KANOPOLIS — After several months of discussion, the Kanopolis City Council voted not to proceed with an ordinance permitting chickens within the city limits.

“Enforcement is probably the biggest worry for me,” Mayor Anthony Hopkins said. “Towns like Lindsborg and Wilson, Salina, Clay Center allow chickens, but have a full-time police force.”

More than two dozen residents gathered July 12 at the Kanopolis Community Center to discuss the possibility of permitting chickens within the city limits.

Gary Russell has lived in Kanopolis since 1952.

“I helped organize getting rid of barnyard animals in this town to move this town forward instead of backward,” he said. “I want to know which council member will check chicken yards to be sure the chickens are watered, clean.”

Levi Schneider also expressed concern about the potential ordinance.

“The civic club and men’s club have done a lot for the city,” he said. “They do a lot of cleanup for our town. I’ve lived on a farm my whole life. I know what chickens take.

“A few people could handle chickens, a lot of our town can’t keep up what they got.”

Resident Miranda Fleming originally presented the request to permit chickens within the city limits at the April meeting.

“I hear what everyone says about keeping the town clean, and I agree,” she said. “If you want a cookie cutter, you have to live in a HOA (Home Owner’s Association).

“When we have company come visit, they’re young people with families. They love our town. It’s friendly.”

Eli Hernandez, who was born in Kanopolis, but lived many years in Chicago, expressed a desire for peace within the community.

“I think this chicken thing should go by the wayside, and let the harmony of this community be our guide,” he said. “We’re all grown ups. The most important thing that we as a group of people can do is stay happy.”

Teresa and Joe Schwartz recently moved to Kanopolis.

“In WWII, we had victory gardens,” she said. “Chickens go hand-in-hand with gardening. The waste from food and bugs can be fed to lessen the feed.”

“I was born and raised in Chicago, I’ve taken to this city life and I love it,” Joe said of Kanopolis. “You couldn’t get me back in Chicago if you tried.

“I agree with some things. Anything can get out of control. There’s a limit to how many cars you can have. There should be a limit to how many chickens you can have. We’re expected to cut our grass, we’re expected to have abandoned cars out of our yards. We should just follow the rules.”

The city sent a nonbinding questionnaire in the May water bill. The results were presented during the June meeting.

“The results were almost 3-to-1 in favor of allowing them,” Hopkins said. “I was highly surprised at the results. The last time we went through this, it felt like a loud minority was the ones who wanted chickens. I thought the majority wouldn’t vote yes.” LeAnn Ploutz remembers previous experiences with chickens in town.

“We had to deal with the chickens in the alley behind us,” she said. “We had chickens in our yard all the time. We had smell, we had feces, we had feathers. The coop was unsightly. The neighborhood possums were in the garage every night. We’ve had to deal with it before.

“Miranda is a neighbor and I know she will take care of it. But it’s the ones we know that won’t take care of it (that we oppose).”

The council listened to all comments, and weighed in before its final vote.

“People need their voice. It’s part of our government,” council member Tom Wilkinson said. “People need to participate.

“What enforcement would we have? We got to have some balance. At this point is it attractive to me, looking at our budget every month, to spend more money on enforcement? I don’t think we want to spend our money in that direction.”

Council member Rebekah Tripp said additional enforcement is a good idea.

“To me, being a teacher, moving an entire grade level over here … we have other issues I would like an officer (in Kanopolis) for,” she said.

Jim Zvolanek said he has been a resident of Kanopolis for 11 years.

“I grew up with chickens in the country,” the council member said. “Chickens I don’t believe belong in a town. This is not a farm, it’s a residential town. I’m strong against. I don’t believe they belong in a town.”

Fleming said she wasn’t surprised by the final, unanimous vote.

“I’m sad and disappointed,” she said in an interview following the meeting. “Visiting with other community members who weren’t able to be at the meeting, they had some constructive ideas that might have worked. I don’t think it would have changed the outcome.”

Mayor Hopkins said he wanted to keep the process moving along and avoid any bad feelings in the community.

“I felt very good about this meeting,” Fleming said. “Afterwards, we were all chatting, nobody was making nasty comments or sideways looks. Everyone was really respectful to each other.

“We tried, and it’s a democracy. I respect the council’s decision. That’s their job. I think the council has done a good job with the town. It’s a wonderful town to live in.” In other business:

In other business:

• Resident Dawnae Bunch requested the old water fountain in the park be addressed. She said some kids use it as a urinal, and council agreed it could be filled in.

• Demolition will move forward at 304 S. Colorado.

• The city received an additional change for the street sealing quote from South Central Sealing & Paving. The council took no action.

“We’ll have to wait till they tell us they’re going to be here, and we’ll see what the bid is in August,” Hopkins said.

• Voted to retain Sherman, Hoffman & Miller as the city attorney.

• The council discussed the city’s budget.

“I would prefer to keep this revenue neutral so people aren’t having an increase on their property taxes,” Hopkins said. “If we leave the mill levy the same, people have an increase on taxes. Because the valuation has increased, I’m in favor of lowering the mill levy.”

• Approved a GAAP wavier, which permits the auditors to complete the audit.