HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 20, 2009 Privilege of the Floor.PDF july 20, 2009: privilege of the floor
(,I-.I)diana and kate have a problem with the cost for two months of training for the new
police dept. administrator, but Diana has NO problem with asking villagers to pay for:
- a $3700.00 speed monitor to be placed permanently on triphammer so that drivers will
drive more slowly where she jogs;
- and she has no problem spending thousands of villagers' dollars to pay a cornell prof
and his students to interview our dept. heads and report what they learned to the board,
who already know what the dept. heads know- if they are doing their jobs, and for
another prof and his students to suggest a plan for the corners, which is private property
and which has already been given away without thought or a plan by the board and
mayor, who have yet to appoint a planning board, whose sole purpose is to devise a plan
for the village;
- and she has no problem spending our money for an assistant for Brent cross, who cannot
get his work done because he has too many responsibilities,requiring most recently,
paying a consulting firm to create a required engineering plan, and yet, this assistant's
first job is photographing deer fencing on village residents'property, which exists
because this board has still not acted on a deer remediation plan, nor a fencing ordinance,
and is a project that does not warrant time and money when the business of the village is
not getting done;
- and she has no problem with putting the one overloaded dept. head, brent cross, in
charge of a total village hall renovation, a project for which he has no experience and no
time, and which is expected to cost between $700,000.00 and one million dollars, while
she and the other board members have refused to consider a far superior plan to put a
prefabricated building on village land for the police and the court at one third the cost,
allowing the village hall to be upgraded only for the clerk and mayor, thereby preserving
the hall's exterior appearance and dramatically reducing the total cost of both projects
while creating a state of the art police facility and effective and safe court room.
C2)he noon meetings were initiated as the website indicates: for dept. reports and bill
paying, but in fact they are used for new business,yet there is no notice to the public and
in fact, the website amounts to false advertising, and a noon meeting is yet the latest way
to reduce the likelihood of village participation.
Dbeseech the mayor, who, along with david donner and ron bogs, correctly and
Honorably voted to prevent a clear conflict of interest, from being incorporated into the
new planning board resolution, to use his power to appoint the new board in a manner
that implements an ethical and inclusive process and does not select board member's
neighbors, who have been "promised" positions, nor spouses of board members. this is
an opportunity to open the process to village residents, not the clique of the community
party.
When my daughter learned of the situation with the
deer in Cayuga Heights, she was very upset.
Schools and parents teach children that it is not okay
to hit or use force against another. They teach that
this is not how to solve problems. Yet, it appears that
this is how Cayuga Heights solves its problems. And
as a parent, this is very disconcerting to me.
When I was growing up, we had deer visit our yard.
They ate apples under our apple trees. Slender and
fast, the deer reminded me very much of my beloved
dog, Henny Penny, a whippet. Then my mother
became the Director of the SPCA in the county in
which I grew up. When she first got the job, the
method of killing the 90% of animals that went in but
never came out was a decompression chamber. It was
a machine with a window on the front. I don't know
what possessed me to watch one day as a load of
dogs and cats were put to their deaths. But at that
moment, I realized those deaths were senseless, and
they could have been avoided, if humans would have
been responsible. For me it brought up the question,
how is it that: it is okay to kill some animals and not
others? And this changed my life completely. Today,
there are many no kill shelters. Perhaps it would have
been easier to just kill the animals, but so many
people realize it is not right. And they have worked
very hard to find non-violent solutions. I think
Cayuga Heights could serve as a better role model for
our children and do the same.
In NYS, there is a law that requires humane
education in our schools. This law was created
because it was recognized that if children were taught
compassion for animals, they would be less likely to
be violent to other people.
No matter how many you kill, deer will keep crossing
the invisible border into Cayuga Heights.
Now, I am hoping that you can explain to my
daughter why you want to kill the deer, because I was
not able to give her an explanation that made any
sense, since I do not understand either. As you make
your decisions, please keep in mind that violence is
violence, not matter what you call it, and allowing
violence, in whatever form, contributes to a mindset
in our world that violence is okay.
fiw
1. Individuals on DRAC and their "expert consultants" talk about Cayuga Heights Deer,
Cornell Deer and Lansing Deer. Therefore, how many deer are there in Cayuga
Heights which are "Cayuga Heights" deer? The "expert consultant" has never given an
answer as to how many Cayuga Height's deer there are, so of the 60 deer that will not
be killed —whose deer are they which we are not killing or better yet, whose deer are
we killing?
