A short ramble on Annexation

Some of your neighbors who you think live in Renton don't actually live in Renton. They may live in unincorporated King County very near the city limits. I am one of "those" people. I live in Earlington, about two blocks from the Renton city limits. King County wants to rid itself of administering and providing services to unincorporated areas adjacent to cities,is urging adjacent cities to annex them, and Renton has a bunch of those. Benson Hill was annexed to Renton in 2008, and Springbrook Terrace is going to be annexed in April, 2009. Fairwood residents narrowly voted last year not to become an independent city, but annexation to Renton is still a possibility, and within the Fairwood area is a smaller area known as the Red Mill area, where there is a movement afoot to have this smaller area annexed to Renton, regardless of what happens to the rest of Fairwood. Then there's the West Hill and Earlington.
On Monday, April 6th, 7PM at Renton City Hall, there will be a hearing on the Earlington annexation proposal...But wait a minute, you say? Isn't Earlington already a neighborhood in Renton? Yes, it is, just not all of it. Some of Earlington is in Renton ( annexed to Renton in 1948),some is in unincorporated King County, and The Earlington annexation would add to Renton about 100 acres, 127 dwelling units, 292 people, and Minter's Earlington Greenhouse....But wait a minute, you say? Isn't Earlington part of the West Hill, and aren't they also being considered for annexation to Renton?
Yes, the Earlington that isn't part of Renton is part of the West Hill, which also includes Lakeridge, Bryn Mawr, and Skyway, and yes, there is a separate effort going on to annex that whole big area to Renton, but the Earlington area has some different issues. We, the unincorporated Earlingtonians, unlike our fellow West Hillers, have Renton phone numbers. Unlike our fellow West Hillers, we are served by City of Renton water. And we're closer to the Renton Fred Meyer than to the Skyway bowling alley.
In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not only a resident of the Earlington and West Hill annexation areas, I'm also on the West Hill Unincorporated Area council.
I don't have an official position on the overall West Hill annexation. But I'm in favor of the Earlington annexation. If nothing else, I'd get annexed off the West Hill council, a much more honorable way of leaving than being diselected.