The opinion
Justice FRYE
dissenting.
Stripped of legalese, the question in this case is whether Concord or Kannapolis took the first valid mandatory public procedural step to annex Lake Concord and its watershed. Concord made a false start but corrected it on 10 December 1987. Kannapolis made a false start on 14 October 1987 and attempted to correct it on 30 March 1988 when the annexation ordinance was adopted. Thus, Concord, not Kannapolis, wins the race. I do not believe that the failure to include the effective date in the resolution of intent is a “slight irregularity” or that putting the correct date in the annexation ordinance some five and one-half months later cures the defect so as to cut off Concord’s right to annex its own property. Accordingly, I dissent from the result reached by the majority.