A local Boy Scout Troop got a taste of Cookeville city government, addressing two issues it considered important: the skate park and chickens.
Local Troop 156 member Alex Asimango asked when the skate park bathrooms would be operational. The park and the bathrooms closed after several vandalism issues at the park. Director of Leisure Services Rick Woods said the city reopened only the park.
“I understand that if you’re going to be there for an extended period of time, it’s very convenient to have,” Woods said. “But we did get that request when we opened the skate park again, but left the restrooms closed.”
Troop member Adam Ragadauli said he had issue with city regulations limiting chickens inside the city limits.
Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton said regulation changes like this could involve changing the city code. Council Member Eric Walker said drawing the line on this type of regulation could prove trickier than expected.
“How many chickens is too many chickens,” Walker said. “I mean if you were going to keep chickens and we were going to change the category with, you know, what number of chickens is the appropriate number of chickens for somebody to have before it’s a farming operation.”
Councilman Ali Bagci said the animal control section of the city code contains a minimum acreage requirements and maximum number of animals per acreage.
“When you’ve got a 10,000 square foot lots of what is a number that wouldn’t be, you know, a health, safety, welfare issue for neighboring properties,” Bagci said.
Wheaton said city officials would be glad to discuss the subject again. Ragadauli said he had an email exchange with the city in March, but there has been no contact for over six months.
Wheaton said she welcomed the troop wanting to learn more about how government works.
“We always love having any troops here” Wheaton said. “And the participation, that was even better. Yes. We love having people participate and be involved in our community because it means you care.”
