Palmerton Borough Council Thursday denied a request for a plaque to be placed on a bench in its borough park in memory of a deceased squirrel.

Council voted 6-0 against a plaque for “Butters the Squirrel.”

Afterward, council made a subsequent motion to disallow the placement of plaques, signs, or other visual designation in the borough park in memory of animals. If the need exists and a suitable location is determined, a tree may be planted as a memorial with permission of the borough. That motion was also passed by the same measure.

Council President Terry Costenbader said borough Manager Donna McGarry denied a request by Ed Condon for plaque in memory of “Butters the Squirrel,” in December 2019.

McGarry did, however, tell Condon he could plant a tree, and also talked about planting a tree in February 2020. In November 2020, McGarry reached out to Condon to see if he was still interested and he said that he had contacted a landscaper.

“In a conversation with Mr. Condon last week, he stated he is still interested in planning a tree,” Costenbader said. “He asked that a park bench be relocated from another area of the park to the location of the new tree he will have planted.”

Costenbader said that about 10 years ago the Concourse Club of Palmerton was in charge of the Park Bench Project, benches were purchased for $100 apiece and plaques were placed on each bench by the purchaser, and the project was ended at that time with an excessive number of benches purchased.

“The benches were purchased by individuals and businesses,” he said. “I believe it should not be council’s decision to permit someone to place the plaque on a bench purchased by someone else.

“I also believe borough council needs to determine if they want to start a practice of allowing animal memorials in the borough park. Keep in mind that if approved, borough council may have similar requests from residents who wish to memorialize an animal with some type of plaque, sign or other designation.”

Condon, who attended Thursday’s meeting, said there was plenty of support for Butters, and said he would be more than willing to assist it in the endeavor.

Condon said Butters’ name deserves to be remembered. “Butters has left a mark on a lot of us,” Condon said.

Against the idea

Resident and former borough Mayor William Gallagher said he was against the concept.

“This is not a pet, this is a feral animal,” Gallagher said. “There are numerous individuals who lived in Palmerton who were not (immortalized) in the park.”

Gallagher said that includes several highly distinguished athletes, high-ranking military servicemen, even Stephen S. Palmer himself, whom the borough was named after, that do not have plaques or any type of remembrance in the park.

Resident Dolores Szucs said that while she is very much an animal lover, she also wasn’t in favor of the request.

“Do you think this sounds ridiculous, because I think it does,” Szucs said. “Personally, I don’t like it.”

Resident Raberta Hans said that while she is not a squirrel hater, rather than a plaque on a bench, why not plant a tree?

Councilwoman Holly Hausman-Sell told Condon that while she was sorry for his loss, she, too, was against the request.

Councilman Kris Hoffner told Condon it took a lot of courage for him to make the request.

Butters, who was the subject of a popular social media fan account called “Butters the Squirrel,” was known by a group of people in town for her unusually social nature.

Condon started a Facebook account for “Butters the Squirrel,” and met with the squirrel every day, capturing photos of her eating peanuts, climbing his pant leg and sitting in trees.

Pictures Condon took of Butters even graced the pages of the magazine Town & Country Gazette. And back in January 2019, the 27-year-old and the squirrel were the subjects of a television report, where Condon was nicknamed the “squirrel whisperer.”

But in October 2019 - just barely over a year after Condon and Butters met - Condon found she had been hit by a car and killed. He buried Butters in his Palmerton backyard and announced her death in a posting on Facebook.

Condon started an online petition in December 2019, calling for a feeding station to be placed in the park at Palmerton’s center in memory of Butters.

Before the vote and public comment, Costenbader noted that the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act requires agendas to be posted 24 hours ahead of time on the borough website, which means Council could not take action on the plaque request for “Butters the Squirrel” by Clark DeBear earlier this month.