GARDENDALE, Alabama - A new annexation committee in Gardendale will review requests from homeowners wanting to become a part of the city as well as draft an annexation policy for the city of Gardendale.

The Gardendale City Council passed a resolution during its meeting Monday night to form the committee, which will include a council representative, the Gardendale City Board of Education president, the police chief, the fire chief, the public works director, the mayor and the inspections department supervisor.

Council President Stan Hogeland said now that the city has decided to form its own school system an annexation policy is necessary since neighboring residents may be interested in becoming a part of the city. Some of those homeowners include several Mount Olive residents who were disappointed to hear the city would not move forward with a plan to annex a large portion of the community. Hogeland said the city currently has procedures for those who wish to petition the city for annexation but not an annexation policy.

The city will not review annexation requests until the policy is passed, with the exception of requests from a list of certain areas that the council says will not cost the city to annex. That list of roads will be available and published tomorrow.

An update on this story will also be published with a full report from the meeting, including comments from city leaders and Mount Olive residents.