HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmails 12-21-11 PH.pdf Page 1 of 1
Mary Mills
From: John Young [Jack@Youngbros.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 10:22 AM
To: Mary Mills
Subject: Proposed Local Law"J"
Dear Mayor Supron and Cayuga Heights Trustees,
My brother Jim and I own two vacant lots in the Village, while my wife and I live here as well.
We all wish to officially express our support for the proposed Local Law "J", and for the
Village's proposed deer remediation project in general. The Village deer problem needs to be
solved, and if your plan doesn't go ahead, we will all suffer in a variety of ways. Thanks very
much for pushing ahead with this plan despite the complaints of a small minority.
Jack& Jim Young
12/21/2011
Mary Mills
From: Kate Supron
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 9:16 PM
To: VCH-Trustees
Subject: PH Comment-FW: PLL J
From: Kirk M. Sigel [kmsigel@ksx.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 6:23 PM
To: Kate Supron
Subject: PLL J
Mayor Supron:
I am writing to express my support for the Village's Deer Sterilization and Culling
Program, as well as any necessary changes to the Village's Laws (like Proposed Local Law
"J") needed to implement that program.
Sincerely,
Kirk Sigel
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Mary Mills
From: Thomas Boyce
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 3:27 PM
To: Mary Mills
Subject: FW: Public Hearing/Deer
From: CFSchmitt@aol.com [mai Ito:CFSchmitt@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 3:20 PM
To: Kate Supron; Kate Supron; Robert Andolina; Christopher Crocker; Stephen Hamilton; Elizabeth
Karns; Diana Riesman; Beatrice Szekely
Cc: Thomas Boyce
Subject: Re: Public Hearing/Deer
Mayor Supron and Trustees,
I don't believe we'll be able to attend the public hearing tomorrow morning, Dec. 21 st, but
would like to express our continued concern about the issue of firearms within village limits and
the chosen methods for deer remediation.
We are strongly opposed to Local Law J. We also will not sign a waiver allowing guns within
500' of our property.
I would very much appreciate acknowledgment of receipt of this email so that I may be sure
that it has gotten to you.
Thank you,
Carol and Ron Schmitt
12/20/2011
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Mary Mills
From: Fred DeWolf[frederik@dewolfs.coml
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 3:09 PM
To: Mary Mills
Cc: Margaret M Gallo
Subject: Fwd: Returned mail: see transcript for details
To be shared with the board of trustees.
Begin forwarded message:
From: Fred DeWolf<frederik(&dewolfs.com>
Date: December 20, 2011 3:02:28 PM EST
To: "mavor2cavuga-heiehts.n}_us" <131avor2cavuaa-heiehts.nv.us>
Cc: Margaret M Gallo <mma3@me.com>
Subject: Stray bullet kills Amish teen in buggy
Kate-
Please abandon the efforts being made to allow the discharge of
firearms in the village under special circumstances: do not let your
legacy as mayor include this change in our laws.
Margaret and I will be in Boston again this week or we would both be
attending the meeting to state our opposition to the proposed law.
Sincerely,
Fred
Check out this article that I saw in USA TODAY's iPhone application.
Stray bullet kills Amish teen in buggy
http://usat.ly/vTiOvI
To view the story, click the link or paste it into your browser.
To learn more about USA TODAY for iPhone and download, visit:
httn://usatoday.com/inhone/
12/20/2011
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Mary Mills
From: Karen Chimento[karlou25@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 1:52 PM
To: Mary Mills
Subject: regarding firearms discharge
I am writing to express my opposition to the proposed change to our firearms law. I do not believe that
the safety of our residents, and especially our children, is being protected by trying to pass legislation to
allow contractors to discharge firearms in our village. Sincerely, Karen Chimento, 110 West Upland
Road, Ithaca, NY
12/20/2011
Mary Mills
From: Kate Supron
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 10:00 AM
To: Mary Mills
Subject: PH comment FW: Meeting on deer remediation
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Hale [mailto:rich@richhale.us]
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2011 4 :10 PM
To: Kate Supron
Subject: Meeting on deer remediation
Dear Mayor Supron:
As residents that have had our plantings decimated by deer, we wish to add our voices to
the majority of Cayuga Heights home owners who very much wish you and the trustees to
proceed with the approved deer-remidiation program as promptly as possible. I would be
happy to offer our property for this program, but unfortunately we own only one-third of
an acre. If there is anything more we can do to move this program along, please let us
know. You have our complete support!
Richard W. Hale
Janet F. Hale
153 North Sunset Drive
1
Mary Mills
From: Don Waddell [dw9@twcny.rr.coml
Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2011 8:10 PM
To: Mary Mills
Subject: Shooting in Village
Are you serious? I think it is time to look at boundary changes in the Village.