2. In the DRAC report table published on the Village web site, under the disadvantages
section the committee sites that costs for the alternatives would be property owners.
Who pays for the killing by contract killers, the mayor, the board of trustees? I think
that tax payer money is the answer, and that money comes from property owners.
3. Point of order relative to those trustees and the mayor being members of DRAC and
now these individuals are approving their own recommendations. As a point of law
these individuals must recuse themselves since there is a conflict of interest.
4. If the trustees proceed with the killing agenda and according to the DRAC group the
cost for the multi-year killing project would be approximately $100,000. This value
places the project into a competitive bid process which then raises the question:
a) Who will prepare the notice announcing the request for proposals and will the
bidders pay for the bid package or will it be provided at no charge and what will the
cost be for each bid package.
b) The trustees should clarify to the village residents that if they proceed with the
killing project that no additional tax burden is necessary and that all other village
projects are fully funded.
c) Would the proposed killing project be Fixed Price (FP), Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF)
or Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF)?
d) Who will prepare the RFP (Request for Proposal) since the document must
reference all Federal, State, County and Local laws and regulations and the flow
down of rules, regulations, and ordinances in addition to the SOW (Statement of
Work).
e) Who will prepare the evaluation criteria by which the respondents proposals will be
evaluated.
f) If damage is incurred to private property or a fatality results what are the liabilities
on the contractor, the village, the trustees and the mayor since the DRAC report
has not shown the killing program to be in the interest of public safety.
Village Trustees
Thirty two years ago, my husband and I moved to Cayuga Heights because it was a calm,
safe and a beautiful,peaceful location not far from Cornell where I have taught for all of
those years. Cayuga Heights has always been safe and we have been secure to live here—
to be free to walk, run or ski around the neighborhood day or night. We especially love
to be out around dawn or dusk to experience this incredible beauty and peace.
It would appear that this is to soon change. At some undisclosed time in some
undisclosed location, hired sharpshooters will shoot baited, people- habituated deer.
Since citizens will not be informed—there is a strong possibility that someone could be
the victim of a stray bullet.
We love the peace and quiet of the countryside but decided against living in a more rural
location because during hunting season pedestrians, homes and car passengers are at risk.
However, now- not only are our children,pets and wildlife in danger—but anyone who
inadvertently enters the "shoot zone" is in danger.
Cayuga Heights with its plethora of PhDs, executives and professional people has long
been a Village of reason and of tolerance. Such is no longer the case. I believe we will
see property values decrease, people who love to be outdoors will likely move else
where, and caring, enlightened families with children will be concerned about the carnage
and .-iolence that might be witnessed by these children.
As myth after myth has been dispelled regarding Lyme disease, aggressive deer, deer/car
accidents and the idea that the region's poor might benefit from venison—this situation
boils down to saving unfenced gardens and the non indigenous flora that attract the deer.
Ironically, woodchucks and rabbits also enjoy expensive flowers and plants—so the
systematic, yearly, senseless killing of deer may be to no avail.
To date, we have no idea how many deer we have in the village. And we have no
measurement of how many the area could support or not support.
So I ask the trustees to carefully consider the DRAC proposal. If you vote for the DRAC
proposal you will not only change the face of Cayuga Heights but also its safe
environment and easy ambience.
Mary H. Tabacchi, 705 The Parkway
IN
I have had 17 of your labeled Cayuga Heights deer
—in my yard at one time this spring—full-grown deer—this was before
the fawns were born thi-spring..
There are too many white-tailed deer in the country—particularly in the
New England states. Besides eating everything green, they spread
disease and cause hundred of thousands of auto wrecks. �
But the problem is even more profound. The herds are altering the ecology of
the forests hurting other wildlife, including the birds. The deer profoundly
change the forests. They eat every new sapling. They are sending the
Ecosystem of the Eastern part of the United States into chaos.
In our own yard we lost a tree—because we cut it down. We had a cherry tree, ° '
which attracted deer day and night. I was shoveling excrement into Renwick
Creek. I dnuA.uw_ ser antsAO-d efing.
100 people a year die in auto accidents with deer. This makes deer deadlier
than sharks, alligators, bears and rattlesnakes combined.
Biologists say the when deer exceed 15 to 20 per square mile, ecosystems begin
to degrade. '/XXx
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The herd in Cayuga Heights needs to be culled to a reasonable size. I hope the
board will make this need a priority and a reality.
