CR Council -- Chickens and Art

Agriculture and culture, rolled into one Cedar Rapids City Council meeting. Served with gravy and a biscuit.

Chickens -- The council waded once again into the seemingly endless backyard chicken saga. No need to ponder the question of which came first, the chicken, the egg or the backyard chicken ordinance. It's no contest.

The council had to give final approval to the ordinance allowing up to six hens in a backyard coop, along with licensing fees.

Depending on where you roost, the council is either making a small allowance to accommodate some hobby farming, or it's let just slip the chicks of henageddon.

"I never thought the Cedar Rapids City Council would be discussing chickens...Rather strange."" said longtime animal welfare advocate Audrey Rahn.  She argued that the city's poor record on animal safety made it a bad idea to add any more critters to the legal list.

Oh, and there's that small matter of an invasion of chicken-craving raccoons.

"Come on down, there's going to be a lot of chicken dinners," said Rahn, briefly acting the part of a hungry raccoon.

Then came Craig Seeley of Cedar Rapids, whom I consider to be the Jackson Pollock of public comment time. You never know what he's going to splash upon the grand canvass of discourse.

Seeley argued that chickens would bring West Nile virus and maybe even the bird flu, turning "backyard neighborhoods" into "petri dishes."

"Kids don't mow lawns," Seeley exclaimed in trying to make a case that no one would take care of these poor, diseased chickens.

Mark Johnson of Cedar Rapids rose in defense. "If people aren't responsible enough to take care of dogs, we don't talk about outlawing dogs," he said.

Then came a plot twist.

Council member Tom Podzimek announced that he had purchased a chicken from a farm at Palo and named it "Sunday Dinner." And because someday, he might sell Sunday Dinner's eggs, he had to recuse himself from voting.

That set off considerable clucking in the room.

After the meeting, Podzimek explained that he really did buy a chicken. But his actual aim was to mock what he believes is a council that's lost sight of its priorities. His voice rose in frustration as he described a constituent with a demolished house and no buyout check perched on the brink of insolvency.

"And what's moved to the top of our priority list as a council?" Podzimek said Wednesday morning. "The only question about chicken should be extra crispy or regular."

Podzimek says he has no plan to bring Sunday Dinner to town. For one thing, he doesn't have a backyard.

Council member Chuck Swore, however, doesn't see backyard chickens as a major problem or a major issue.

"For heaven's sake, if all that happens," Swore said to chicken concerns. "we'll put a stop to it....(Chicken backers) have convinced me they're going to do it right. I hope a year from now it won't be a conversation for anybody."

In the end, the council voted 5-2 to allow chickens. And believe it or not, interim City Manager Allan Thoms informed the council that it must take up the matter one more time in a couple of weeks.

Art -- Then, the council got downright artsy.

Although no official vote was taken, a council consensus clearly emerged around updating a long-ignored ordinance that says the city may spend up to 1 percent of a public project's budget on visual arts.

A clear council majority wants to change that oft-sidestepped "may" to a strong "shall," requiring that the city budget 1 percent of total project costs for art, landscaping or other aesthetic pursuits. They also want to be able to pool dollars from  less-art-worthy projects to bankroll larger endeavors.

They directed staff to turn their artistic vision into legal-ease.

"This community is known for its arts," said Council member Don Karr. It turns out The Cowboy was once a young art student who studied under Marvin Cone.

"The arts is our soul," Karr said.

Over the last 10 years, if past council's had heeded the "may" language, the city would have spent $350,000 on visual arts. And if the council adopts "shall," it will need to plan for some additional costs -  insurance, maintenance, lighting and other potential add-ons.

Still, the council seemed more inspired than worried.

"I think if we build without art, it's a disservice," said Mayor Pro-Tem Monica Vernon. "We've got to build with inspiration."

A few council members hoped that art also could be used to improve the look of the city's entryways. "The airport is beautiful. Then you c0me to town," Swore said, panning the asthetic sensibilities of I-380.

And maybe, just maybe, art might draw in some visitors.

"It would be better than the chickens," Karr said.