits
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV)-- Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe signed a bill this week that makes it easier for St. Joseph to annex a property into the city. House Bill 2818 changes Missouri law, making it easier for cities to annex property they own.
House Bill 2818, sponsored by State Representative Brenda Shields R-St. Joseph), gives St. Joseph the ability to annex Rosecrans Memorial Airport into the city limits.
St. Joseph City Manager Mike Schumacher said the only property the city is looking to annex is Rosecrans Memorial Airport.
“The airport is not within the city limits of St. Joe and this will allow the city council to go through that process and annex the airport into our corporate city limits,” he said.
Previously, any land a city wanted to annex had to be compact and contiguous with its existing boundaries.
Schumacher said the timing is important because of long-term plans involving the Missouri Air National Guard's 139th Airlift Wing.
As part of the 139th's planned move to the north side of the airport, the buildings and property the 139th currently occupy will eventually turnover to the city.
That raises an important question: What happens to that property?
“As we try and go to recruit different businesses, have different conversations, if it's not in the corporate city limits of St. Joseph, then our tools are limited in working with whatever businesses we are trying to attract,” Schumacher said.
He also thanked Rep. Shields for her work in getting the legislation through the Missouri General Assembly.
Rosecrans Memorial Airport Manager Julius Rice said the bill essentially formalizes a situation which dates to the airport's construction in 1939.
He explained that when the airport was built, it was connected to the rest of St. Joseph. But after the Missouri River changed course following a major flood, the airport was left separated from the city by the river.
“Now, the way that the law was written previously in order to annex the property of the airport, everything between the airport and the city would also have to be annexed,” Rice added.
In other words, the signed legislation allows St. Joseph to annex Rosecrans Memorial Airport, which is already city-owned, into the city limits.
Rice said it's essentially a way to officially bring the city-owned property within the city boundaries, even though it's located across the Missouri River.
He added how the change won't affect the airport's day-to-day operations at all.
“We are already city employee and this is already a city facility. As far as airport operation goes, or people flying in here, nothing really changes it's only the property that’s owned by the city is being affected,” he said.
Schumacher said the legislation is largely a housekeeping measure which brings the airport into the city limits while leaving neighboring property owners unaffected.
