It’s ironic that by stealth the city in 2005 had Brandy Creek annexed into its limits.

It’s ironic that the city told state legislators it was a voluntary annexation when it was everything but voluntary.

It’s ironic that the city could be stuck with the rutted road it inherited when it by force annexed Brandy Creek into its limits hoping that area would turn into the ultimate entertainment Mecca in the South.

Karma.

Now the city must negotiate with an attorney representing Brandy Creek residents in their bid to be set free from the city limits, something the state legislature must approve.

We don’t believe the residents of Brandy Creek should have to wait for negotiations on what becomes of Maria Avenue to take place before they are taken back into county.

This is the city’s problem, the road deal, and the result of bad karma from a city going in like stormtroopers and taking what wasn’t theirs to begin with.

This is the problem with annexation, especially an annexation that was carried out like this one was, forced upon people who ended up having their tax values inflated by an average of more than 600 percent for dreams that have not yet been realized by the city.

The last time we traveled on Maria Avenue, looking for federal agents on a tip we received, we dodged pothole upon pothole on the rutted road.

We hate that the current administration is having to pay for the sins of a past council and administration but this is the way karma works and now, while many of the players of that folly have all but washed their hands of their misdeeds, the current administration must make it right.

It’s not fair but life’s not fair.

While we understand the city must see what the liability is for having a road that will soon not be in its jurisdiction, we don’t see why that should hold up the righting of a wrong. The people didn’t ask to be brought in the city limits and the city certainly never asked them if it would be OK. Many residents didn’t realize it happened until after the annexation passed in the legislature.

The Brandy Creek matter is another piece of shrapnel that hit the taxpayers of Roanoke Rapids in the city’s theater and Carolina Crossroads dealings. It is another piece of shrapnel that particularly for some three or four years hit the citizens of Brandy Creek even harder.

The consequences of the decisions made in the Carolina Crossroads negotiations are now beginning to be seen as the city begins budget deliberations for the upcoming fiscal year and what is expected to be extremely tight budget deliberations in the fiscal year following that.

The residents of Brandy Creek, however, shouldn’t have to suffer for these decisions because they never asked to be included to begin with. You could say the same thing for the citizens of Roanoke Rapids in the Carolina Crossroads debacle, but they were never forced into the lion’s den like the citizens of Brandy Creek.

Isn’t it ironic? - Editor.