City approves ordinance changes allowing ‘small’ chicken hatcheries

When Billy McHenry addressed Sallisaw City Commissioners at their monthly meeting Monday, he was quite literally not counting his chickens before they hatch.

That’s because McHenry had not yet received the city’s blessings to move forward on a chicken hatchery he intends to build on 20 acres he owns on Sallisaw’s north side near U.S. 59 (Wheeler Avenue).

And he came prepared to quell any concerns the commissioners or city residents may have had about the proposed operation.

“I think our biggest thing is there’s a misconception about what we’re trying to do,” McHenry told the commissioners during a public hearing on whether to revise city ordinances to allow the chicken hatchery. “You hear chickens, you think chicken houses. This is not a chicken house. It’s a small little hatchery, family owned and operated on our 20 acres. We’ve tucked it back in the corner where you can barely see unless you’re coming south on 59. We’ve left all the trees we can to help hide it, help make it look nice, neat and clean.”

McHenry then addressed point-bypoint concerns that residents have raised, as well as some not voiced, but which he chose to discuss to alleviate any future concerns.

• Disposal of hatch waste “You’re not going to hatch them all, so you’re going to have some hatch waste,” McHenry admitted. Because of that, he has already arranged for a Missouri company to pick up any waste after each weekly hatch.

“The eggs come in, 21 days later we hatch them, the birds are gone. So there’s no holding birds,” McHenry said. “On that 21st day, the truck picks them (chicks) up.”

• Privacy fence “We’re not going to build a privacy fence. We’ll be putting [the building] in the southwest corner of the property; you cannot see it from Ridge Drive. It’ll be surrounded by trees,” McHenry said.

“The eight acres between my property where we’re building it and Emmanuel Baptist Church, we own that as well and we left all the trees we could, so there shouldn’t be an issue with that. Out front, on the Wheeler [Avenue] side of it, once we get it finished and built, we’ll set up a nice landscape, plant trees.”

• Noise level “This is a hatchery. Noise is minimal. We don’t have big equipment, we don’t have any machines, it’s all going to be quiet, enclosed. That should not be an issue,” he said.

• Size “We’re building a 120-foot by 160-foot building, a metal structure. It’s going to be a nice building,” McHenry said, and confirmed the footprint would remain the same, with no additional buildings on the eight acres nearest U.S. 59.

• Hours of operation 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., “but we’re only going to be hatching one day a week.”

McHenry then addressed additional concerns he anticipates could arise.

• Truck traffic “We’re going to have three trucks a week — our egg truck coming in, our chick truck going out” and then the hatch waste truck.

• Smell “This is not a chicken farm, we don’t hold these guys. They hatch, and within five hours, they’re on a truck to a farm. So there will not be any smell as there would be with a typical chicken house. It’s all self-contained. Everything’s washed, disinfected, cleaned — I worked at Aviagen for 18 years, they’re probably top of the line of biosecurity; we’re going to operate similar to that,” McHenry said.

• Visitors “Unlike Aviagen, we will allow visitors to come in — 4-H, FFA, things like that, as long as they follow our biosecurity rules.”

McHenry said he is already state certified, having spoken with state officials. He said he’s received approval from the state to build the hatchery, and then he met with city officials. Likewise, the state will conduct a required annual inspection of the operation.

Ordinance change approved

While the hatchery is considered small, McHenry said he currently employs 21 people from the Sallisaw area, and the hatchery will create 10 to 15 full-time jobs that will pay $18 to $20 per hour, “which is pretty good for this area.”

McHenry told the commissioners he also has offices in nine different states, and employs about 470 people.

But the city council was prepared with its own concerns.

Sallisaw Mayor Ernie Martens confirmed with city ordinance and code staff — and reconfirmed with Heverly — that a nuisance control ordinance already exists and would apply in this case or future cases, should it be necessary.

Heverly said city ordinance already has specific language regarding hobby farms, which is consistent with McHenry’s proposed operation.

