Letter to the Editor: Former board member concerned for village
Residents of Madrid:
In November of 1996 I was elected as a write-in candidate to serve on the Madrid Village Board of Trustees. I attended the December 1996 meeting to discuss the position with the sitting board. I told them I would accept the appointment, contingent on the board agreeing that we would begin a vigilant process of nuisance abatement within the corporate limits.
Our town was the brown eye of the county and I wanted the small cattle herd and 2 million flies that accompanied them out of the village, not across the street from me. The board agreed with me as this was not an isolated herd. We also had horses, chickens and other livestock.
During the 20 years I represented the village, I never allowed any boards to stray from this pursuit. We disallowed all requests for new livestock (some properties were grandfathered), enforced the village ordinance 6-206 which forbade livestock from the corporate limits and worked with existing livestock owners on the periphery properties to limit nuisance and health concerns.
Presently, there’s an attempt being made to ignore ordinance, zoning and an agreement with a state agency designed to protect the village drinking water from contamination.
There are plans for the owner of the existing football field and practice field to sell it so the new owners may use it as pasture to graze horses. While this simple act may seem innocuous and no big deal, it will open Pandora’s Box.
The village board will be required to contact all other individuals that were denied ownership of livestock in the village corporate limits and allow them ownership or face potential litigation. This will also create a free-for-all, as this board precedent will limit the board’s ability to deny any request to have livestock in the corporate limits. Even if the property is sold, it would still be in the village ETJ transitional properties, which fall under the same rules as the corporate limits.
I believe in my heart that a strong majority of the general public has pride in this community and are happy the board took such a strong stance in the cleanup process. If the residents of Madrid choose to ignore this with no regard for what is in the best interest for the entirety of the community, then they should never come to bitch to any existing board when our community returns to being the brown eye of Perkins County.
Failure to act may result in awakening to the crow of a rooster every morning, just in time to see the neighbor’s sheep grazing in lieu of mowing. Speak up Madrid and JUST SAY NO.
-Tim Moore, Madrid