The Lampasas City Council voted 6-1 during a special meeting Monday night to approve the first reading of an ordinance annexing 409 acres west of the city limits.

The area the council considered includes the site of a future city sports park off Farm-to-Market Road 580 West, plus land along County Road 1024, about 4,600 feet of CR 1025 and about 3,000 feet of CR 1020.

Mayor Judy Hetherly, Mayor Pro Tem John Cole and council members Robert McCauley, Wanda Bierschwale, Evan Stubbs and Les Gerhardt voted for the annexation. Councilman Jerry Grayson cast the lone 'no' vote.

Before the vote, several residents of those county roads told the coun- cil they oppose annexation.

Bill White, a resident of CR 1020, said an anti-annexation petition circulating in the neighborhood gained nearly universal support.

"Almost all property owners were against it," White said.

He said most residents of the neighborhoods being annexed will owe $700 to $1,300 in additional taxes each year. Because of the slowing national economy, White called such an increase in tax bills "exorbitant."

"I just don't think it's a prudent time to be annexing this to the city of Lampasas," White said. "We may all feel that it's inevitable at some time, but I think we all feel that it's a bad time right now."

White also mentioned city maintenance costs on CR 1020 -- or "West First Street," as it will be named once annexed -- which he said floods and shows considerable wear when heavy vehicles travel on it. He added that the road may not be wide enough to meet city specifications.

Wilson Neely, who lives on CR 1025, said he and his neighbors will not benefit from the city zoning and land use protections they will receive once annexed, because deed restrictions already govern land use.

"Our deeds protect us from everybody but the city," Neely said.

Elvis Fisher, who lives on 13 acres off CR 1025, said he and his wife may sell their property because of the increased taxes they will face as Lampasas residents.

"I'm going to have to take out $300 or $350 a month and set it aside just to pay the taxes," Fisher said.

Later, Suzanne Goen, who lives on CR 1020 just west of the area to be annexed, asked why the city decided to annex the 409 acres outside Lampasas' western boundary.

City Manager Michael Stoldt said the annexation is the first of several such moves being considered as a means to boost city revenue and provide growth management. The primary motivation for annexing the areas the council considered on Monday, he said, is to increase tax revenue.

Stubbs, who recently filled a vacant seat on the City Council, said he did not help identify the area west of town as a candidate for annexation. Stubbs said he supports expanding the city's boundaries to accommodate new residents, however.

"The city's going to have to grow somewhere," he said.

The councilman said he drove through the area and did not believe it was safe to discharge firearms, which some residents in earlier public hearings said homeowners need to do to control wild animals. Shooting a gun is prohibited within city limits.

"I couldn't find anywhere where people should be firing a rifle in a horizontal plane," Stubbs said.

"When I drove out there, I didn't get the feeling that it's the country," he added later.

Stubbs said after hearing public comments he believed residents' main argument against annexation was opposition to incurring city taxes.

He said bringing new properties into Lampasas, however, may provide tax relief for current city residents.

"I don't like the idea of annexing anybody who doesn't want to be annexed," said the councilman, "but I'd like to hear better justification for not doing it. Everything people out there argue against is a reason people in town probably would support this."

After the council received public comments, McCauley made the motion to approve annexation, and Mrs. Bierschwale seconded.

The council will vote Nov. 28 on the second reading of the annexation ordinance. If the City Council approves the second reading, preclearance and changes to the city map will take place in December.

Stubbs said he would like to communicate with residents to determine how the city can address some of their misgivings.

"I would be more than happy to listen to whatever concerns you have out there," he said.

In another matter, the City Council unanimously approved the voluntary annexation of nine acres located west of Sheppard Lane and north of Diamond Ridge subdivision.

Sydna Vineyard, who lives on nearby Wolfe Drive, spoke against the annexation, saying overhead power lines and patio-home backyards facing Sheppard Lane would decrease the value of existing properties in the area.

Mrs. Vineyard said Sheppard is not equipped to serve the traffic going to and from new homes to be built on the annexed land.

Stoldt said people also can reach the new homes from Diamond Ridge Drive.

The City Council also voted unanimously to authorize the city attorney to file eminent domain proceedings to acquire .62 acres near the new high school. The land will be used for a 20-foot permanent public utility easement and a 30-foot temporary construction easement.