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Angela Podufalski
From:James LaVeck <james@tribeofheart.org>
Sent:Friday, March 22, 2013 4:28 PM
To:Mary Mills
Cc:Angela Podufalski
Subject:Freedom of Information Law Request - March 22, 2013
March 22, 2013
Board of Trustees
Village of Cayuga Heights
Marcham Hall
836 Hanshaw Road
Ithaca, New York 14850
Dear Trustees:
Under the provisions of the New York Freedom of Information Law, Article 6 of the Public Officers
Law, I hereby request a copy of records or portions thereof pertaining to (or containing the
following):
1. All communications/correspondence/memos/emails (including all notes regarding
conversations in person or by phone or by video chat) from November 8, 2012 to the present
between Village officials/Village appointees/Village employees and:
a) Dr. Paul Curtis and/or colleagues and/or members of his staff/team including but not limited to
Jay Boulanger;
b) Faculty and/or staff members of Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine and/or Lab of
Ornithology and/or the Department of Natural Resources, including but not limited to Bernd
Blossey;
c) The Cornell Dean of Faculty and/or members of his staff;
d) The Dean of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and/or members of his staff;
e) The firm White Buffalo and/or any of this firm's staff members and sub-contractors, including
but not limited to Anthony DeNicola, and/or any veterinary professionals, and/or other agencies
or wildlife management firms or consultants that provide deer culling services, deer population
studies, deer sterilization or other similar/related services; and
f) Tim Miller Associates and/or other environmental consultants/consulting firms.
2. From November 8, 2012 to the present, any Requests for Proposal (RFPs) or draft RFPs,
proposals, contracts, reports or communications/correspondence/memos/emails/notes
connected with the provision of services by third parties related to deer management in Cayuga
Heights.
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3. From November 8, 2012 to the present, records of any funds disbursed for any activities
related to deer management, in itemized form if those exist.
4. From November 8, 2012 to the present, all documents, correspondence, lists, diagrams, maps
and/or analyses connected in any way with the use of
land/properties/facilities/structures/locations in and/or around Cayuga Heights for deer
management activities.
5. From November 8, 2012 to the present, all
communications/correspondence/memos/emails/notes (including all notes regarding
conversations in person or by phone or by video chat) between Village officials/Village
appointees/Village employees and any third parties, including but not limited to insurance
agents/insurance company representatives, safety consultants/experts, mental health
consultants/experts, animal science/animal welfare experts/consultants on topics related to:
a) Deer management activities;
b) Killing of deer in proximity to homes;
c) Public safety, legal, financial and physical/mental health risks associated with the carrying out
of deer management activities, including but not limited to discharge of weapons in Cayuga
Heights;
d) Potential legal or financial liabilities to individual residents who authorize the use of their
property for deer management activities;
e) Use of "net and bolt" or any other alternative to shooting as a method of killing deer;
f) The possibility or risk of the Village's planned deer management activities violating New York
State's animal cruelty statutes and/or measures taken to insure these statues and other
laws/regulations pertaining the humane treatment of animals will be followed.
6. From November 8, 2012 to the present, any documents/materials/applications/reports
submitted to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in connection
with the village's "deer remediation" plan, including, but not limited to, materials/documents
related to the process of applying for/receiving any permits/permission/authorization from the
DEC for actions related in any way to deer management, and/or reports associated with such
activities.
7. From November 8, 2012 to the present, any permits/permissions/authorizations received from
the DEC for actions related in any way to deer management.
8. All documentation detailing and/or referring to the “changes” verbally agreed to in the
following phrase (which is found in the document titled Final Summary Report, 2012 Deer
Research Program, Village of Cayuga Heights, New York by White Buffalo, Inc., that was posted on
the Cayuga Heights village web site):
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“We followed the operations protocol outlined in the proposal, contract, and NYSDEC
License to Collect and Possess (LCP) deer. All changes were agreed to verbally prior to the
onset of field activities" [emphasis added]
Under current New York State law, if an agency has the ability to scan records in order to transmit
them via email and doing so will not involve any effort additional to an alternative method of
responding, it is required to do so. In that instance, transferring a paper record into electronic
format would eliminate any need to collect and account for money owed or paid for preparing
paper copies, as well as tasks that would otherwise be carried out. In addition, when a paper
record is converted into a digital image it remains available in electronic format for future use.
If all the requested records cannot be emailed to me, please inform me by email of the portions
that cannot be emailed and advise me of the cost for reproducing the remainder of the records
requested. If, for any reason, any portion of my request is denied, please inform me of the
reasons for the denial in writing and provide the name and address of the person or body to
whom an appeal should be directed.
As you know, the Freedom of Information Law requires that an agency respond to a
request within five business days of receipt of a request. Therefore, I would appreciate a response
as soon as possible and look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Sincerely,
James LaVeck
PO Box 373
Ithaca, NY 14851
contact@cayugadeer.org