Faced with a heartfelt plea, Purcell city council members were already considering once again whether to de-annex land during their regularly scheduled July 1 council meeting, but Kristen Harper, a Wayne resident, voiced her concerns about the impending Freedom Crossing development and the effect de-annexing would have on her and her property.

Under Mayor David Lee in 2010, the council voted to annex hundreds of acres of land, 300 feet of which is owned by Harper.

“My perspective is that of a citizen whose property and way of life is directly affected by the decisions made by this council,” Harper said. “I’m not allowed to vote for Purcell City Council, but you guys are allowed to vote on things that affect me and my property.”

Harper lives to the east of  Highway 77, and the southern tip of the family’s property is less than 50 feet from land owned by Continental Gateway Authority. That land also lies within city limits and is at risk for de-annexation. However, at the June 3 council meeting, Council member Allen Eubanks expressed interest in keeping it for potential development in the future.

“We are rural residents,” Harper said. “Our family has lived in the country along these roads for decades. We don’t want our peaceful country life disturbed any further by big money.”

However, it is not just land commercialization near her property she wishes to avoid.

“It’s like a double-edged sword kind of deal,” she said in an interview. “We don’t want Purcell messing with us.”

Currently, approval from the city council is the last major roadblock to the Freedom Crossing development going forward as planned.

At the July 1 meeting, the council voted to postpone any discussion or possible action on the subject of de-annexation until their August 5 meeting.

In June, the council approved rezoning one tract of the development so construction of a truck stop could begin. Once the rest of the tracts of the development are rezoned, whether by the city or the county, the development is slated to host multiple stores, hotels, apartments, senior living, veteran housing, about 150 town homes, nearly 50 duplexes and roughly 700 single-family residences, according to the master development plan.

Without the city in the way, Continental Gateway Authority, which is comprised of McClain County Commissioners Glen Murray, Wilson Lyles and Terry Daniel, will be free to move forward with the project.

“I just feel like it’s a lose-lose situation for anybody with property out here,” Harper said. “There’s no control, even though the county commissioners are supposed to represent us. They sold us out, and they don’t care.”

Created in 1997, Continental Gateway Authority is a public trust designed to assist “governmental agencies and private enterprises in the development of McClain County, Oklahoma, by participating to the greatest degree possible in promoting and encouraging the general economic and social development within McClain County,” according to an independent auditor’s report of the trust’s financial position in 2020.

In an interview, Lyles said building the whole development out to completion would take at least 20 to 30 years, but he said the Board of Commissioners is always going to take nearby residents’ concerns into careful consideration.

“The decisions I make today will affect McClain County and its citizens five years, 10 years, 30, 40, 50 years down the way,” Lyles said. “I think all three of the commissioners think that way, so we’re very careful in our decision making because we know that people enjoy their rural lifestyle, and we want to keep that as much as we can yet give our young people a reason to stay home.”

According to Census Bureau estimates, Purcell does not currently seem to have an urban migration problem. From 2010 to 2020, Purcell saw an influx of 18 to 24-year-olds, roughly 200 by the Census Bureau’s estimations.

In fact, the rate of people moving to rural areas across the country appears to have recently increased, a divergence from a decade of rural population loss, according to a 2024 U.S. Department of Agriculture study.

When it comes to the future of the Freedom Crossing development, much of it rests on water supply, Lyles said.

“Can Wayne meet those needs, or in the future, is Purcell willing to bring water to that property,” Lyles said.

As far as the truck stop is concerned, McClain County Rural Water District No. 8 is set to provide water, but it is currently anyone’s guess which municipality or water district will be providing water for the rest of the development.

In June, the Purcell City Council was unanimous that the Purcell water system cannot currently accommodate the Freedom Crossing development.

In addition to water, the Town of Wayne will also have to consider the impact upon its public school system. The Freedom Crossing development rests within the Wayne Public School District. The schools there would be required to accommodate any influx of school-age children to the area.

“Currently, as a district, we are thriving,” said Toby Ringwald, superintendent of Wayne Public Schools. “We understand this development is in the infantile stage. However, as this plan comes to fruition, we will be able to implement a growth plan as needed.”

If the council votes to de-annex the entirety of the land annexed back in 2010, then the City of Purcell loses out on any sales tax revenue the Freedom Crossing development may generate and could put businesses within city limits in direct competition with those at Freedom Crossing.

Businesses in unincorporated areas of McClain County only have to charge a combined sales tax rate of 5% — 0.5% for McClain County and 4.5% goes to the State of Oklahoma. The combined sales tax rate within Purcell city limits is currently 10%.

Retaining the land, however, comes with its own public safety issues, such as police patrolling and fire management.

In June, Police Chief Bobby Elmore told the council that the police department does not currently patrol outside the town edge, and neither the city police or fire departments are fully staffed. Purcell Fire Station No. 2 off Highway 74 remains empty.

Whatever the council decides, the fate of the development rests in their hands.