Ward 3 Commissioner Julian Mendiola tempered the commissioners’ decision making, observing that “this is going to be a learning opportunity” since McHenry’s operation is the first to come before the city.

To be sure, McHenry and the city are plowing virgin soil. Heverly said he talked with several state authorities and the Department of Environmental Quality, and found there was plenty regarding adult chicken operations, but virtually nothing for hatcheries.

Martens said he believes “the city has done its due diligence, code [enforcement] has done its due diligence, everybody’s gone through the thought process. Like Pancho (Mendiola) said, this is brand new ground we’re breaking here, and we want to make sure it’s done right. I think everybody has put a lot of attention to this.”

The commissioners unanimously approved a revised ordinance that allows “small-scale” commercial chicken hatchery operations, and specifically precludes “chicken houses, broiler houses, pretty much anything that has a live adult bird” inside the city limits on agricultural zoned land. It does not affect industrial zoned land, which is where Aviagen operates, and does not affect small hobby farms.

With the approval, McHenry said he expects to be up and running by October 2026. The operation will hatch 100,000 to 150,000 chicks per week, McHenry said.

Other public hearings

In addition to the public hearing for poultry-related commercial activities on agriculture zoned land, the commissioners also held public hearings to determine if two properties in Sallisaw are a public nuisance. The parcels with structures in disrepair, which present a hazard to the public include:

• 213 S. Adams, where a mobile home was damaged in a fire on Sept. 12, 2025. At the time of inspection, damage was seen on the north side and involved the metal siding, roof and flooring. The frame of the mobile home was also heavily damaged. There are safety concerns for the public, in general, as well as the proximity of the mobile home located immediately to the north.

• 620 S. Mulberry, where a house has not been occupied since February 2023. It appears that the current owner has ceased repair and construction efforts. The building is unsecured and unsafe.

It is the opinion by Building Development staff that the structures are not fit for human occupancy, are beyond repair and should be abated.

Other business

In other business, commissioners approved: • A plat presentation of Spencer Addition, an addition to the city by Colton and MacKenzie Spencer. The property is located at the intersection of North Maple and Fawn Hollow. The intent is to construct a single-family dwelling. In addition, the Spencers requested rezoning the property from agriculture (A-1) to one-family residence district (R-1). The Planning Commission heard these items at its October 7 meeting and recommended approval.

• A plat presentation of June Addition, an addition to the city by Richard Looper Construction LLC. The property is located at 801 W. Arabian on the west side. The intent is to construct a single-family dwelling. In addition, the construction company requested rezoning the property from agriculture (A1) to one-family residence district (R1). The Planning Commission heard these items at its October 7 meeting and recommended approval.

• A resolution to notify the secretary of the Sequoyah County Election Board to conduct an election for police chief and mayor, each for three-year terms. Filing period begins at 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 1, and ends at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3. The date of the municipal election is Feb. 10, 2026.

• A resolution to incur indebtedness by the Sallisaw Municipal Authority to provide funds for the planning and designing of wastewater treatment plant improvements for the Sallisaw sanitary sewer system. The indebtedness is a $1.45 million “loan” by the SMA. Chris Byrom with Johanning & Byrom PLLC the city’s financial advisor, pointed out that the $1.45 million forgivable loan is from the Oklahoma Water Resource Board.

• Investing the Sallisaw reserve certificate of deposit with Local Bank for 182 days at 4.27% interest. Local Bank was the high bidder among quotes also received from Armstrong, Firstar and National banks.

The commissioners also approved the reappointment of Carrol Copeland to the Sallisaw Library Board for a three-year term that expires in November 2028.

In addition, the commissioners received a presentation regarding Diamond-Net migration away from traditional cable. DiamondNet continues to work to migrate customers away from cable service, as it will cease to offer cable to customers on January 5, 2026. Customers are being encouraged and incentivized to switch to streaming services for their entertainment and, if desired, local channels for news and local sports. Migration started in August, and will continue through the end of the year, and will include an offer of “white glove” service to help customers through the migration to streaming options through MyBundle. This migration will save the city rebroadcasting fees as well as the increasing cost of maintaining hardware to support the service.

