City council met June 24 where all aldermen were present but very few residents showed up. The highlight of the evening was the decision to uphold a 1952 ordinance that outlaws swine in the city limits.
Alderman Mickey Schneider argued that pot-bellied pigs and small breeds of domestic pigs should be considered pets and made legal inside city limits because they offer comfort to their owners, are not raised for agricultural purposes, and are no heavier than some dogs.
Schneider referred to other cities that allow small pigs in the city limits to make an objective argument. She fought hard, but when the entire left side of the table argued against her, especially alderman Terry McClung, things got heated. Schneider even went so far as to attack alderman Susan Harman when referring to her as the person with a “bee up her butt” about the pet pigs that currently reside in Harman’s neighborhood.
Schneider submitted letters from Harman’s neighbors who acknowledged the pigs in their neighborhood and were in favor of them residing in the city limits. Harman asked to see those letters but it was to no avail at the vote where only Schneider and alderman Melissa Greene were against withholding the ordinance.
Greene said in the follow-up conversation that she voted that way because she cannot support taking someone’s pets away from them. After the vote Schneider said she would fight this and believes this should be put to a vote of the people.
Downtown street drinking a possibility
In other news, James DeVito presented a notification to council regarding new legislation that will allow for towns to select entertainment districts to allow alcoholic beverages on the street in an open container. DeVito was in favor of this and asked for council’s consideration to slowly adopt these measures. He said he felt this could improve tourism in the evening hours of the downtown and would be an incentive for the stores to stay open after 5 p.m.
City still working on a suitable meeting space
And finally, Mayor Butch Berry announced that the city did not receive the federal grant funds that would allow the Auditorium basement to be remodeled for ADA regulation updates and provide an improved meeting hall. Berry asked for approval of another grant resolution to turn the downtown fire station located across from City Hall into a meeting space if the fire trucks were backed out of their garage stall.
Berry, who is an architect, offered to donate the architectural services estimated at $4,800. The overall cost estimate for turning the fire station into a community room is $53,834.
Alderman Bob Thomas responded that he still believes bringing the Auditorium basement up to ADA standards is doable. He said that events now taking place in the basement makes it even more important to follow through with the improvements the city has been talking about for over a year-and-a-half.
The next regular meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Monday, July 8, in the Auditorium.