Thank you.
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My name is Anne Serling. I have written two letters to the Ithaca Journal and
one to the Ithaca Times. I do not want to take up a lot of time tonight but
would simply like to reiterate what I have said in these letters:
I am vehemently opposed to the proposal of killing deer in Cayuga Heights.
The idea is not only unsafe; it is unethical and cruel.
What makes deer any less important than landscape in this world we live in?
HUNTING.WHIT
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To manage backyard deer,bowhunters id
lac a
a f: 3 must learn to modify,adapt,and over-
come.At this reaidanca,aMhafs Set up a
k' Scaffold and placed- blind ore
p top.Qkayy, ,
it might took a little tinorthodax,but three r.
deer failed to make it oat of this yard as
a result.gowhrtaning him proven a fbotive .
wherry AO ether Methods will work, l
ers,expenses to oronize and coordinate
landowners with their hanters.This ac. t
coLintability between the l�ur,,ters,E.cca-
logix managers,and UMT is most Iik-ely
the first time anything l kt this has been F
attettzpted in this 1 omitr,y.
With tt-he gay ahead troi-n UMT, a
a.c up of 300, bowhunt�rs appliccl to
j.
car.3
take part on, the F,ccolol:;x team, This
grOUP was theta oaz'ro5ved clown to �1(7
ysf
bowhunters who actually in-
terviews.OUt 6fthose,2.5 wvem put on an
active rooter,and an 4dditionaI 0 were
placed on backup status. �
the Eccolooix huntea:y: who had cle-
"` �of s of
c �isto pass rigorousThe : u rf encvtEt and
crirrjit�allyac:kgtoundchc�l,, rn,�,ieteth�
National BowhitnterEdurdion Ft)unda-
uuh nti
tion's (www.nbeforg) safety course, acid
uphold the SURE (Sincere, t Ttise.ifTsh, +
Responsible, Rhical) rerlu rcruents This
Relyin 'on soUnd plannin y bowhunters group 8�'js �,,:i.���y��t�������a1�5��t�:.A11
once again prove their ability to manage o �i�'wildlifetate
bowlrar x�;<,1 t= � st
urban deer. All hunters w ine required to re.T,ard
the hours thty bunted'plus the nurnber of
bucks,does, vrr�s,and iiaai't tatif7s ci cto::a i
Y DEFINITION, WILDLIFE.,urban areas, the problem of too many theysa.vwhiieon Stand,Theyal o(Aaci tO G
it:aanagctxzent consist&:of three deer was only getting worse in UMT. ren-,ove the lowc,•a-jawbone and record the
primary c oiriponents; 1) wiId Some couno inlerg•on the.U14T board weight of every deer they shot.Collecting
life .pczpulations, 2) habitat suggested harpshooters, while ethers such biological data is time corisurriin 13type'%azlel .3) people manage- voice91
d their rarp�+osition to firearms',r' t7 .but it is essential tts eJtabli5h baselt?2e ditty
n1 ent, The interaction of these three urban area.
cl.enierzts d te'rmilles the success of arty tlrl tine condition of the dE l a.erd before
v,ililli eproiee.t,Vl ixetlxearn',anagitlgcic�ea 'q�to Hunt and after Eccolog-ix hunters came can
board.From a biological viewpoint these j
it, the bite woods or backyards,wildlife After considerable debate, r
biologists gc neraily aix veryknowledge-- F, 1�d'1'd4- data are priceless. once g3iil, lip Lc'0
g dined the sharpshooting option,which logLx hUrIters were fulfilf,hig their:7T.,RE
able on anir"41 populations and habitat, would have coast an estimated 125;000, regtiircmersts.to CJivtT
but often they.fail on people rnauage.-. and hired Eccologix instead, The uNIT
went, 1.
decision was based prinxarilti on the.ract Ma!lagt'!`5 are the Key
Thy t s where a group of bowhunters that bowhunting is less intrusive less ex. . !`lie amount oa$time�o cc�logi,�mein- k
y' ca.11ecf hectilogix froul Bucks Count
V, pensive at�4 5,00(i,potexitial,y.tttore ef- agers put ir�tc� this i�rc,�ra.rr.r is airy„ st �
Petsitswl�%araia, have four theii nich , ficieitt.i.,n limited"licaekyard"areas, and en�lle,s
Eecaiase c�i the},iige t.iiii+ t tiri�- r
Located north fPhiladelpbia.,in Vpper more can.1munity-oriented, And, yes, .rnitri-ierit, inanagers rtxu.st be paid fur
Makefield',Eownship(UMT.) Ec:c6l6gix Eccologix wouloi stet paid to promote. a ni loirtg-tcrni pitileo C.This is ircal+c,xtant turned a conflict of tocy at3y deer into bowhurldw as a management tool, becau'se this is where.rraaiiy e'r.
