The Wednesday, May 2 Fountain Council meeting was largely an agenda of old business. However, one item of new business, a resident request, brought forth a good deal of discussion.
Fountain resident Emily Root brought forth a request to keep chickens on her property. Currently, city ordinances prohibit farm-type animals within city limits. Root is proposing keeping 10 hens, no rooster, on the north wall of a privacy fence on the property. She is considering a structure, roughly 10-feet by 15-feet, with a concrete floor and one quarter-inch hardware cloth fencing surrounding the exterior run. The building is proposed to be greenhouse with chicken coop, complete with sealed supply area. All measures are designed to keep from anything digging in or out of the coop, run, and greenhouse.
She has discussed the matter with neighboring residents and claims there have been no objections. “I don’t feel, in the grand scheme of things, that you have to think about that this isn’t a big deal,” said Root. “It will be well maintained. I’ve owned them before and I want to work with the city to make sure it’s successful.” Root, who works with Public Health, has offered to help the city with any new or modified ordinance for the chickens.
Mayor Richard Kujath noted that the city had worked hard to get farm animals out of the city. “I know you’ll take care of them, but we’re opening a can of worms for the whole community. Where do we put the control on all of it?” he asked. “That’s why we have an ordinance in place. We’ve had previous complaints of other animals and I think the council really wants to give this more thought before making a decision. I worry about what other people might do.”
Councilor Jim Schott noted similar concern. “We want to help, but we’ve got to take the whole picture. It takes one person to mess it all up. I’d really like to look at this and talk about it.” Further discussion included whether or not chickens would need to be licensed, like dogs and cats currently are and whether or not a conditional use permit option could be considered.
Root suggested the ordinance could be limited to chickens only. “I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone,” she said. She also expressed a desire for each request to be handled on a case by case basis with a three strikes policy in place to ensure compliance. “This could be a good thing for our community,” she added. She also suggested the city could create rules for sizing, double fencing, and other maintenance measures.
“I’m really passionate about it. It’s good for our kids and we’re in a rural community. If conditions don’t meet certain expectations, I’m willing to do a six month check-in; anything to make it successful,” she continued. “I don’t want to be a bother to you and don’t want it to be a bother to the community.”
Mayor Kujath indicated the building itself, which shouldn’t be a concern for approval, would need to go before the Zoning Board for approval. “It’s an animal issue. To regulate it might be difficult,” he noted. The council will review the proposal and existing ordinance, in addition to similar ordinances of other municipalities. The matter will be discussed again at the June council meeting.
In other news, the council formally approved the utility rate increase. Discussed for several months, including at a public hearing, the increases are effective during the June billing cycle. The fee schedule will be changed to reflect the increase.
Mediacom representative Theresa Sunde was present at the meeting to discuss addition of Mediacom service to the City of Fountain residents. Per Minnesota Statute 238, a franchise agreement must be in place between the city and the provider. While the design is underway, the 8.1 miles and two nodes are going in at Mediacom’s cost of $218,900.
“Fiber is going by, so it just made sense for us to do this,” said? The city will be notified of node placement and a community event will be held once the project is underway. “We’re pushing to get it done. This is going to be a good thing,” she added.
A formal dedication for the new Veterans Memorial Park has been scheduled for Saturday, June 9 at 1 p.m.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Wednesday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m., at City Hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
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