After becoming a hotly debated topic in recent weeks, the issue of the city’s deer population has been shelved for the fall.
During Monday’s City Council work session meeting, Robert Sisley, a local resident, once again asked the City Council for an update on how the city plans on handling the deer population issue in Jamestown.
“I was just wondering if you have a committee set up or anything for the deer population in Jamestown?” he asked.
Councilman Randall Daversa, R-At Large, said he talked with council members Jeff Russell, R-At Large, Andrew Faulkner, R-Ward 6, and Brent Sheldon, R-Ward 1, to plan a committee meeting to discuss possible ways to solve the city’s deer population problem.
Responding to Daversa, Sisley asked if it would be too late for the committee to come to a decision and implement something for this year’s hunting season.
“Absolutely,” Russell said. “Nothing will take place until next season.”
Russell explained the committee would not be able to propose a solution in time for the City Council to approve it and implement it for the fall hunting season since bow hunting already started Oct. 1.
“I know that Mr. Sisley has been here a couple times,” he said. “Even from the first time being here, it wasn’t going to be feasible to do it this year. We wouldn’t be able to move that quickly with tags and to get this together. I think we all knew that if this is going to take place, it would be for next year’s season.”
Councilman William Reynolds, R-Ward 5, reminded both the council and the public that at last week’s voting session, a member of the community presented the council with a different perspective of the deer problem.
“I might add that at our last meeting, we had someone speak to the council about different avenues to take and tackle the deer problem, different plants, different bushes, all kinds of different antidotes to alleviate it without a hunt,” he said.
Councilwoman Marie Carrubba, D-Ward 4, said she had multiple conversations with people in the community who suggested the City Council should meet with the city’s corporation counsel to determine the liability the city would have if it conducted a city-wide deer hunt.
Carrubba also suggested the committee responsible for proposing solutions to the deer population issue should be comprised of community members representing both sides of the issue. She said this would give local residents the ability to have adequate representation before a final decision is reached.
“I think maybe if you have a more inclusive group than just council members and the hunters, maybe having a more diverse committee will help,” she said.
Daversa explained it had already been discussed by the council members on the committee that members of the community should be appointed to the committee to provide additional representation
While agreeing that nothing could be decided immediately, City Council President Anthony Dolce, R-Ward 2, encouraged the committee to meet together and work on potential plans for next year.
Pressing the council to address the issue this year, Sisley asked, “Are there any suggestions we could make that might make it happen this year?”
Russell answered Sisley’s question by reiterating the impossibility of implementing a city-wide hunt at this point.
“I’m not going to speak for the whole council, I’m not going to speak for the mayor, but from having a hunting background, with what needs to take place, it’s not feasible for it to happen this year,” he said. “It just can’t happen that fast. It’s not logistically possible to have a hunt this season. Like president Dolce said, we’re not going to solve this issue this evening, and when we do meet, we’ll let you know.”
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