Liberty Borough to update 75-year-old fowl ordinance

Mayor Larry Sikorski said one owner of chickens “isn’t playing by the rules.”

By THOMAS LETURGEY
For the MVI

Liberty Borough officials are planning an update of their fowl ordinance.

The two-page ordinance was put into place on May 2, 1950, and last updated on Sept. 9, 1987. “Keeping of Animals” was a real concern with the borough’s mayor, Charles A. Heft, charged with looking after things such as coop maintenance.

Seventy-five years later, Liberty’s Health and Ordinance Committee has been charged with looking at chickens, ducks, poultry and similar animals. According to Solicitor Matt Racunas, an updated ordinance could be ready for council’s next workshop meeting Aug. 13.

Mayor Larry Sikorski said when the original ordinance was created, no one agreed on whether “fowl” were “animals” like horses, donkeys, cows, dogs and pigs.

Liberty is not flush with fowl, but Sikorski said “two or three” residents among the 2,300 or so in the borough maintain chickens “and one isn’t playing by the rules.”

Sikorski said the ordinance needs to be updated due to safety concerns.

“If a chicken gets into the street, and somewhere serves, there could be an accident,” he said. “A little common sense would go a long way.”

He is most concerned with making sure the chickens aren’t running around aimlessly. The ordinance reads that animals or pets cannot be a nuisance.

Mayors have always been called upon to check with the chicken coop owners to make sure soil is spaded and turned twice a year, pens are whitewashed, they are properly fed, etc. There are also sanitary restrictions and guidelines to follow when chickens are prepared and sold.

The borough has an annual fee for each head of chicken. Sikorski said one owner paid for two or three chickens and had 13. No one immediately knew the annual fee amount Tuesday night.

“It’s never been a problem before,” he said.

In the revised document from 1987, violators could be sent to the Magistrate and potentially fined $1,000 — more than $2,829 in today’s money.

“We are trying to close some of these gaps,” Sikorski continued. “The ordinance has been around too long.”

He says the owners of fowl in the borough need to “do what you need to do, or we’ll shut you down.”

Council approved a motion to accept a $46,800 bid from Plavchak Construction of Elizabeth to renovate council chambers. Engineer Lou Corrales of Glenn Engineering said flooring will be updated, walls painted, the wall behind borough officials will be removed and new dry wall will be installed.

“It’s a face lift,” he said. Work can begin once the contract is sent out and returned. Corrales said it could be 30-45 days before the project may start.

Council also approved a motion to purchase a trailer for the new excavator at a price not to exceed $10,000.