urban cic
a bowhuixting opportunity.As in.tnany FCC01081x coverer[ its hunt manag- .p�rogramsfall:Withoutafiixancial triceki u j
$2'�-BOWHuNTER, AUGUST MOD
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H'untin gof Whit te i1s � Edcalo x Mary t Pell'Atre
cults contradict other data that that in 2068,iHe 460*bOrobt9rr Ois'kill0d h03FIy 450, h
hU"t rs�vlpa uttll'ze hart a4ttaa lv shsaot' dew.It soams,rte'n' ' le td $um&hat th0arg
fewer deco tharr'bun' rs"Ao do no use a .t pra r .yr Ord�tava:lE r mp t pradurr'
h' 1t�Sec; r }�a On pa;c ,Rio,after Qr�ly. 4.42 tivo,but auth is na't the case.in f mitt,aa;thii graph
�h ;the aing. 16est M�raa*tleis,pradue the onont
anti:rrgax..of:t17e.E�wlo&PxOgiain,data
z 4 dear feu r aofe:
related fa bartrtxg away bc:inconclusive.
Lai
A survey was sent to landowners asac- �
rii ;a s z°.i f questions.This survey re-
uealed that 8 perceiyt of.all landowners
�e-re either 1>ery satisfied with Ecco°sogi �.Ft R;
hu.6fers or rated therm as exceptional: 1.41'
Furs Haan 90 perrcern rated the mapagers
W,.the same wad. be key question had to
do with whether landowners w6uld lie. 015
willing to.41low Eccologix hunters bad 0,21
on their property.Again,95-percent said
they w6uld,testa m ent to the:fact thatFcr, <2 2-4 -8 9-12 13®20 21+
colcrgix hunters.-:re fulfilling.the people- SIZE OF PROPERTY �A�GO
management component of w ldsife
b,
ing these deer early,.Eccol.ogix hunt.rm -An ad)oining to vriship elected.to god.
Key Slle Notes saved.over >3,900 pouIld"of vc�ctc�tioii, cv�tlr sharpshooters t.a reduce drex,rrratia-
-Eccologix bowbun"Ler,tools°•4U per- or the equivalent of a 1"-acre food plot, ' hers.', ccologix hunters harvested three
cent(226.de ),of their.total deer harvest 4Deer-vehicle collisions in U M l fewer deer than the sharpshooters.That's
W0.1in the first rnorbtlr of the program, dropped ftom 230 to 129 in one yeztr,.a prob2aly not a sir con)paxisori becar,'su`g'
air e ceptioiial acco�x�lxlts�itr�ent.l3yr tak.. . reduction of 44 percent. c ondiijons ould have varied gre4ya
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dn>haur me h.rek[! rf .,:L'xr,>t
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Statement to the Board of Cayuga Heights, NY: July 20, 2009
My name is John Paul. I have lived here for the past 43 years.
It is here that I have helped raise three children.
For 10 years, in the 1980s and 90s, I spent 3 to 4 weeks of each summer doing renovation
work at the home of a man on Twin Glens Road here in Cayuga Heights. Every day I
observed and was observed by white tail deer ... deer who were the forbears of those who
live among us today.
From that property I could see the magnificent Cayuga Lake.
Before there was a Cayuga Heights,
Before there was a New York State,
the first people, the Cayugas, lived peacefully along its southern shores. Very near to
Buttermilk Falls was the location of that nation's Sacred Peace Pipe.
In the summer of 1779, without consideration of co-existance, General John Sullivan lead
his troops along Cayuga's shore, destroying crops, burning villages, driving out the
natives, and killing those who could not or would not flee. This bloody choice still stains
the waters.
Before Sullivan's campaign.
Before the Cayugas settled here,the area was populated by White Tail Deer.
These ancient, gentle animals have great wisdom. They are not aggressive or possessive.
They care for their offspring and lead them in the ways of peace. For hundreds of years
these deer have lived the lives we would have our children lead.
