USD 410 asks city to permit animals at farm

Advised about a plan to develop a small school-related farm, the Hills?boro City Coun?cil was asked at its Nov. 19 meeting to consider making an exception to the city?s code about housing farm animals within city limits.

Evan Yoder, Hillsboro Elementary School principal, presented the proposal of joining forces with Tabor College to develop a hands-on learning tool that would include a greenhouse and a ?farm? building large enough to accommodate ?a few animals? on the elementary school campus.

?We?re not looking at a lot of animals,? Yoder said. ?We?re talking about some chickens, goats, sheep, maybe a few pigs, and maybe a bucket calf or two.?

?I think we can do some neat things with it,? he said of the overall project. ?But we?ve got to start with getting our animals?which means there are some regulations I know we need to change.?

Current city code states, ?It shall be unlawful to keep, harbor, shelter or maintain livestock or fowl within the corporate city limits.?

The only exception to the regulation is ?livestock and fowl under direct supervision of and upon the premises of fairs, livestock shows, rodeos or circuses.?

Yoder suggested the city consider the approach taken in regard to sheltering exotic animals, where an exemption is allowed for ?educational institutions.?

In a memo to City Admin?i?strator Larry Paine, Ben Steketee, the city?s code enforcement officer, noted the elementary school lies within an ?R-1? residential zone, which currently does not allow the harboring of farm animals.

?Maybe it depends on what this thing will be called,? Steketee wrote. ?If it?s a petting zoo, then zoning would not allow it. If it?s a classroom, then it would be allowed.?

Project potential

Yoder and others in attendance, including USD 410 Superintendent Steve Noble and Tabor College biology professor Andrew Sensenig, emphasized the educational value of the project in light of the movement toward hands-on learning, particularly in K-12 public education.

?Being raised on a farm, I know how exciting that was for me?those hands-on experiences while growing up,? Yoder said. ?I?ve always had a dream that we could somehow incorporate that in our schools.?

The Walton Rural Life Center has a school farm at the core of its curriculum. A team of USD 410 teachers and administrators visited the Walton school to learn more about it.

Yoder said his personal experience of bringing lambs to school from his family?s farm has convinced him of the project?s potential value.

?Kids would be so excited, especially the kids we kind of struggled with,? he said. ?I?d say, ?I?ve got a lamb out here?let?s go feed it.? It turned their attitude around completely.?

With daily access to a school farm, ?I know we can do some amazing things with all kids,? Yoder said.

He added, ?Again, it?s not the number of animals. It?s that kids can go out and learn the responsibility of care.?

Project partnership

Yoder said his dream of having a school farm gained momentum when he found out Sensenig was exploring a similar project for the college.

?When I heard he was wanting to get a farm over there at Tabor College, I called him and asked him, ?Can I partner with that??? Yoder said. ?He?s been great to work with.?

Sensenig echoed Yoder?s enthusiasm for working together.

?Originally, I was entertaining the idea of Tabor having a model farm on campus, or on acreage associated with campus,? Sensenig said. ?But when I heard the schools were interested in having something, I?d prefer to have it on site (at the elementary school).?

Sensenig has been applying for grants to support the project.

?There are some amazings things on this grant that he?s applying for that kids would just be mesmerized by,? Yoder said. ?I picture kids in elementary school going out and watching Tabor students doing some of the things they do in a biology class. Imagine what they all could do.?

Noble said the school farm, combined with the greenhouse, will benefit all age groups.

?It?s a place where middle school kids would do experiments and hands-on activities,? Noble said. ?High school kids would go there and use that as their place. We?ve been trying to get a greenhouse for several years.?

He said the district had considered building a greenhouse on a small lot near the high school parking lot.

?I?m glad we waited because with this idea that has come about now, and the partnership with Tabor, I think we could make this a real collaborative (kindergarten) through 22-year-old classroom where we could all work together and have some really great learning opportunities.

?I think it would be a wonderful showcase for our community.?

That, in turn, could affect school enrollment.

Said Yoder: ?I?m not going to say it?s going to bring a lot of new people into our community. Maybe it won?t. Perhaps it would hold some people in the community if their children have that opportunity.?

Facilities first

While requesting the code change is the first public action taken, Noble said farm facilities must be in place before any animals arrive.

?We need a greenhouse and we need a barn or a shed?and we want those done right,? he said. ?We don?t want that to be a temporary structure that?s a lean-to or something.?

The farm building would provide space for a classroom, to secure medicines and supplies for the animals and for completing routine chores.

?It?s on the model of the building they have at Walton,? Yoder said. ?They can bring animals in when they need to when the weather is really bad. It?s an area where we can do some things (like) wash hands, wash eggs.?

Yoder and Noble did not say how much the buildings might cost, but did say the district intends to limit the impact on taxpayers by seeking financial support from the private sector.

?We?re going to look for some partnerships and grants,? Noble said. ?We have a lot of interest around this. This was the No. 1 issue at Evan?s back-to-school meetings with parents. It was the No. 1 thing they wanted to be involved in.

?We?ve already gotten in touch with our ag community?several of our ag community members are behind this effort,? he added. ?We need help there to get those two structures in place.?

The farm itself could generate some revenue. Yoder said the Walton school raises 10 hogs per year; two are shown at the county fair, then sold at auction.

?They got $5,000 selling one of those hogs at the fair because somebody knew what the money was going back for?and it was a big moneymaker,? he said.

Once the facilities are in place ?we would be interested in moving right along with the farm then,? Noble said. ?But those two things need to happen first.?

Added Yoder: ?The sooner the better. There are fifth-graders who would love to see something happen before they?re out (of the fifth grade). But I think it?s important that we do things right.?

Council support

After hearing the presentation, council members responded positively to the school farm proposal.

?It sounds like a great idea,? Mayor Delores Dalke said. ?We?ll have to see what we have to do to change our ordinances. I know our ordinances are against all these things.?

Added Councilor Marlene Fast, ?I see this as a positive thing all the way around for our community.?

Paine recommended that the city first notify residents near the school of the plan before addressing the code issue to make sure ?nobody gets a surprise that they don?t anticipate.?

?That gives political cover for (the council) and for the school district so that everybody knows what?s going on in the neighborhood,? he said.

Paine said he would try to develop a mailing list of neighboring residences in time so the council could act on the code issue at its next regular meeting, which will be Dec. 3.

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