Allowing chickens in an urban setting was one of the topics discussed at Wednesday’s Clear Lake City Council meeting.

 

Rebecca White was in attendance Wednesday (meeting day changed because of Veteran’s Day) and she asked council to consider changing their ordinance to allow for city residents to have urban chickens.

 

White and her husband Clay had sent council an email which said, probably the most obvious reason to keep chickens is to provide a family with a steady supply of fresh, healthy eggs. Because one can control the chickens’ diet, thw Hites say, they know exactly what is going into the food ones family eats. Chickens can also provide a source of meat, although this is really for the hardcore in a backyard environment.

 

White’s email went on to say keeping chickens is good for the environment, as it allows one to opt out of the factory-farmed egg production system and eat super-local food. The chickens will also happily devour food scraps from the kitchen, as well as any trimmings and spent plants from your vegetable patch. Even lawn clippings, autumn leaves and other yard waste can be handed over to the chickens, the Whites say, and what they don’t eat will be turned over and broken down into compost remains. 

 

Probably one of the main reasons the Whites want chickens on their property is to allow their children the benefit of learning a lot about where food comes from by keeping backyard chickens. Their kids will also develop an appreciation of living things, be encouraged to explore the outdoors and be willing to learn the responsibility of feeding, watering and checking the health of their chickens.

 

Rebecca and Clay also provided council with a study done by the University of New Mexico in 2008 that did an examination of 25 cities who have allowed urban chickenry.

The Whites said they talked to two neighbors who would most be affected by the presence of chickens and they had no issues with the family having chickens as long as there were no roosters. The Whites plan to have a private, fenced-in backyard to accommodate the birds.

 

Council discussed and Dale Powers said he would like to wait on changing the ordinance until he has reviewed the facts and details of the New Mexico study and other city ordinances. The rest of council agreed and promised to address the issue in better light at their January council meeting.

 

Clerk Kari Mechtel told council their Finance Officer, Victoria Holthaus, has a new job with a new firm and her charges for services to the city would greatly increase. Council suggested Mechtel get some training on finances to minimize or eliminate the needs for Holthaus’ services.

 

Mechtel said her biggest areas of concern as far as handling the city’s finances would be taking care of utility rates, annual audits and bonding.

 

Mechtel is in the process of contacting the Minnesota Rural Water Association about training for such services.

 

Council voted to approve approximately $2,605 annually to be paid to the city for the services of snowplowing county roads in exchange for road repairs made by Sherburne County.

 

Public Works Supervisor Dustin Luhning said he estimated his fuel and wages for snowplowing those county roads to be somewhere around $3,480 annually.

Council approved the statement of $2,600+.

 

Luhning said his department experienced numerous equipment and vehicle breakdowns during last week’s huge snowstorm, but he was able to “put band-aids” on the trucks and finish the plowing.

 

“The first snow and of course we end up having all these problems,” said Luhning.

 

Luhning also was thankful Mayor Tim Goenner chipped in and helped plow with his own personal vehicle.

 

• Council discussed the possibility of a future bypass for the city in which Clear Lake is waiting on a traffic study and information from the state before considering their options;

 

• Late utilities charges were certified to the county;

 

• Luhning said the city’s white truck used for all purposes has transmission issues and will need to be replaced in the near future.

 

The next Clear Lake City Council meeting is Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.