POST FALLS - None of this halfway stuff.

That's essentially what the Post Falls City Council on Tuesday night told the owners of a mobile home park who are seeking city water to improve the long-term prospects for the site.

The council, on a 5-1 vote, decided to ask Northwest Management Property, LLC, to bring back a formal annexation request for the 40-unit Savory mobile home park off Ross Point Road.

The council said, if city water is going to be provided, it should be done through the annexation process with all of the associated fees and public hearings on the table rather than just tapping into the city's water system and billing the owners using a meter and contract.

Annexation would bring all services for the site into the picture, including wastewater, roads and police, under the city's jurisdiction.

"I have a problem of providing service outside city limits," said Ron Jacobson, council member. "I want to help folks who need water, but the best solution is annexation."

Council members believed allowing just water service, without annexation, would set a bad precedent and could lead to a slippery slope of more such requests in the future.

New council member Joe Malloy was the lone dissenting vote. He said the owners knew going in that there would be risks and rewards for being outside the city and that existing city taxpayers' positions should be considered.

Ryan McCrery, one of the park's owners, said the owners need to huddle about the next step and declined to comment further.

The owners are concerned that the park's water system has the potential to become a health issue now and into the near future. They said they have spent three years of looking at their options and have consulted with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

The council in October denied the group's water request and, in doing so, annexation wasn't considered. Mayor Clay Larkin broke a 3-3 tie in the vote, saying providing water would likely lead to other needed services such as wastewater and streets. Police Chief Scot Haug also has concerns over the increased crime workload his department would face if the park is annexed.

Neal Adams, who lives in the park, said he supports the pursuit for city water and annexation even if it means an increase in his monthly rate of $360, which includes rent and services such as water and garbage pickup.

Adams said he has water quality concerns since the homes have been on septic tanks for more than 30 years.

"It's only a matter of time before we'll have E. coli in the water supply," he said.

There are also quantity issues.

"In the summer when everyone is watering, the well gets down so low that there's no water," Adams said, adding that he has fire concerns due to the pine needles and mobile homes.

"There is a fire hydrant 300 yards away, but you have to wait for the fire department before a drop of water hits and these structures will go up in 20 seconds."

Adams said he keeps 15 gallons of bottled water on hand in case of an emergency.

Adams said annexation may even lead to stricter enforcement to clean the park up, which he would support.

In other business, the council recognized Scott Grant, who served on the council for 21 years and was defeated in November by Malloy. Malloy was sworn in along with re-elected council members Kerri Thoreson and Skip Hissong.