Shall we now ... ... once again .... and only for our selfish convenience,murder those
who mean us no harm and who every moment show us how to co-exist in beauty?
M,
I call on your conscience.t
\I pray that you "lead us not into" your proposed Crime Against
Nature.
Thank you.
John Lyon Paul
174 Sodom Road, Ithaca,New York 14850
We live in a world of short-term solutions. These types of solutions have brought us
economic decline, global warming, widespread poverty and the loss of many civil
liberties. The bait-and-shoot solution to the deer population falls into this category. It
provides a short-term solution with both immediate and long term negative ramifications.
One major concern, I believe, is what an action like this says about the values of our
community. Do we value our tulips over a positive relationship with the creatures we
share this planet and community with? Do we want to show our children and the world
that when something is a nuisance we slaughter it? In a world full of war and apathy, this
is hardly the lesson we should be teaching.
Wildlife expands our world and reminds us that we cannot live in it however we please
without hurting ourselves, others, and the planet. Rather than resorting to a bloody and
cruel solution, our community, represented by our board of trustees, could implement
simple solutions such as reflectors on the road, fences to protect our gardens, creating
spaces that are friendly to deer and humans, and educating community members about
how to live alongside the other creatures that share our space.
If you would speak to the people you represent, I believe you will find a collection of
hearts and minds willing to spend a little extra time and money on alternatives to this
mass slaughter. It is an insult to many, including myself and many others you see here
tonight, to assume that we value a pretty view from our living room window over the lives
of our beautiful and gentle neighbors. You have the power to either cause or prevent
their brutal and senseless killing. Please choose to model the best of what we want the
world to be rather than the worst of what it is.
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The proposed Cayuga Heights deer slaughter feels how I would
imagine it would be to live in a third world country controlled by juntas
and special interest groups.
Due to a decree by a few, primarily for their special interests and
hobbies, the general population of Cayuga Heights and its surrounding
areas have to live in fear. They must live in an environment in which
their own, their children's and their pets' safety is threatened by
marauding "sharpshooters", shooting at deer in undisclosed locations,
on undisclosed dates, at undisclosed times. How creepy and terrifying
is that?
Another undisclosed plan is the project's policy. What is the policy for
notification/return of pets killed or injured by the rifle shots? Will the
"Sharpshooters" be instructed to cover up such incidents and not
report them and tell the owners, or will they come forward and face
the inevitable law suits that will follow?
It is truly shocking that in a supposedly environmentally conscious,
civilized and enlightened community, which I am sure Cayuga Heights
prides itself on being, would allow a few, whose special interests
supersede common sense and public sensibilities to impose such a
sentence.
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As our video record wili show, over the last ten months there has been a pattern of
ever "]sore flimsy Justifications for a deer killing program. Perhaps eve':` more
tragic; a pattern of discouraging citizen participation by doing such things as
announcing meetings at the last minute, failing to publish meeting agendas and
minutes, mischa_racterizing the purpose of public meetings, and even public
officials making personal attacks and false statements at public events and in the
media in order to disparage and intimidate individuals advocating for nonviolent
solutions. You have also taken steps to minimize the inclusion of public comments
in meeting minutes. You have offered up exaggerated deer-vehicle accident
statistics, and claimed over and over that the deer population is spiraling out of
control, yet have presented no convincing evidence to support this and many other
claims.
What are the citizens of our community to snake of this sort of behavior on the part
of government officials?
And now, you propose to leave every single deer in Cayuga Heights either dead or
the subject of an experiment to be carried out by a Cornell researcher who has
apparently become so disconnected by all the killing he's done that unnecessarily
taking innocent life no longer carries moral weight. Similarly, you apparently
suffer no qualms about using tax payer funds to annually bring in a team of armed
men to spill the blood of fawns and pregnant does long habituated to human
contact. And you've said that you will do this at times and locations that will not
be disclosed, denying residents the right to make informed decisions about their
own safety. Has the word democracy lost its meaning in Cayuga Heights?
You may tell yourselves that you have a mandate, and that what you are doing is
somehow scientific, but I believe the vast majority of people not just in Ithaca, but
in the wider world, will find your plan emblematic of those peculiar acts of
barbarism that have been carried out not by the poor, desperate, and ignorant, but
by highly educated people of privilege who willfully choose a violent and
destructive course of action even though they have many other options.
