By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
During the regular meeting of the Guthrie Center City Council on June 24, City Clerk Kris Arrasmith updated the councilmembers on steps being taken to discourage turkey vultures from roosting within the city. She explained that roughly two weeks ago, she accompanied DNR officer Jeremy King when he shot turkey vultures as allowed by the permit the city received.
“We watched a very large group of about 75 buzzards coming in for the night. We mitigated two,” Arrasmith said. “We’re waiting to see if that was enough to scare them off.”
Arrasmith explained that the city has the carcasses in a freezer, and if more deterrent is needed, the carcasses can be hung in effigy, which has been proven effective in getting turkey vultures to leave an area. The city’s permit also would allow up to three more birds to be harvested, if needed. Arrasmith reported that Jeremy King said the local turkey vulture population appears to be higher than he’s seen in many years.
Other city council news
Arrasmith reported that the city’s recent citywide garage sales and citywide cleanup went well.
“Citywide garage sales, we had an excellent turnout for that,” Arrasmith said. “We had 21 people that signed up.”
Regarding the cleanup, the city set a participation record.
“As far back as we can remember, this is the best participation that we’ve ever seen,” Arrasmith said. “I think we had 85 or 87 sign up. Usually, we’re around 50.”
Arrasmith reported no significant problems with the garage sales or cleanup.
As part of the consent agenda, the council approved a tobacco license for Hometown Foods and a building permit (garage) for 702 State St. (Vaughn).
The next regular meeting of the city council will be Monday, July 8 at 6:30 p.m. The public is welcome.