George council OKs chickens, tables park district

GEORGE — Pavement, parks and poultry were among the topics of discussion at the George City Council meeting Tuesday.

The first order of business was bids for street improvements to North Washington Way and East Montmorency Boulevard. The low bidder was Wheeler Excavation, which City Attorney Chuck Zimmerman pointed out had performed street improvements on South Washington Way. The council voted to award the contract to Wheeler for just less than $1.2 million.

The question of whether George should be part of the proposed Quincy Valley Regional Parks District was tabled for the time being. The Quincy City Council voted June 6 to submit a ballot measure for the November election to form a parks and recreation district. The district would fund the construction and operation of a sports complex called the Q-Plex and a water park called Q-Aquatic.

The district’s boundaries would be the same as those of the Quincy School District, which includes George and some unincorporated territory between the two cities. However, the George City Council has the choice of whether to include George in that vote or not. Zimmerman explained to the council that agreeing to participate in that election could mean George was stuck in the new park district whether residents wanted to be or not. As an example, he cited a past election in Chelan and Douglas counties regarding a shared fire district.

“Everybody says we'll put it on the ballot and let the voters decide,” Zimmerman said. “And that's what occurred in that instance … and what the voters said (as a group) was yes. Over 50% of the voters voted in favor of combining those two entities together as one. However, the voters in Douglas County said no. But there were far more voters in Wenatchee, in Chelan County Fire District No. 1, and so that overrode what the outcome was there.”

Quincy’s population is about 10 times that of George, which would put George in a similar position. If the city decides not to participate in the vote, its residents will not be considered residents of the park district and would have to pay a higher fee to use the Quincy facilities than residents of Quincy or the surrounding unincorporated areas. The council voted to hold a public meeting at an unspecified future date and invite residents to give their opinion before committing to a vote.

The only public comment of the meeting was on the city ordinance regarding keeping chickens at private residences in the city. Currently, the city allowed up to four chickens – hens only, no roosters – per residence, with specifications as to the placement of the coops. That ordinance had been passed on a temporary basis and was set to expire on June 30 if the council didn’t vote before then to make it permanent. George resident Michael Pambrun expressed his opposition to continuing the ordinance, citing problems he had observed in the neighborhood around the library.

“There was like 10 or 15 chickens running all over the street,” Pambrun said. “Now, is there somebody who's supposed to take care of this, to enforce the idea that chickens are supposed to be kept in pens in the yard?”

“There is an enforcement and I know that for some people, letters have been going out, as we noticed them,” answered Council Member Julie Schooler. “But have you reached out to the city and let them know this, or is this the first time that you're letting us know about the area?”

“I have,” Pambrun said. “And there's one other thing I’d like to bring up. Three years ago, the AMA did a study on backyard fowl, mainly chickens. It was (a) proven fact that backyard chickens produce more disease than (chickens on farms). They've distributed more diseases to the people who raise them, and anybody in the surrounding areas. So if you're going to have the ordinance, and the chickens are running around, that's not a safe thing.”

“Thank you,” Schooler said. “We definitely know the area and we’ll take a look. There's a lot of research going on both sides.”

The council voted to repeal the sunset clause and make chicken ownership permanently legal.

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.