DECATUR — An ordinance requiring residents to have at least one acre of land in order to keep livestock inside the city limits will not be changed to accommodate 4-H and FFA members, city council members decided at Monday's meeting.
City administrative assistant Kim Wilkins said someone has complained about an FFA student who was keeping her goat in the back yard on less than one acre. Wilkins said that high school ag teacher Lisa Barrett requested that the issue be presented to the city council.
Mayor Bill Montgomery suggested adding a resolution to the present animal control ordinance allowing students to apply for a special permit to keep an animal for a limited amount of time.
By Janelle Jessen [email protected]
Councilwoman Linda Martin asked why the school was not using the agricultural department’s barn for the animals. Martin said it was her understanding that the barn was built for students who didn’t have room to keep their animals at home.
Montogmery pointed out that taking a student to the high school twice a day to tend their animals could create an unnecessary hardship for parents when it would be much easier for the students to care for the animals in their own backyards.
Martin said many of the homes in Decatur are built too close together to accommodate farm animals, even small ones such as goats and pigs.
“I personally don’t want a pig living next to me because they stink,” she said.
Other council members brought up concerns about setting weight limits, how many animals one child could raise and how to enforce the resolution.
“Boy, that would open a can of worms,” said police chief Terry Luker.
Councilman David Sutton said he felt a prerequisite to owning an animal is having a proper area to raise it.
Alderman Reagina Davis suggested the goat’s owner be given a couple of weeks to find another place to keep the animal.
ATV Rodeo
In other business councilman Trip Lapham reported attendance at Saturday’s ATV Rodeo was less than expected. Lapham said attendance may have been down because the rodeo was not held last year.
He said several ideas for marketing the ATV Rodeo next year have been discussed, including using social media such as Facebook and Craigslist. Lapham also said the people who attended the event loved the facility and only about a third of the space available was used, leaving plenty of room for growth.
New Service Truck
The council voted to allow the water department to purchase a new service truck. The water department’s current service truck is 14 years old, city utilities director James Boston said.
The new truck will be a one-ton, with dual wheels, four- wheel drive, a service bed and a hitch, Boston said. The new truck could also be used to push ice and snow if needed, he said.
Boston presented bids for a Ford and a Chevrolet. A Dodge was not available this year, he said. The 2011 Ford truck would cost $33,415 and the Chevrolet would cost $32,375, he said. Boston said he had no preference between the two brands.
The truck was already part of this year's budget, and since the chemical budget has been drastically cut, there will be plenty of money to pay for the truck, he said.
The council unanimously voted to approve the purchase and told Boston he could choose to buy either truck since the price difference between the two brands was insignificant.
News, Pages 1 on 06/16/2010