HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOT_AGENDA 6.15.2009.PDFVILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS
BPARD Otr TRUSTEES
June 15. 2009
7:00 P.M.
AGEI\DA
P,Hblic Hearins - Proposed Local Law # 3 of 2009 to amend Local Law #2 of 2009 changing ilre
ell'ective date of the Planning Board to such tirne as members have been appointed.
Call to Order
Approval of the Minutes of May 18, 2009 furnished to Trustees - 2 minACTION: Motion to approve Minutes
Privilege of the Floor
George Frantz - Presentation regarding Comprehensive Plan - 20 min. including questions
Report of the Mayor - 10 min
TCCOG Healthcare Rates Update _ postponed to next meeting
Resolution to Adopt 2010 OEG Access Studio Capital Budget
Town of Lansing M.O.U. cornpleted
Bangs -A.mbulance M.o.u. - signed and waiting for proof of insurance
Miscellaneous
Trustees Privilege of the Floor
Trustee Andolina - New 'frustees Rellection _ 10 min.
Other Trustees
Police
Livescan Equipment Agreement - Has been reviewed by Attorney Marcus antl is includedwith your packet
ACTIoN: Motion to authorized Mayor and porice chief to sign
Report of the Fire Chief
Report of Superintendent of public Works _ 5 min.
Verbal updates - no action items
DRAC Recommendations -'Irustee Supron will explain process that led to the final DRACrecommendations being considered this evening.
Ileport of Attorney - 5 min
Executive Session (if needed)
Adjourrrment
Behind closed doors, a decision is made to enact an expensive, risky and destructive
policy for reasons that are never disclosed. A handpicked group !s given the task of
selling this ill-advised pof icy to the public. And then, as flimsy justifications are
discredited one after the other, new ones are concocted, until the underlying truth
becomes obvious to anyone who is paying attention.
Sound familiar? of course, this how our soldiers ended up in lraq. But it also describeswhat is going on right now in Cayuga Heights.
It is matter of record that the DRAC's first public act last August was to recornmend adeer-killing program for reasons of public safety, without any public input, without anysignificant study of the issue.
Now the DRAC's current report fails to even define the problem it purports to solve;
It does not disclose the body of facts or the logic used to arrive at its extreme and
controversial conclusion; it virtually ignores the numerous nonviolent alternatives that
are proven to be safe, practical and cost-effective.
This only serves to reinforce the impression that if a thorough summary of the facts had
been included in their report, the DRAC'S recommendation would be seen for what it is,
a fagade put up to lend an aura of legitimacy to what is no more than a willful exercise
of power in defiance of truth, logic, and cornmon sense.
Mayor Gilmore hand-picked the members of the DRAC, and then for many months
played a central role himself as an active member of this committee which was
ultimately going to be advising him, even acting as its principle public spokesperson to
the media. He went so far as to publish in the Courier his explicit recommendation tothe DRAC in support of a kilting program, when the very purpose of the DRA6 was to
make a recommendation to him. And then, with the release of DRAC,s official
recomrnendation, Mayor Gilmore's name is nowhere to be found in the document,
creating the illusion for the public of an independent report when the facts of the
matter are just the opposite.
we encourage the trustees to step back and reconsider their part in this flawed process
before further damage is done to the fabric of our comrnunity .
James LaVeck
City of lthaca
CayugaDeer.org
I'm Karen Kaufmann, 110 Northway Rd. in the village, and I'm here to register my opposition tothe Deer committee's deeply disturiing "remediation" proposal to save 60 sterile deer andsimply kill the rest.
From a moral perspective, the proposal offers a chilling approach to human-wildlifeinteraction, reminiscent, in its way, of the Trail of Teu[ o. the Final Solution, remindersthat one generation's "weed species" is another generation's eternal regret and shame.
As a practical matter, the report offers a stunningly ambitious and costly ,,solution,,to
aproblem that remains poorly defined and complJ.ty unluuntified. I can only hope that,in the exercise of its public trust, the Board will carefully consider the justifications for,and costs and potential consequences of its actions before blithely adopting a plan that isas disruptive, dangerous, and potentially deadly as the DRAC proposal.
It particularly behooves the Board to consider closely the one realistic and sustainingaspect of the proposal, the recognition that its plan oipopulation control will require deepcommitment on the part of the Village and its constituents.
Not only will the plan require the oversight and accountability of a dedicated staffmember, to give the devilish administrative and safety details of a lethal population-control program the attention we give, say, the content of our wastewater stream.
Rrrt it also recluiros village residents to commit our backyards and neighborhoods to serveas bait sites, perhaps over the course of a decade. I trusithat, if this plan is adopted,those who proposed it and those who approved it will be the first to offer up your yardsand your neighborhoods, and to expose your family, lour pets, your gardens and yourneighbors to the disruption and danger of a procesr oi*u* extermination. (Those whoobject, for their children's sake, to u f.* sites of deer scat in the yard will,I,m sure, bethrilled by the presence of dead or wounded animals, the blood and tissue in the snow, asth3.a.nnual culling process is carried out.) My yard will obviously not be such a site, norwithin 500 feet of such a site, as rong as I'm u viilug. resident.
