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.