.jpg)
In a special meeting on April 10 the Babbitt city council reversed course and gave approval to people having chickens in city limits.
The council then went into a closed session which resulted in city clerk-treasurer Robecca Jaeger resigning from her position.
Council member Jim Lassi said a public hearing was held on chickens by the Planning Commission but there wasn’t any testimony on the subject.
At the April 10 meeting there was a presentation by Chris Israel on why chickens should be allowed.
“I guess for me, I think it’s nice anytime that I can know where my food comes from. I wanna do that. So I know that if I have chickens, I get my own eggs, and I know that they haven’t sat on a shelf for six months,” said Israel.
This issue has been in front of the city council several times, including on April 1 when Duane Lossing was absent.
At that time Lassi said the planning commission voted earlier in the day to not allow chickens in town.
“Every member of the planning commission was not in favor of allowing chickens to be raised in Babbitt,” said Lassi.
The council tabled the issue at that time after noting it would take four votes to pass and with Lassi opposed there were only three in favor.
The public had also weighed in on the issue in a survey the city sent out with utility bills that showed a 51-49 percent opposition to allowing people to have chickens in town.
“The Great Chicken Poll of 2024”showed169opposedand 161 in favor of the 330 votes through utility bills.
At the April 10 meeting, Israel was critical of the survey.
“I know that I talked to countless people that have never seen that survey. I had not spoken to a single renter who ever had seen a survey. I guess the way I look at it is if renters are allowed to vote in city elections, they should have had a say in that too. “ Israel said the issue has been a bit overblown.
“I don’t feel like it’s a super huge deal, it needs policing or anything like that. Obviously there’s gonna be some regulations that people are gonna have to abide by and we get that. That's fine. But I guess short and sweet that’s all I’ve got to say.”
Mayor Andrea Zupancich then asked for a motion to allow chickens in the residential district. John Fitzpatrick made the motion and it was seconded by Lossing.
Lassi spoke against the motion “We did a town survey and it did come back favorable for people who were opposed to this, and I guess I feel like I should honor that. The desire of some of the people to have and raise chickens shouldn’t be put in a way that it diminishes the property value or the tranquility of the neighborhood. I just feel very strongly that chickens, one person could have a chicken coop and he would affect five or six neighbors.
“They’re gonna be clucking, they’re gonna be moving around, they’re gonna be pooping. There’s gonna be smell, there could also be vermin coming in, being attracted. And I just think it’s a bad idea for that. And that’s how I feel. I just don’t think it belongs in town. If we go chickens and what the next one, we’ll have rabbits and oh, price of beef went up a little bit too so about if we have a couple of cattle, you know, ducks. Where does it end?
“So, this is my point. I know I’ll be on the short end of a vote. I see the handwriting on the wall, I strongly object,” said Lassi.
Zupancich said, “I guess the only thing I have to say is that I know there are towns around us that have chickens and I know big cities allow chickens like Chicago, for example, the city of Tower allows chickens, we have chickens in North Babbitt right across the street. So, as long as everyone abides by the rules and obtains the proper permits, I don’t think it’s any different than, there are some neighbors that have dogs that are louder than chickens.”
White gave his opinion too. “I grew up with them with ducks as well, which ducks would be way more stickier than chickens are. I grew up in Ely. We had them in our backyard and never had complaints by neighbors, never. A lot of people had them. Honestly, I truly believe that most people in the town aren’t even gonna get them anyway. There’s gonna be a lot of hype and excitement initially, but you'll probably find one in maybe every 50 homes will have some chickens. They are expensive to maintain and feed. Plus if you get six hens, you’re gonna have a ton of eggs. The town will be supplying the county with eggs if too many people get them.”
With that discussion ended after less than 10 minutes and on a roll call vote the motion passed 4-1 with Lassi voting no.
Lassi said the Planning Commission won’t want to deal with implementation and suggested it be sent to the city attorney.
The council held a study session on Tuesday to talk about hiring a new clerk-treasurer without elaborating why Jaeger resigned.
Jaeger came to Babbitt from the Town of Great Scott in November of 2023. She was hired on a 3-2 vote. Of the three votes, only Lassi is still on the council.
Throughout her time here there were questions on the financial re ports she presented and questions were raised after she gave herself a raise without council approval.
Zupancich said she reached out to firms that could come in and help the city in the interim as well as review financial records going back to Jan. 1, 2024.
Tom Kelly of the city auditor’s of- fice said the cash balance has been off by as much as over $200,000. He said he has been working with city staff to reconcile the books.
“We’re going back quite a few months to do that,” said Kelly who added that number has already been whittled down to $157,000.
Zupancich said the city should prepare to spend anywhere from $2,500 to $25,000 to get city finan cial records back in order.
Deputy clerk-treasurer Sara Powell said she would be comfortable with taking over payroll in the absence of a clerk.
