The Atlantic City Council will meet in a regular session beginning at 5:30-p.m. at City Hall. Among the items of discussion and possible action, allowing certain types of poultry to be raised within the City Limits. During the Council’s last meeting, Atlantic resident Jillian Scarf presented a proposal to amend the City Code or Ordinances, which currently bans keeping poultry in town.

Since then, the Community Protection Commission has met and discussed the matter. They voted 2-to 1 in favor of amending the ordinance, which defines the “Keeping of livestock.” City Administrator John Lund said at the CPC meeting, that he’s spoken with officials in Red Oak, Shenandoah and Harlan. The latter does not allow chickens at all. Shenandoah is nearly identical to Atlantic, and Red Oak allows chickens, but only with a permit issued by the City Administrator, and with certain requirements in place. Following the discussion, the Council will hear again from Jillian Scarf, who is expected to request two hens and one cockerel be allowed on her private property.

In other business, the Council will hold the first and final reading of an Ordinance amending the Code, that allows the sale of fireworks beginning in mid-June, but limits when they can be used to the hours of 6-p.m. until midnight on July 4th, and from dusk New Year’s Eve until 12:15-a.m. New Year’s Day. In a letter to the Council, Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees said in-part, “I am concerned that there are no buffer zones for certain areas I would like to see included. In particular around school buildings and assisted living facilities such as the ANRC or Allen House etc. I would like to see at least a 300 foot zone around them to try and protect them from aerial devices that could cause a fire.”

McNees said also, “Even though I would prefer the use [of fireworks] to be banned I realize the enforcement issue reality. With that in mind I grudgingly urge that the allowable hours be reviewed from what is proposed. If fireworks are only allowed on the 4th from 6 to 12 a.m., then it will concentrate the activities and responses IF everyone follows the law. Having said that, we know that won’t happen. I think its reasonable to assume people will be shooting them off all day on the 4th and for days around it as well. Perhaps extending the hours on the 4th would help the police and possible the fire dept . I will guarantee the 911 center will be inundated with calls beginning in June as people start buying fireworks and shooting them off. People are only going to hear that fireworks have been legalized in Iowa.”

Another order of business for the Atlantic City Council, is the setting of June 3rd, 2017 as the date for a Public Hearing to Amend the FY 2017 Budget, which City Administrator John Lund says is needed to reconcile the current budget with final expenditures, and is a “Routine matter.”