Two bicycle events taking place in Butler in May were discussed at the city council meeting Thursday.

The Bicycle Rodeo, which Denny Offstein of Denny Offstein Auto Sales has organized for 25 years, is scheduled 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 5 at the farmers market.

Nearly 300 donated bikes will be given to children, age 5 to 15 years old, who live in the city. Pizza shops will offer free food and there will be other giveaways in addition to the bikes, Offstein said. City police officers and firefighters will participate in the event.

“It's a nice Butler city community event for children,” Offstein said.

He said this will be the last rodeo he organizes, but he will continue to give away bikes to children in the city.

Bicycle races organized by JMac Cycling of Pittsburgh May 26 and Aug. 25 at Butler Memorial Park were approved by council. The races will take place on Memorial Park Drive.

Councilman Jeff Smith said JMac estimates that 100 cyclists could participate in the race and JMac is donating $10 for each racer to the city for park maintenance.

Parks DepartmentThe parks department will get a new tractor.Council agreed to buy a Kubota tractor for $25,547 from M&R Equipment through Sourcewell, a cooperative purchasing vendor.Smith said the new tractor will replace an old one that has become unreliable.Funding for the purchase was not budgeted, however, Smith noted that Councilman Mike Walter found money in the budget for the vehicle.