Middletown council schedules reconsideration of horse-waste ordinance for Jan. 20, 2026

The Town of Middletown Council voted to reconsider a locally proposed "horse waste" ordinance and scheduled a second-reading reconsideration for Jan. 20, 2026, council members said during their meeting.

An unidentified speaker moved "to reconsider the, the horse waste ordinance," and another member seconded the motion; members responded with vocal agreement on the record. A separate motion was read to schedule the reconsideration of the ordinance for 01/20/2026, and councilors indicated approval with "Aye." The motioner and seconder were not named on the record.

Why it matters: Council members said the beach commission had provided the original recommendation prompting the reconsideration and asked that the reconsideration be scheduled when beach commission members could attend. The council also noted a promotional ceremony would occur before the scheduled repeat of the motion.

Council discussion and next steps: Members clarified when the scheduling language would be repeated for the record—after the promotional ceremony and immediately before the regular meeting resumed. A council member estimated that about "13 or 14 or 15" members of the public would participate in the public forum; that number was given as an approximate count by the speaker and is reported as such.

The council did not adopt or modify the ordinance at this meeting; it scheduled the reconsideration for the Jan. 20, 2026 meeting, when the ordinance will return for further consideration.