Mexico City Council Meets In Work & Regular Session

The Mexico City Council is giving the Mexico Planning & Zoning Commission some guidance on updating Mexico’s animal ordinance when it comes to chickens.

Chickens are currently allowed in the city limits, but the provision of the ordinance that the enclosure housing them needs to be 200 feet from any adjoining tract of land or property line makes it all but impossible due to the size of city lots.

During a work session tonight (Monday), the Council agreed that the 200 foot portion of the ordinance needs to be re-visited by Planning & Zoning and also discussed having a permit required to keep chickens in the city.

The fee for the permit should be minimal and come with a copy of the ordinance for the permit holder so that they know exactly what can and cannot be done.

The other part of the work session was an update from Mexico Parks & Recreation Director Chad Shoemaker.

The new water slide for the Fairgrounds Aquatic Center has risen in price and is now approaching $700,000.

Roughly half of that money is on hand either as budgeted items or through fundraising campaigns and the city expects a decision on an ARPA funds grant of over $300,000 by month’s end.

The other primary issue addressed by Shoemaker is the health of Kiwanis Lake in Plunkett Park.

An engineering study revealed excessive levels of phosphorous in the lake that cannot be fixed through the addition of chemical treatments.

The study recommended draining the lake and dredging out the sediment base which varies from 1 foot to 3.5 feet in depth at an expense of over $600,000 and that could extend the life of the lake by 30 to 40 years.

The council approved minutes of the last regular and special sessions, paid bills, and then adjourned into executive session for real estate matters and legal advice.