CREEDMOOR -- An attorney hired to help block Creedmoor's annexation of the increasingly commercial stretch along N.C. 56 west toward Interstate 85 and Butner has gotten the Granville County Commissioners to join him when he goes to court seeking to halt the expansion so a judge can resolve the dispute.

Neil Yarborough of Fayetteville is representing the Granville Oaks apartment complex against Creedmoor's takeover.

He said Tuesday he plans to file papers in Superior Court "in the next week or two" and that he expects there'll be at least 10 to 12 petitioners.

Meanwhile, Creedmoor Mayor Darryl Moss is responding by pulling back his town's support for efforts to widen N.C. 50 to just north of Raleigh.

Granville County's economic and political leaders have been campaigning to persuade officials in Raleigh and Wake County to join forces to improve the route, which is two lanes and hilly to the junction of Interstate 540.

"We're going to oppose it, period," said Moss, who also is Creedmoor's representative to the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO). "If we're going to be put in a position to have to fend for ourselves, this is one of the things that we're going to have to do."

Moss said Tuesday he made the decision in response to what he believes is the Granville County government's insensitive treatment of Creedmoor and what he believes is a conspiracy to try to gain control of the town, which increasingly is becoming a bedroom community for the Triangle.

Moss singled out County Commissioner Ron Alligood for leading the effort to fight Creedmoor's annexation because Yarborough sent a letter to Alligood seeking the commissioner's assistance in getting a resolution passed at Monday night's commission meeting supporting a court order to stop Creedmoor.

Alligood said Tuesday he would not dignify the mayor's comments and accusations.

Moss' allegations stem from his belief that the county ignores Creedmoor because the town resisted pressure to give up sewer and water capacity when a new agency, the South Granville Water and Sewer Authority (SGWASA), was formed.

He believes the plan now is to have the state laws changed to nix Creedmoor's annexation so Butner could instead take the land west of town.

The hornet's nest against Creedmoor's annexation has been growing since at least as far back as last summer, with the opposition fearing reduced services and skyrocketing taxes.

What makes the situation touchy is that those in the annexation area have Creedmoor addresses and telephone numbers, yet are in the police and fire protection zones of Butner, the former military post currently overseen by the state.

Vocal members of the Butner Advisory Council, upset with what they see as territorial infringement by Creedmoor, have made no secret of their desire to speed up the process toward having Butner incorporate.

The County Commissioners and the county's Economic Development Commission already are on record against Creedmoor. Alligood maintained Tuesday that the annexation area has land set aside for industrial growth and that double-taxation would discourage commerce.

Yarborough said he asked the County Commissioners to pass a resolution "because when I file my lawsuit, the first thing I'm going to be doing is asking for a stay, and I've asked several other entities to do the same thing." The list includes the Butner Advisory Council, SGWASA and the Economic Development Commission.

The County Commissioners approved the document at its Monday night meeting. But Moss gave a blunt statement earlier in the public speaking phase of the assembly.

"It is incumbent upon me as mayor to serve notice to you and to our state legislators that no longer will we in Creedmoor accept disregard for the rights of a substantial segment of Granville County's population and no longer will we be relegated to the role of second-class citizens," he said.

County Commission Chairman Dave Currin declined Tuesday to respond to the mayor's remarks at the meeting and declined any further comment.

Creedmoor's town commission at the end of February unanimously voted to take in the land west of the town limits toward Butner, though the panel agreed to drop Altec Industries from the list.

The decision is set to take effect April 30. While Town Commissioners Otha Piper and Larry Robinson were supportive, they expressed worries about adequate police protection. Robinson particularly voiced his concerns about constant revisions in the costs.

Yarborough echoed similar opinions Tuesday. But he also accused Moss of single-handedly wielding power by controlling the actions and discussion of the town government before the commission vote.

He also said he believes Creedmoor jumped on the bandwagon based on some faulty assumptions, including about other governments being willing to cooperate "and how they perceived this thing was going to play out."

"Now, as they went through the public hearing process, they started learning they had flaws in their plan, which undercut the reasons for doing it to start with it, but they just put a blind eye to it and kept on forging on," Yarborough said.

"The actual citizens of Creedmoor as are much a victim of this annexation as the proposed citizens of Creedmoor."

Moss said, "Obviously those are his opinions, which we disagree with, strenuously."

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