Don Waddell
t
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Mary Mills
From: Beatrice Szekely [beatrice@twcny.rr.com]
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 3:10 PM
To: Sherrie Negrea
Cc: VCH-Trustees
Subject: Re: Letter about Deer Plan from Concerned Residents
Dear Sherrie and Patrick,
cc: Cayuga Heights Mayor and Trustees
Thank you for your eloquent letter that continues our communication about how to remedy the over
population of deer in the Village. I remain convinced that sterilization and culling are the best way to
proceed.
Responding to your concerns:
I assure you that deer vehicle auto colllisions are taking place routinely in the Village, not only on route
13. Village police officers are called upon to destroy deer that are severely injured when they run into
cars. Several deer died this fall impaled on fencing. I respectfully disagree that deer resistant plants will
allow village gardens to flourish; as is known, hungry deer feed on more and more plant species. Where
not protected by fencing, the understory of shrubbery, native and imported plants, and ground covers
have simply been destroyed. It's splendid, of course, that your dog is immunized given the increased
incidence of Lyme disease in Cayuga Heights and throughout Tompkins County correlating with the over
population of deer.
Please be assured that any culling by firearms will take place from elevations to assure downward
trajectories of frangible bullets that scatter upon impact to avoid richocheting. White Buffalo with whom
we hope to contract for both sterilization and culling is a highly respected 501 c(3) organization that has
killed thousands of deer without accident.
Sterilization of 20 does is our immediate goal. As is known, for culling to begin permission must be
gained from every owner of a building within a 500 feet radius of any location where a firearm might be
discharged. Discharging weapons in the Village is not to be taken lightly. Safety precautions will be taken
in concert with the Village's police department. And, we will indeed be evaluating every step of the
process with input from the Natural Resources Department at Cornell .
In closing, there will be a public hearing on Wednesday morning at 9:00 on the proposed law to make it
legal for agents contracted by the Village for such a special purpose as culling the deer herd to discharge
a firearm should you wish to attend and speak.
with appreciation,
Bea
----- Original Message -----
From: Sherrie Neorea
To: bszekelv@cavuoa-heights.nv.us
Sent:Wednesday, December 14, 2011 9:43 PM
Subject: Letter about Deer Plan from Concerned Residents
December 14, 2011
Dear Bea,
When we first moved to Cayuga Heights ten years ago,the deer roaming the village were being
12/19/2011
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sterilized and the deer had a minimal impact on the community. We remember growing a wide variety of
perennials in our front yard and they were never touched by deer.One of our cars was hit by a deer several
years ago, but that was on Route 13, outside the village limits, and there were fewer accidents involving deer
in the village than there are now.
Once the sterilization project stopped,the deer proliferated. Despite the impact on flower gardens and the
positive result our dog has received for antibodies to Lyme disease,we believe large-scale slaughter of the
deer herd is the worst of all possible solutions for the current population. Deer-resistant flowers,fencing and
vaccination can all contribute to coexistence with the deer in a manner that promotes the aesthetic
appearance of our neighborhoods and the health of humans and pets.Such measures,taken in conjunction
with a concerted effort to reduce the herd to a manageable and sustainable size through sterilization and
natural attrition, are far more humane and, of course,far more pragmatic in terms of risk management.
We would like to recommend that the village take matters one step at a time, starting with an initiative to
sterilize 60 does, rather than 20, as suggested by some of the plans, so that many existing families of deer can
remain intact.This would be a conciliatory measure to those Cayuga Heights residents who do not want to see
the deer killed.Then it should be determined if this sterilization has had an impact on the herd size, in
conjunction with passive measures taken by property owners to protect their gardens and the health of their
families.
We urge you to consider risk management as you proceed with any plan to control deer.Any program
involving the use of firearms anywhere within village limits, no matter how carefully planned, implies an
elevated risk for human residents and their domesticated animals. We often walk our dog, for example, in the
old growth forest off Triphammer Road,which leads to a wide-open field adjacent to the new Cornell Day Care
Center.There are many residents who walk their dogs in these woods and fields. If this or similar sites are used
for population management through lethal means,the risk of accident for residents and their pets would be
quite real.
We would also like to point out that there is a stark difference between shooting a deer and bringing it down.
A wounded deer can run, panicked,for a considerable distance, endangering vehicular traffic and pedestrians
in the village. How will village-contracted hunters finish off wounded deer if the creatures move onto
residential properties where discharge of firearms is not permitted?
Finally,there are psychological considerations. Many residents of Cayuga Heights, including children, oppose
the slaughter of these creatures in the manner proposed,to the extent projected.The idea of living in a village
with an active killing program in lieu of other methods of managing the deer herd over time is,for many,
spiritually inconsistent with their ideals as well as unwelcome in terms of their fiscal support of the village.
Given both the acrimony generated and the inherent risks compounded by resorting to firearms,we believe
the village can achieve for itself a loftier, more sensitive and ultimately more humane approach to the deer
population of Cayuga Heights by exhausting all nonlethal means of control.
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Sherrie Negrea and Patrick J.Stevens
204 E. Upland Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
12/19/2011