I and many others still hope that you will choose to set aside this tragic plan, and
work with the many people who are waiting to support nonviolent options in the
best interest of our whole community. It is up to you decide what you will be
remembered for: compassion and creativity, or senseless killing and abuse of the
democratic process.
I'm Karen Kaufmann, 110 Northway Road, and I'm here, again, to voice my concerns about the
Deer Remediation Committee's recommendation for deer population control.
I honestly don't believe that anything I, or anyone else, can say will persuade the Board to
consider the moral and ethical challenges raised by the DRAC proposal. But I hope that you
share a commitment to sound management of the public purse, sound stewardship of the public
good. As a matter of sound management, I pose a few questions:
• Is is sound management to undertake a costly, ambitious program of lethal control on the
vague, unquantified impression or assumption that there are "too many deer" or"more
than there used to be"? Doesn't sound management require, at the least, that there be
some estimate of the number of deer to be controlled, so that your approach, and your
assessment of feasibility, cost, and duration, can have some bearing in reality? Doesn't
sound management require that you assess the feasibility of setting up bait sites, and
getting resident waivers, before adopting a plan to use lethal force in our backyards?
• Next, as a matter of sound management, will you each honestly assure your community
that a program of backyard slaughter performed by hired killers over a potential ten-year
span will make our neighborhoods safer, more liveable, more congenial, more
marketable? And will you explain to your community what measures or benchmarks of
safety, liveability etc. you will apply? For myself, I know I moved here because I thought
this was a safe, comfortable, child-friendly, eminently walkable community, open to
outdoor activities in all seasons and times of day. A backyard shooting program
involving the slaughter of potentially hundreds of deer will not meet my criteria for safety
or walkability.
• Is it sound management to ignore the choices and experiences of other communities that
have considered bait and shoot programs? Our neighbors in the Cornell deer control
program rejected out of hand any plans to shoot on central campus due to density of
population and traffic. Our colleagues in Irondequoit dropped bait and shoot in favor of
controlled hunting due to cost and controversy. Our counterparts in the Town of
Amherst, after litigation over environmental impact, spent six figures to ignore an
Environmental Impact recommendation to try non-lethal control first, and continue to
face deer population replenishment and public controversy in their bait- and-shoot
program. Down in Princeton, New Jersey, the first five years of bait culling cost over a
million dollars and the annual kill has continued unabated for another five years--
notwithstanding that the effectiveness of their hired sharpshooters is enhanced by New
Jersey law allowing net and bolt killing, illegal in New York. And out in Michigan, the y
City of Rochester Hills last winter pulled the plug on its bait and shoot program two
months into its four month run, with only nine kills on a 200-deer permit and under
mounting public opposition; while the city of Muskegon recently rejected a plea for
culling, concluding it was costly and ineffective, and its goals of plant preservation better
accomplished by fencing and repellants.
Finally, is it sound management to blink at the legal and liability challenges of a plan for
public hiring of private sharpshooters to perform lethal operations on private land? Take
the need for an environmental impact evaluation—case precedent indicates that without
basic quantification you cannot conscientiously certify even that no environmental impact
assessment is required. Or take the Village firearms ordinance, which limits the use of
firearms to the "discharge of official duty." Will you deputize the hired killers to make
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them "officials" subject to "official duty"? Or do you believe all contractors hired by the
Village are performing official duty, so that the Village bears responsibility for their
mishaps and accidents? And speaking of responsibility, who will bear responsibility for
activities on and around the bait sites—will the site owners and 500-foot neighbors be
held accountable? Will their homeowners insurance cover the plan? Will the non-
signatory neighbors have any right of recourse if accidents, misfires, or the escape of
wounded animals occurs? Will the Village evade responsibility by putting the onus for
safety and control on the hired sharpshooters who would as soon kill as brush their teeth?
• As a matter of sound management, I urge the Board to move slowly. Collect the
numbers,post the position of deer officer, conduct the survey that will assess the
community's willingness to provide bait sites or fund sterilization, work with Cornell and
other neighbors to put phase one of the Phased Option Plan into place, and work the
options of education, fencing, and sterilization, before putting your community at odds, at
risk, at great cost Thank you.
_1/Z C) /C)
If Cayuga Heights passes a deer-killing plan, it will be a tragedy. It will mark
the end of a long era of peace and enlightenment that our community has
known since I was a child growing up here. It will be an admission that we,
who are amongst the most highly educated, privileged people in the
country, failed to open our minds wide enough to find a way to live in
harmony with nature.
