The Auxvasse Board of Aldermen continue to discuss altering city ordinances to allow residents chicken ownership.
The board of aldermen heard public comments regarding the ordinance at its meeting Tuesday night. Community members Jessica Hooks, Fancy Gathwright and Christy Fasching formed a petition in an effort to change the city's current ordinance, which makes it unlawful to keep chickens in city limits. They attended the board's meeting Tuesday to discuss their petition.
The three agree stipulations concerning complaints and coops should be set in place to regulate the new potential ordinance.
"This is a farming community!" Hooks said. "It's almost sacrilegious to not have chickens."
After Tuesday night's discussion, the board agreed a change needs to be made, but still has questions on the best approach to writing a new ordinance.
North Ward Alderwoman Stephanie Leverett remains concerned about how the city will regulate an ordinance that allows chickens when the city continues to have issues with other domesticated animals, she said.
"I want to hear how other cities do it," Leverett said. "I don't want to pass an ordinance on the belief that it will self-regulate."
Alderman Terry Walker, however, is under a different impression.
"I think (the new ordinance should be) simple, self-regulating, done," Walker said.
Both Hooks and Fasching -who are determined to see an ordinance change - volunteered to help community members who want to raise chickens and to find homes for chickens that are abandoned. They also believe keeping chickens can bring money into the local economy if the city hosted a local farmer's market through the sale of eggs. Furthermore, the residents argued, it could improve the education system for children interested in raising chickens for the local 4-H club.
"This is heritage we should be proud of," Hooks said.
Auxvasse aldermen continue to mull over possible noise and odor complaints and chicken dwellings.
"If other cities are doing fine, my concern level goes way down," Leverett said.
According to chapter 14 of Fulton's code of ordinances, residents are allowed to have 10 chickens per acre of land, but other stipulations concerning enclosures or odor and noise complaints are not in effect. According to chapter five of Columbia's code of ordinances, only six female chickens are allowed per tract of land, enclosures are required at all times, chickens must be secured within a hen house during non-daylight hours and odor and noise caused by the chickens should not be perceptible by neighbors.
Also discussed during the board meeting were the final steps of the city's water project. The board agreed to extend the June 22 deadline 30 days, 15 less than the contractor requested as an extension.
Problems which have delayed the water improvement project include morning rains and projects with unforeseen outcomes - an abandoned sewer line which contained ground water was intercepted while contractors were laying piping for one of the new water lines. A project which was expected to take 45 minutes took two hours to complete, City Supervisor Mike Bertschinger told the board.
Four system connections need to be made and the well house needs to be finalized before the water project is complete.