Muskogee City Council rescinds annexation of Polaris Technology, restarts process

The Muskogee City Council voted to rescind its annexation ordinance that affects Polaris Technology. The city will now start the process over.

This is the city’s third attempt at annexing land where Polaris sits, and the company says it’s because the city keeps making mistakes.

The cryptocurrency data mining facility has been operating at the industrial park for two years.

During Monday night’s meeting, the city council acknowledged it made a “technical error” in its original filing, so the council voted to rescind the annexation. It then voted to reinstate it and start from scratch.

The annexation means Polaris would have to pay a 3 percent tax to the city, which the company is against.

The company spokesman says they thought the city was rescinding the annexation to negotiate a fair resolution but says that wasn't the case and accuses the city of a bait-and-switch tactic.

“We were contacted by the city attorney and said they would make resolution to de-annex Polaris because they wanted to sit down and negotiate, and so we were very happy and hopeful,” said Dan Chepkaukas with Polaris Technology. “Found out that yes, they did technically vote to de-annex and move that aside, but the very next agenda item on the list for the city was to reannex, and the reason they did that is because the fact that they had not done it properly.”

The city did not want to speak with News On 6 on camera, but sent us a statement saying in part:

“The City of Muskogee categorically denies any allegation of deliberate misrepresentation in connection with the annexation process.”

Polaris filed a lawsuit against the city over the annexation. The company says if the city wants to sit down and negotiate, the lawsuit could go away.

News On 6 asked the city if it plans to negotiate, but we were told no comment.

Polaris plans to meet with its attorneys on Tuesday about Monday’s city council decision.