Morton City Council discusses community garden and easing livestock restrictions as families struggle with continued inflation

Although Morton Mayor Rick Mead was not present, the Morton City Council still convened with a quorum led by Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Johnson on Monday, April 27, inside the Bob Lyle Community Center.

During the meeting, Morton City Councilor Jason Knutson proposed creating a community garden and amending city code to ease restrictions on owning farm animals within city limits to help those dealing with food insecurity with inflation back on the rise.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index inflation rate jumped from 2.4% in February to 3.3% in March. Since 2000, the annual inflation rate has averaged 2.6% a year, continuing nonstop pressure on people's pocketbooks.

"Securing food for families and using space that isn't being used for anything ... I think it would be cool as a community to get together and plan some kind type of community farming or garden," Knutson said. "Something that we can come together as a community and do, and also help people feed their families."

Other rural communities like Morton have community gardens, such as the Bucoda Community Garden - a collaborative effort involving the Bucoda Town Council, the Bucoda Improvement Club and the Thurston Conservation District.

Knutson's fellow councilors liked the garden idea. Johnson proposed putting an exploratory committee together to look into possible garden locations and funding options.

However, when it came to Knutson's proposal on easing farm animal restrictions in Morton, not everyone was on board with the idea. Specifically, Knutson wanted to remove the permit fee to make them more accessible to low-income families.

Chickens are allowed in city limits, but only after paying for a permit, which requires an inspection to ensure the chickens are being kept properly. Owning other livestock, including roosters, is prohibited.

"It's not that I want cows or goats walking down the middle of the road downtown," Knutson added.

Morton City Clerk LuAnn Ward explained the reason the code is the way it is. She said it is because, in the past, city staff have had to deal with animal abuse situations with people keeping chickens in coops that were substandard, homemade and often too small. Additionally, health hazards were created by rodents attracted by substandard livestock enclosures.

"It's just the few that spoil it for everybody else," Ward said. "Most people will take good care of their animals. You know, put your grain in a metal bucket so the rats can't get in it."

Currently, Ward said there are three Morton residents who currently have permits to keep chickens in town, but there are "probably" more residents in town keeping chickens without a permit. The cost of a chicken permit is $50 per property initially and $25 annually after that, according to the city code.

Morton City Councilor Peter Hansen suggested removing the fees but keeping the permitting system in order to still ensure residents were being responsible chicken owners.

"A big rebuttal when this first came about, and believe me, it went on for a while, was a lot of the neighbors were like, 'I don't want chickens right up against my fence line,'" Ward said. "That was part of this, too. It makes it so that you have to be so many feet inside the property line."

A motion was made to table the issue for further discussion until the next council meeting on Tuesday, April 26.

While normally the Morton City Council meets on the fourth Monday of each month, May 25 is the Memorial Day holiday, and during Monday's meeting the council also moved to hold their next meeting on the following Tuesday instead.

Also tabled during Monday's meeting was a proposal to upgrade the city's email software system made by Knutson, and a proposal to from Morton resident Nancy Pettijohn to start a community clean-up fund or program - with Pettijohn offering to make a $1,000 donation to help start the clean-up efforts.

Additionally, councilors officially approved acceptance of a $1,000 donation from the Lewis County ABATE (A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments) chapter for cleaning and maintenance at both Jubilee and Gust Backstrom parks, which had initially been offered by the ABATE chapter at March's Morton City Council meeting.

Tensions boil over

While most of the meeting was fairly uneventful, a heated exchange between councilors and public commenters occurred at the end.

Tessa Boyer, a resident who lives just outside of city limits and whose children attend Morton schools, stood up at the end of the meeting during public comment, taking issue with how she saw Johnson talking to another local at a yard sale the previous day.

At the beginning of Boyer's comment, an unidentified audience appeared to verbally threaten her, saying something to the effect of "be careful what you say" under their breath. But Boyer did not stop.

According to Boyer, Johnson was talking to the individual at the yard sale about voting and the actions of some of his fellow councilors - including one who had not taken off his hat during the pledge in a previous meeting, and another with a "F-ck ICE, no human is illegal" flag displayed on their personal property.

Boyer took issue with Johnson singling these particular councilors, and wanted to know if he took issue with "F-ck Biden" and "F-ck Harris" flags which have also been flown in town by other residents along with Confederate flags. She accused Johnson of engaging in divisive political campaigning.

After Boyer finished, Councilor Jason Sawyer, who is the one who did not take off his hat during the pledge previously, stated it was an accident that happened once, and also said he'd like Johnson to approach him directly if he had an issue with something Sawyer did.

Another unidentified audience member attempted to interrupt Sawyer while he was speaking, claiming he had seen Sawyer fail to remove his hat during the pledge four times.

Knutson was the councilor with the "F-ck ICE" flag Johnson was referring to.

Johnson responded to Boyer's comment, and maintained he was just advocating for the person to vote, but not vote in any particular fashion. He also stated he believed there was already an existing divide in town.

"I told her the most important thing you can do is vote, and depending on where you stand on this, it makes a difference. So if you think that's inappropriate, I understand," Johnson said.

After this, Johnson and Boyer argued back and forth more, interrupting each other.

Ultimately, former Morton City Councilor Richard Vanderlip stood up and made a comment, stating that no matter someone's personal politics, everyone still had the right to express their personal opinions, including acting councilors.

"You just gotta let people be people. You don't have to like it," Vanderlip said.

Johnson and Boyer continued arguing until Johnson told her, "you're starting to sound like John McKenzie, that's enough," at which point other attendees in the audience joined in the arguing, until a quick motion to adjourn was made.

McKenzie is another Morton resident who has clashed with other councilors before on various issues.

After the meeting, Knutson took to the Morton Talks Facebook group to address concerns about the flag on his property.

"The First Amendment exists precisely to protect speech that someone, somewhere finds offensive. That isn't a flaw in our system - it is the system. That means I believe you have every right to display a flag in your yard that I might personally disagree with, and I expect the same in return. I try to live that principle consistently, not just when it's convenient. I also think it's worth being clear about what it actually means to love your country," Knutson said on Facebook. "Patriotism means caring enough to speak up when you believe something is wrong - demanding that your country live up to its own ideals. That's different from nationalism, which tends to demand loyalty and silence without question. One of those values built this country. The other has historically undermined it. The First Amendment itself is a patriotic value, not a nationalist one. Morton is a community of independent-minded people, and I respect that deeply. I hear the concerns that were raised, and I take them seriously. But I will not apologize for exercising a right that generations of Americans - including many from small towns like ours - fought hard to preserve."

This exchange occurred after the Morton City Council approved new rules governing both public comment and council behavior at their meeting last month, as previously reported by The Chronicle.

Among the new rules for public commenters the Morton City Council passed last month included a requirement that all comments be addressed to the council as a whole, not any individual councilor. Additionally, comments are to pertain to either items on the council's agenda or matters within city staff jurisdiction, and personal attacks are prohibited.

As for the councilors themselves, they are responsible for maintaining decorum and are not permitted to interrupt or disturb any public commenter while they speak.

Councilors are also required to "conduct themselves in a professional, civil and respectful manner," and avoid personal attacks or conduct that disrupts meeting decorum.

The new regulations governing councilor conduct and public participation during Morton City Council meetings can be found on pages eight through 16 of the March 23 council meeting agenda on the city's website at https://tinyurl.com/yeb47893.

----To reach Chronicle reporter Owen Sexton email owen@chronline.com or call 360-736-3311 during business hours.

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