Yes, you have the power to approve the killing of sentient animals who live
amongst us. But that doesn't make it right. It will still be a tragedy, and as
the killing plays out, it will become more obvious to more people what a
grave mistake you have made. This mistake is already clear to many, before
a single shot has been fired. But when it becomes more real - when the
armed men arrive in their trucks and the blood of innocent animals is
spilled, when the piles of their lifeless corpses are carried away under the
cover of darkness, you will not be able to escape the fact that some people
will bear witness to this senseless violence and its aftermath. And when
their outrage and anger rises up, these people will remember all the fuss
that was made about some deer-killing plan in Cayuga Heights, and that the
people sitting in this room are the ones responsible for bringing this ugliness
upon us all. This will be your legacy, your contribution to the culture and
values of what was once called the most enlightened community in America.
I grieve for the deer, and for the people who care about their lives. But 11 am
determined they riot die in vain. So while you are making deals with contract
killers and gathering clearances to shoot within 500 feet of people's homes,
and while you are changing laws to suppress freedom of speech, we will be
documenting the activities of these innocent members of death row. Our
camera will capture their individuality, their family bonds, the way they play
and enjoy life and care for their own, in ways that are recognizable to
anyone who shares their home with a dog or cat. Then, as they are picked
off one by one, people around the world will learn about how the people
who put a contract out on their lives wouldn't listen and didn't care. In this
way, perhaps we can turn your dark legacy in this community into a ray of
hope for other communities.
—Jenny Stein, 40-year resident of Ithaca, NY
Page 1 of 2
Mary Jane Neff
From: vchclerkl@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 1:12 PM
To: Mary Jane Neff
Subject: Fwd: For the record -- copy of statement made at 7/20 Trustees meeting
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Meador<michael@meador.info>
To: mayor@cayuga-heights.ny.us; clerk@cayuga-heights.ny.us
Cc: randolina@cayuga-heights.ny.us; rbors@cayuga-heights.ny.us; ddonner@cayuga-
heights.ny.us; driesman@cayuga-heights.ny.us; ksupron@cayuga-heights.ny.us;
bszekely@cayuga-heights.ny.us
Sent: Mon, Jul 20, 2009 9:31 pm
Subject: For the record-- copy of statement made at 7/20 Trustees meeting
Statement to the Village of Cayuga Heights Trustees, July 20, 2009
My family lives less than 200 yards east of where you sit tonight. In our fifteen years on the
property, we've tried to create a wildlife-friendly habitat, reducing the amount of mowed lawn,
eliminating traditional landscaping plants that deer like to eat, building brush piles for nesting
and burrowing habitat, etc.
We appreciate and are careful to protect the collection of critters that live on or visit our
property, including raccoons, woodchucks, muskrats, skunks, red and grey squirrels, chipmunks,
frogs, ducks, geese, crows, and many species of songbirds. But we are powerless to protect
that habitat from the heavy destruction of foliage and undergrowth br ought on by the gross
overpopulation of deer.
That overpopulation is also attracting other critters that are even less appropriate for a densely-
populated environment. Less than a week ago, a red fox trotted across our backyard. Of
course it was exciting to see it, but the reason it was there is that it was headed straight for the
rotting deer carcass that was upwind of our house. Finding easy food in a human neighborhood
means that it's likely to return to the area, bringing an enhanced threat of rabies and
introducing a predator of small dogs and cats.
Does the deer overpopulation problem impact us directly? Of course, in many ways. Ignoring
disease and other serious deer-related problems, one simple example occurred just three
weeks ago when a doe climbed four steps, crossed our 12-ft-wide deck, and devoured a large
potted tomato plant in full bloom. But this is a relatively trivial issue—we can buy more
tomatoes. The real problem is that we can't restore a decimated natural environment.
There is a gross imbalance in the local=2 Oecosystem, and the deer herd must be significantly
reduced for the long-term benefit of what's left of the natural environment in the village.
Otherwise, the negative impacts will only continue to worsen for many other species besides
humans and the deer herd. The Trustees need to act responsibly on behalf of the residents
07/23/2009
Page 2 of 2
who elected them and implement the recommendations of the exhaustive, year-long work of the Deer
Remediation Advisory Committee.
Michael Meador
105 Lisa Place
Ithaca,NY 14850
607-342-3208 cell
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."Albert Einstein
An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just E sy Steams!
07/23/2009