LAGRANGE – The LaGrange town council met Thursday evening at 7 p.m. to discuss local expenses, projects and concerns from residents.

Mayor Mark Marshall, along with Council Members Mike Huseby, Diane Humphrey, Mike Myensburg and Kirk Haas were all present, along with town Clerk/Treasurer Cathy Stoddard.

The first topic of business discussed for the evening involved concern among town members regarding an ordinance that prevents an unlimited number of chickens a resident can keep in an owned coup.

Various LaGrange residents spoke before the council, contending that given the remote location of the community, residents should be able to keep as many chickens on their property without a certain limit, adding that the poultry and eggs the birds provide are a valued commodity.

“I go to these council meetings all the time and never heard anything about a chicken ordinance,” LaGrange resident, Peggy Oedekoven said. “The council spent three months going over the codebook, and these meetings include visitor involvement, and no animals were mentioned except for dogs. Shouldn’t the council members be writing their own ordinances? Nobody has physically enforced this rule, and I would like to keep all my chickens both male and female.”

Mayor Marshall noted the concerns of the town members and advocated that although town ordinance states there must be a certain limit, the idea of changing the ordinance to accommodate responsible residents would be an open option. Marshall further noted the appreciation of residents providing food for themselves, rather than choosing to purchase product from large corporate companies.

“I think there is a lot of misunderstanding in the process of doing this,” Marshall began. “I am not against anybody owning chickens. If you go to the store, it’s a little tough. Just the other day at Wal-Mart, there were just a few cartons of eggs left. Some people have to have them. I want to protect my council because they made a decision. There isn’t an ordinance that can’t be turned around, and it’s not carved on the sidewalk in stone. I appreciate the hard work you’ve done, but you have to have ordinances.”

Marshall continued that health and wellness plays a vital role in having ordinances with animals such as chickens. The mayor used Bird Flu or Avian Flu as a prime example in this, but also explained to LaGrange residents that personal responsibility and trust can always lead to positive change with certain town rules.

“If it becomes a matter of illness, we have ordinances to handle that,” continued Marshall. “Things change and times change. Covid was a total flip, and it changed things. 9/11 was a game changer, and airports will never be the same. I want to be known as someone who trusts the judgement of people with their own business. I want to trust the people because you are trying to trust us too. I have no problem with just saying 20 chickens. Of course I know some will overdo it, but I don’t want to tell someone that they can’t do it. Occasionally a chicken will get out, but we are fine with this. We will try it and read it until its everyone is in agreement. If not, we will work on it until we get it right.” 

Marshall once again joked with the council, as well as town residents about large, corporate poultry.

“I just don’t want to see Tyson move in here and buy up all the ground. In the meantime, eat your chicken and eggs.” 

Councilwoman, Diane Humphrey, agreed with Marshall, noting that at times having one too many animals on a property can negatively affect a next-door neighbor if the animals are not maintained or controlled properly.

Humphrey was also very remindful of respect and proper communication among residents. 

“As the mayor said, we have to have some control and some respect,” Humphrey said. “You learn to get along with your neighbors and community, and you try to improve it. If you care about LaGrange, you will try to make sure that if you keep some chickens, you do so in a way that is respectful to everyone around them so that you don’t offend them. If they come to you, you don’t fight with them.”

Humphrey also joked when it came to taking personal responsibility, noting a longtime U.S. adversary.

“This isn’t Russia. We aren’t going to tell you how big a coup you can have. You have to take it on yourself. You have to live in this community, and we should try to balance that in everything we do with each other. LaGrange is a beautiful town, and everyone needs to take care of each other. If it gets to be a bad thing, it will wind up with all these other things that go wrong.”

The council finished the discussion by motioning for new town chicken Ordinance No. 82, which will change the prior ordinance stating it to be unlawful to have an unlimited number of chickens on one’s property.

The new ordinance would state that a new limit of 20 chickens will be introduced and will be presented for the first motion at the next meeting in September. 

The council further discussed the issue of town ordinances, with some having been passed long ago and are still in effect. Councilmembers noted to community members the importance of reviewing them occasionally and staying up to date on awareness.

“People have to step up and pay attention”, Councilman Kirk Hass stated. “These get posted on newsletters, and at the post office. People have to step up and watch for that.”

Town Clerk/Treasurer Cathy Stoddard noted during the meeting an upcoming requirement by the Department of Audit (DOA), which would require a degree of training for local elected officials.

“Everybody needs to complete the public officer training by the DOA,” Stoddard said. “An officer is a person who is directly responsible for handling the accounts for their office, the governing body, clerk or treasurer. The same goes for the Cemetery Board and Fire Board. There’s a lot of really good information in there and a section on the governing body, so there’s a lot of roles and duties.”

A final matter of business for the evening involved community members advocating for a street line dance to be held Saturdays on the 19 through the 28 of August. The dance will include an instructor providing lessons as well as music. The events will be held on the first intersection of LaGrange, right next to the Post Office.

Stoddard once again added a little humor to the meeting.

“When it comes to learning to dance, either try it or don’t watch.”

The meeting adjourned promptly at 8:39 p.m., and will reconvene on September 14 at 7 p.m.