In fact' the one real benefit to the DRAC proposal, as I see it, is the two-year window itgives those of us who oppose culling to make hard moral choices about how, or whether,we will live in a village, and among neighbors, who can so carelessly and callouslydisregard our moral and safety "on."*r, and our basic lifestyle choices, simply for thesake ofour yew bushes.
At t!.t DRAC proposal points out, there are effective non-lethal approaches to deer-humanconflict, beginning with fencing, reflectors, plant choices, Lyme education, and ongoingsterilization' why not give these a try, befoie adopting u "uilou, and costly fiun,o create 60"show" deer and kill the rest? Thank you.
<'LIJ" Ll i1 Jf,h*u*f,{ I r'' -' ,a r l'i l(TButuh llw',,,
r am vehemenHy opposed to the idea of baiting andshooting deer in the viilage of cayuga Heights. rt isstaggering to think th_at given the obviouslangers ofdischarging firearms in Jpopulated area that this ideawould stiil be consideredr-especiaily gi"en that this isbeing done primariry to protect gardens andlandscaping.
This proposar is a recipe for disaster and r shudder tothink of the emotionar irauma chirdren wiil experiencewitnessing this in their very own neighborhood.
Anne Serling
06.19.200s
\\6At fln+D seJ goue c:u$srT6
Hello, my name is Lisa Duggan, €oordinatorQ5the Hunger program, FriendshipDonations Network. I have been to nymeroGFeetings regarding the proposed
?,:il^:":113::s,:::L^wrtr-!"u: witnesslazi tn.t n-one 6r tn" auesed issues ortr €utEgsu t55ue:why we need to kill the deer havg been prou-n-ut all. Every issue has actually
*:,i^l|fl"::y.,.9:p-19_uud, one. by on",?.o;11jvref oir".l,L t"o excessive caraccidents to feedins the poor wirh wnai vo$;arrlg,I;il; ;#e;iiiliil,*with chronic wasting disease. To each issue you-have all also b""n presentedwith proven, alternative, non-lethat methods; ;il ;i;hil-#Jo"un comptetelyignored to pursue the most expensive, most dangerous and most brutal act of:l|llii".'"lr:.:T?.yly oeqn proven to sorve anv of vour anesed probrems. Arlof this in the guise of the real issue of protecting your runor.ui""l"rJ*"i#'j1",..
-Again, simpre proven qletnoas ruin ;r;;ilng prants that the deer are notattracted to o,r allowin$'fences that individuabpay for to be put up, have beenpresented' The board is made up entirety of pro'deerkillinj people and the only
i"T:H:,:?^":I::::11.lT yitl:rr.?d qi; cari make is iniit["," was never anyvintention to consider any method other than titting the most-j-nile creatures on:::*l:t^:ir,?y ?l y:jg"re and treasure. inese deer oo irot stay within rheboarders of cayuga Heights-and your oeciiion effects all surrou'nj;;u";;.-;'j''
.'
including my own. The facffhat you have not proven your method to solve
l l*l ll g: :::,"::1Y ls^li Tt ryn - l e11
9 t methods th at a re com p t ete ty scientincaproven to work and that would cost the tax payers far less. &'ffi{il ilgffi-@.-Thishasbeenukunga,oocourtofsoftssincet|
beginning and you are not fooling any of us. Having absolutely no facts on you
ijl"":,yll had :?:r::t :- ,gb,1h"a. Campaig"n uguinii-irioividuars to try twin support. I for one woula netat have moved to a ptacu *n"i" p?liiil;r:L!*ii:ir: r,TT.?:p1?:manor and rhat goui asainsr everyrhins that rthacarstands for. Its obvious that the people stan-d on the side of "'".-i"in.ilscientifi cally proven alternatives.
Lisa Duggan
1,L40 Dryden Road
Bldg 2
Ithaca, NY 14850
L/ru Lr4i.:: Tr k ,ll ,tor,
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i{,oue ns
June 15,2009
The Board ofTrustees Cayuga Heights
Dear Board,
As a cayuga Heights resident for over 30 years, I am raising the following for you to consider regarding
the DRAC committee report:
L' Justify the expense to tax payers in cayuga Heights; where does the money come from?2' What must we do without in Cayuga Heights to pay for the deer eradication program?3. safety issue for humans, pets and tagged deer - can you guarantee our safety?4' Can you guarantee that there will be no emotional distress on the part of children and adults?5' Can you guarantee that no wounded or bleeding deer will wind up on neighborhood lawns?6. Can you guarantee that the Village will not be sued? i
7 ' where and when will be the killing sites? The sterilization sites?8' Why does the current DRAC report leave out an analysis for the DRAC,s decision?9' why is there no report that the number of deer/car accidents have increased in the Village?
10, why is there no report on the number of deer currently in the village?
11. How do we know that the actual number of deer are increasing?
12' why is there no report on any increasing danger from Lyme disease?
L3' I wonder if those who worry about children coming in contact with deer scat also worry about
children coming in contact with deer blood or bodies.
14' ls there a conflict of interest - being that the DRAC committee contains Village of trustees?
15. Why are there no data to support killing the deer?
Sincerely ygr{r5,r" N -\'\ t q\xqc\L
Mary H. [q,$cchi 705 The parkwav