Purchase orders approved

The commissioners also approved purchase orders issued to:

• Piney Mountain Industrial of Waldron, Ark., in the amount of $52,700 for the rehabilitation of Lift Station #1. Lift Station #1 was constructed in the early 1980s, and the discharge side of the station is old and obsolete. Parts for the station are no longer available. In addition, a pump needs to be replaced, the discharge side needs to be brought up to date and several electrical components, including the control panel, need to be replaced.

• Axon Enterprise Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., in the amount of $31,500 for a contract agreement for the purchase of 26 tasers for the police department. The current model is obsolete, and the company no longer supports it with improvements or “legal support” in court cases over its use. The purchase will provide each officer with a taser, with several additional to be used as trainers or “floats” in the case of required maintenance or replacement. The contract is structured as a five-year agreement in the total amount of $156,800. The remaining annual payments will have to be approved each year.

• Northwest Transformer Co. of Oklahoma City in an amount not to exceed $30,000 for repairs and/or replacement of various sized electrical transformers that are damaged. The amount not to exceed is for any unforeseen costs that may occur. Given the limited availability of transformers, it has been deemed a necessity to repair transformers where appropriate.

• Municipal Emergency Services in the amount of $22,586 for two self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) systems and components for the Sallisaw Fire Department. This allows the fire department to cycle out older units that can be utilized by other departments within the city. The expenditure was originally approved as part of the annual budget.

• Rep Com International LLC of Venice, Fla., in the amount of $25,245 for the purchase of a sewer camera, which upgrades an old sewer camera with locating capabilities as well as GUI upgrades and improved visibility. The actual cost to the city will be $15,245, with the other $10,000 funded by a grant from the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group. The camera will be used to assist in utility restoration as well as leak/ breakage detection.

• Hugg and Hall Equipment Co. of Muskogee in the amount of $36,432 for the purchase of a Bobcat D20S-9 Forklift for the Water Treatment Plant. The current forklift will be transferred to the city garage for its use.

The commissioners also acknowledged the overage of $2,091.17 for the 2025 street and overlay project by Mc-Kenzie Asphalt. The original approved contract was for $487,657.56. Two additional areas were added, resulting in the overage amount. The total contract price increased to $489,748.73. The original approved cost for the project in the FY2025 annual budget was $600,000. The project was accomplished under the originally approved budget.

Administrative reports

Keith Miller, the city’s business development director, reported city projects include:

• Skate Park, which the city expects to soon begin the process to get the park design to 100%, and to start the bid process, with dirt turning hopefully by October 2026

• Soccer fields, for which the city was awarded grant funding, and will soon be requesting bids with the goal of turning dirt and laying sod during the winter through early spring, and playing on the fields next fall.

• Storm recovery, with crews still cleaning up debris from the September 23 storm. The city has engaged the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management to seek reimbursement. In addition, the city appreciates the help received from Tahlequah, Stilwell, Cherokee Nation, Red Cross, Marble City, Grand River Dam Authority, Department of Corrections, city staff and field crews, and the countless neighbors, business owners and equipment operators that lent a hand in getting the lights turned back on and safely back to normal.

City Manager Brian Heverly reported that:

• A live auction is slated for Saturday at the city facility located at Elm Street and Qusenberry Avenue

• Fall clean up will occur the last week of October, with Chunk Your Junk happening on October 25, and crews out working in parks, ditches and roadways

• AMI project is “paused” for the moment. Installers will return this fall to finish the water meters and all of the electric meters. Regarding expectation management, Heverly said if a resident’s water meter was swapped out, there is a decent chance that their bill will go up, but it should not go up astronomically. If it does, residents are encouraged to reach out to the city for a solution. The old meters were “probably under-reading your usage.” Residents should expect the bill/new meter to accurately reflect usage up to a 50-75% increase in usage. Anything over that should be reported to the city. “For example, if a family of four was only registering 2,000 to 3,000 gallons (or less) on the old meter, the AMI bill will most likely be higher and more accurate.”