ST. JOHN | St. John moved forward on plans to expand the town east by more than 500 acres.

The Town Council unanimously supported an annexation ordinance Thursday on its first reading.

A public hearing is expected Aug. 21, and the Town Council could adopt the ordinance as early as Sept. 25, said attorney Michael Muenich, whom the town hired to handle the annexation.

No one from the public opposed the annexation at the council meeting.

Most of the residents who live within the approximately 540-acre annexation area signed a waiver when they bought their house, giving up their right to remonstrate against annexation.

The annexation would incorporate the vicinity of Cline Street and 93rd avenues, stretching down to 101st Avenue along Blaine Street. It includes about 200 homes, most of which are in Tiburon and Grouse Point subdivisions.

St. John already provides water and sewer utilities to most of those residents.

The council also approved a fiscal plan for the annexation.

The plan, which projects the financial impact on the town through 2018, shows that revenue would exceed expenses.

In other business, the Town Council unanimously denied a request from the Lake Central School Corp. to waive the building permit fees for the first phase of renovations to Lake Central High.

The fees are $10,966, Town Manager Steve Kil said.

Town Council Vice President Jerri Teibel said the council has reduced building fees in the past for schools, but she didn't feel comfortable waiving such a large fee.

Councilman Michael Forbes agreed, saying that he did not favor waiving the fees, particularly with the town's current financial status.

The council then unanimously supported a $10,000 donation to the St. John Volunteer Fire Department.

Forbes said the donation is a different matter than Lake Central's waiver request, because the donation will help the town and its residents.