Ongoing concerns about the costs associated with providing services in Gainesville and unincorporated parts of Hall County have led state lawmakers to push for a bill that would put a mediation process in place for dealing with the city’s next round of “island” annexations. An island is a property in unincorporated Hall County that is encircled by property within the Gainesville city limits. The city annexed 115 of these properties, encompassing mostly commercial businesses, last July, but left more than 400 residential islands to be served by the county.