The City Commission agreed, approved Wise's report, and passed, as the first step he suggested, a policy of annexation "that it is the determination of the city of Wichita to insure its future stability and to permit the development of a creative and prosperous people by providing municipal services and local government to the urbanized area." The Eagle responded very favorably to the action in a November 7 editorial, "Almost unnoticed in the mass of election news, Wichita's City Commission has adopted a long-range policy on annexation--something that has been needed for years. If the commissioners mean what they say--as we hope they do--this can be very significant for the future of this city. It can mean orderly, pre-determined growth instead of stagnation in a pool of inertia. One of the great challenges to Wichita is providing for industrial growth. A reasonable, planned system of annexation is an essential beginning."

This policy step was significant for Wichita's water and sewer systems because it encouraged expansion of service both into newly annexed areas as well as in future annexation areas. Extensions of water and sewer services became a part of the overall plan in the growth of Wichita. This fact can be seen in a February 18, 1960, communique to the City Commission from Backstrom on providing water to the Jayhawk Improvement District. He approved the sale and argued that Wichita would benefit, "It would be a step toward a single, integrated water system for the entire area which would be consistent with the purpose of serving all of the city's environment as one metropolitan unit. Thus, the duplication and overlapping expense that would otherwise exist would be avoided, and at the same time, the metropolitan area would be provided with a more dependable service and a better quality of water." (City Commission Communication).

The next city manager, Russell McClure, provided a review of the progress of annexation policies in another communique on May 6, 1963. The annexation program had become known as the "One Wichita" program which called for the extension of Wichita boundaries to cover present urbanized areas and new development as it occurred. According to McClure, recognition of future growth had prompted the city to provide or plan for additional public facilities to serve a larger population. These decisions included a system of urban highways, flood control, Cheney reservoir, a new sewage treatment plant, purchase of the Wichita Water Company, and the expansion of the water facilities.

He summarized the "One Wichita" program as including five general points: "1) step-by-step annexation of fringe areas by the city to permit provision of municipal-type services by the city; 2) provision of court systems and related services by the county as intended by state statute; 3) continued provision of selected services to outlying areas by improvement districts until the city was prepared to annex the areas and furnish necessary services; 4) revision of state statutes to provide a proficient method for the dissolution of existing improvement districts; and 5) revision of appropriate city codes and ordinances to make them more adaptable to newly annexed areas and at the same time continue to safeguard the public welfare." (City Commission Communication).

Many steps had to be taken by that time to adopt more fully the "One Wichita" goal, but for water and sewer it meant continued expansion outside Wichita into areas which would eventually be annexed. By the next year that provision became a specified part of the policy. Prior to 1964 routine water extensions to property owners outside the city limits were made without direct City Commission involvement, and were handled by the Water Department. But requests had begun to mount for service and the commission instructed the staff to avoid extending water service outside the corporate limits of Wichita without its prior approval.

McClure prepared a communique on February 6, 1964, on the procedures for following that order. It provided for water service requests outside the city to be reviewed by the water director and the city manager, who would present them to the City Commission for approval. One other major change was made in the procedure. Each applicant was also required to agree "to annexation by the City of Wichita if and when said property is legally annexable." (City Commission Communication).

This policy, requiring an annexation agreement, continued in various forms after the commission approved the policy later in the month. It also was applied to sewer extensions at the same time. While Wichita wanted to provide services, it hoped to avoid those areas which would later avoid annexation while benefiting from city services. This issue became increasingly complex as the number and size of areas requesting services continued to grow.

For the next 20 years, the provision of services outside the city continued to be a major issue in Wichita as industries, residents, improvements districts, rural water districts, and other cities requested help.

The Canyon Improvement District, created by a County Commission resolution on March 4, 1957, opened questions soon after the city bought the Water Company. Improvement districts were formed to allow rural areas to raise bonds for financing needed services such as water or sewer. Soon after incorporation, a representative of the Canyon district, Herbert Dodd, approached the city about water needs. Construction of the Kansas Turnpike had lowered the water table so that wells had to be deepened, and residents felt that the supply had become unfit for household use. Therefore, they proposed to build a distribution system and tie it into Wichita's water supply.

Despite the wishes of the district, the MAPC recommended annexation as the best way of providing service to the area and on April 2, 1957, the City Commission approved. A special election was held to choose the directors for the district on April 25, giving it more legitimacy, and on May 7 Dodd asked the commission to reconsider the annexation. The residents in the district opposed annexation because it would transfer them to the Planeview school district and eliminate their door-stop bus service. Dodd argued that, since the only problem was the water supply, annexation was not justified. On a motion by Commissioner John Madden, the commission reversed its policy, on a 4 to 1 decision with Mayor Gardner voting no. Wichita subsequently agreed to provide water if the city could operate the system, with the district paying the $39,500 construction costs.

The decision allowed the district to pursue its own course and it followed up on its proposal by issuing a special assessment to pay for a water distribution system. The way was not yet clear. Twenty-three of the more than 100 property owners filed 12 cases protesting the assessment of $347 per half-acre building site, claiming it was too high and that water was already available from the wells. On June 27, 1958, District Judge Howard C. Kline enjoined the district from levying or collecting the assessment. After the decision the district searched for another solution. The Board of Directors met on July 1 to consider the alternatives. The district's president, Richard Miller, specified two choices--to raise the money through bonds, which would spread out the cost of the project, or annexation, which few supported. Additionally, annexation would prevent issuing the bonds, since at that time improvement districts in the city were prohibited by state law, therefore requiring the project to be paid by special assessment. If the bond was approved and the area was annexed later, the tax assessments would simply continue, but inside-city water rates would be paid instead of outside-city rates. The board supported the bond issue and an election was scheduled.

On October 27, 1958, the residents of the district voted 57 to 39 in favor of a $40,000 bond issue to finance the system. The system was built and the city operated it until the area was eventually taken in. The action exemplified the informal annexation policy which operated in Wichita at the outset. City water and sewer services would be extended to areas outside the city whenever possible, under control of the Water Department, to facilitate organization and management. When the city