A recent plan by Santaquin to annex some properties in the Spring Lake area has left Spring Lake residents fuming -- and planning to incorporate into a city of their own.

Various versions of the policy plan showed different boundary lines, including one that would cut the Spring Lake community in half. The commission ended up recommending moving that line to exclude Spring Lake, though it still includes the petition area.

The policy plan is not a binding annexation plan, but a designation of the area the city could annex sometime in the future. The city cannot annex any area outside the plan's boundaries.

Many Spring Lake residents are concerned with annexation plans that they say could disrupt the way of life in the quiet farming community.

"We've been an unincorporated town for 150 years, and we like that feeling," said Spring Lake resident Marva Loy Eggett.

Eggett said some of the community's residents have decided to try and incorporate to avoid any annexation, and she believes it will not be overly difficult, as most of the residents are in favor of the move. Bill Harrison, who lives near Spring Lake proper and hopes to incorporate his property with the town, said the residents want to incorporate because they always believed they were more part of Payson than Santaquin.

"Over the long term, everyone expected Payson to be the one to annex the area in," he said.

Harrison, Eggett and three other residents have submitted an official petition to the County Commission for incorporation, though the next step is a public hearing to determine any interest in the idea. The County Commission will decide today on a date for the public hearing, likely 6 p.m. on July 1 at Payson Junior High School.

Harrison said there are some in the community who do not support the move, but at least 80 families have expressed support in various meetings. The people who do not want to incorporate, he said, generally own large pieces of land and are not interested in remaining a farming community. "Our purpose is to preserve a historic community, and we're not interested in getting wealthy," he said.

Spring Lake resident Dale Saunders said he does not want his property to be annexed into Santaquin, but he believes residents may be acting too quickly in trying to incorporate. The attempt is only a knee-jerk reaction to Santaquin's attempt, and some people believe they have no choice.

"They think we can protect ourselves, keep our way of life by incorporating," he said.

Harrison said the possible annexation has been a shock to residents, who did not expect such a change to come so quickly. The feasibility of incorporation is not yet known, and there is some question as to whether the small community will be able to afford services, but Harrison said residents were obligated to try and become their own city.

"We may not be successful, but we would regret it if we don't see how far we can go," he said.