ST. JOHN | On Jan. 1, St. John will grow by another 540 acres.

That's when the Tiburon and Grouse Point subdivisions, eight other homes and a parcel of farmland will be incorporated into the town, turning about 220 more households into St. John residents.

The town had served most of the area with water and sewer utilities. Now, those residents will receive police and fire protection as well as public works services through St. John, Town Manager Steve Kil said.

Providing those services will cost the town from $55,000 to $60,000 the first year. St. John also will begin collecting tax money on those properties, Kil said.

"Operating-wise, it should all level out," he said. "The revenue versus expenses should be fairly similar."

St. John doesn't typically annex areas with so many existing homes, he said.

"That's what makes this kind of unique," Kil said. "Typically, the annexations we've entertained have been for vacant property."

The town has spent $8,500 on new 32-gallon recycling bins for the homes and will pick up the tab for garbage pickup, as it does for all of its residents. The additional garbage pickup should cost St. John about $3,400 a month, Kil said.

Getting everyone on the same page takes effort, he said.

The garbage hauler needs to add the homes to the route, and Lake County needs to be notified that St. John will handle the police calls and public works duties. Lake Hills Fire Department needs to be notified that St. John will handle fire and medical calls in that area from now on.

"It's a little more complicated than you might think," Kil said. "There's a lot of different aspects to consider."

St. John will handle snowplowing for the area before Jan. 1, because it is tough to switch that service mid-season.

"We already have it scheduled into our routes," he said.

Kil said new residents will receive a packet of information next week, outlining town procedures.