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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes MINUTES Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Meeting January 24, 2011 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLLCALL The meeting was called to order at 4:45 P.M. Present: Michael Beeth, Grady Bullington, LorRae Crubaugh, Steve Cummings, Nikki Hronis, Michael Nigl, Cecil Streeter, Wendy Suzuki, Steve Voss Staff: Ray Maurer, Parks Director; Chad Dallman, Parks Operations Manager; Trish Wendorf, Recording Secretary INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMITTEE MEMBER Chairman Voss introduced the new Board member, Michael Nigl, who replaces Mr. Hall. Mr. Hall moved out of the City and, therefore, could not continue to be a member of the Board. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Crubaugh pointed out a typographical error on Page 3, Paragraph 14, in that Mr. Streeter’s name was misspelled, it should read “Mr. Streeter * * *”, not “Mr. Street * * *”. Motion by Beeth for approval of the October 25, 2010 minutes, as amended. Seconded by Crubaugh. Motion carried 9-0. CITIZEN’S STATEMENTS (Items on Agenda) There were no citizen’s statements. BUSINESS 1)Review monthly car accident reports from Police Department Chairman Voss inquired if there were any statistics for deer hit, but not reported. He stated he had seen a deer on Osborn in December that had been in the curb/roadway for about three (3) days and it is not on the Police Department’s list. Discussion ensued and it was felt that some deer/car crashes were not reported due to little if any damage to vehicles, non-insured motorists, deer being nicked, but not killed. 2) Update on quarry owner cooperation with deer management Mr. Maurer stated that in discussions with Mr. Averkamp of the Vulcan Quarry, it was determined that Mr. Averkamp had requested that the surrounding neighbors of the Quarry remove their personal property from within the Quarry property for insurance purposes. Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -2- JANUARY 24, 2011 Questions arose as to potential poaching within the Quarry property. Mr. Maurer stated that there had been one large buck’s carcass that was found within the Quarry, whose death was questionable. It seemed peculiar since that buck had been in the confines of the Quarry for some time and knew the area well and it was questionable that the deer would have fallen off a ridge. Also, there had been evidence that it was hit by an arrow. The game warden was contacted for investigation. Mr. Maurer also reported that the Vulcan Quarry owners are obtaining quotes/proposals for raising the height of the perimeter fence. Mr. Maurer stated he drives by the Quarry on a frequent basis and has noted 12-15 deer within the Quarry property. Questions arose as to the Quarry becoming a sanctuary if the height of the fence is changed. Mr. Maurer suggested contacting Mr. Bryan Woodbury of the DNR to discuss that concern. 3)Discussion and approval of draft management plan 4)Update on Urban Wildlife Damage Abatement Grant Mr. Maurer thanked Ms. Crubaugh for checking the final draft of the plan for spelling, grammar and punctuation. Ms. Crubaugh questioned the last sentence on page 1 of the plan, to-wit: “Eradication of a species is not an option; rather a sustainable level of the species is the goal.” Mr. Maurer suggested changing the word “species” to “wildlife”. He stated that we would not be eligible for grants if a species was eradicated. Mr. Beeth questioned if the Recommendations made on the bottom of Page 5 of the plan were the recommendations that the City Council would have carried out. Mr. Maurer stated that staff received a letter from the DNR approximately ten (10) days ago stating the City received funding for 50% of the aerial survey work. The total grant funding totals $1,100 which is one-half of the cost of the aerial survey. The City would be responsible for the other one-half ($1,100). Mr. Maurer has contacted two different aerial survey firms and is planning to have one scheduled for sometime in February 2011. Ms. Suzuki inquired as to culling expenses. Mr. Maurer stated if another culling was an avenue the Committee felt appropriate, another grant would be applied for. Council approval would also need to be obtained for future culling purposes. Ms. Hronis questioned the Recommendations as well. She questioned if the Committee was still approving a culling if a problem is called to their attention? Discussion ensued relative to the deer management guidelines as well as the population goals. Mr. Cummings inquired what is public land and what is habitat? What would happen if the deer from the Quarry would move to Menominee Park? Mr. Maurer stated the deer would not lay there (Menominee Park); they would feed there, but not bed down, so that would probably not be considered habitat. Ms. Crubaugh inquired, if the Committee approves this plan, is there then a need to get rid of all but 1-3 deer within the Quarry? Mr. Maurer stated the Committee needs to determine the number of deer is within the three (3) distinct deer herds and then determine what an acceptable number for a population goal is. Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -3- JANUARY 24, 2011 Mr. Nigl stated if you took a map of the entire city and just took what you consider deer habitat, you would be hard pressed to get a square mile. Deer habitats cannot be defined within parking lots, factory areas, private property, etc. Mr. Nigl questioned the fencing around the Quarry property. Are the deer impounded because of the fence? Mr. Maurer stated he did not think the deer have an issue jumping over a 6 ft. fence. Ms. Suzuki stated the Milwaukee Metro data is from 1994 and seems out-dated. Mr. Nigl stated the three subject areas are different by way of sustainability and need to be addressed differently. After the data is received from the aerial survey work and a report is submitted, then the Committee will have a better understanding of each subject area. Discussion ensued as to putting specific numbers in each section of the plan so that the public understands it better. Mr. Cummings suggested letting the DNR personnel tell the Committee what is sustainable habitat as he feels the Committee is guessing in that regard. Ms. Suzuki suggested adding more information in the Background section – about starving deer or if they are feeding off the neighbors’ plants/vegetation. Mr. Streeter stated information such as that could be attached as a supporting document in case questions arise, but he did not feel it should be contained within the management plan itself. Mr. Nigl suggested taking a look at the habitat and determining the quality. Mr. Bullington inquired if the deer would be harvested from cullings or trappings? Mr. Maurer stated that was correct. Motion by Beeth for approval of the draft management plan as submitted. Seconded by Streeter. Motion carried 7-2 (AYES: Beeth, Bullington, Cummings, Hronis, Streeter, Suzuki, Voss; NAYS: Crubaugh, Nigl). 5)Discussion and approval of personal email addresses of board members on City’s website Ms. Suzuki stated she did not wish to have her email listed on the City’s website. Mr. Streeter and Ms. Crubaugh both stated they were okay having theirs listed. Mr. Voss suggested checking with the City Attorney to determine if their email addresses were required to be listed due to the open records law. Mr. Maurer stated he would check with the City Attorney in that regard. In the interim, he requested that if any Committee member had any information or requests from the public, to please forward them to his office for reply. 6)Topics for next meeting (February 28, 2011) Ms. Hronis expressed concern about the public not being aware of what this Committee is doing. Education is a factor and the public needs to know the work that the Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee is, has been, and will be doing. Mr. Maurer stated he will be meeting with a local newspaper representative prior to the aerial survey work. Mr. Bullington suggested reviewing the management plan again in a year. Urban Wildlife Advisory Committee Minutes Page -4- JANUARY 24, 2011 Mr. Streeter suggested reviewing it within grant writing time. Mr. Streeter stated with respect to the car/deer accident reports, there are not a lot of problems within the Quarry area any more, but there are by Washburn/Ripple Road and Snell areas. In October, there were more accidents by County Road A and Snell Road as that herd is quite large. It would be nice if the neighbors (Town of Oshkosh) would allow hunting. Mr. Nigl stated he works out of town and drives passed the landfill every day and sees deer grazing all of the time. Mr. Beeth inquired as to how vacancies on the Committee are filled? Mr. Maurer stated that the public fills out applications for appointment. The Mayor appoints someone to fill a vacancy and their appointments are approved by the City Council. Review monthly car accident reports from Police Department  Update on quarry owner cooperation with deer management  Topics for next meeting (February 28, 2011)  CITIZENS STATEMENTS (Items not on agenda) There were no citizen’s statements. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Motion by Cummings for adjournment; seconded by Crubaugh. Motion carried 9-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:13 PM. Respectfully submitted, Trish Wendorf Trish Wendorf Recording Secretary