Jul 15, 2015 By David Singer 3 min read

By a 4-1 vote, Mt. Lebanon commissioners approved a $15,460 contract June 14 to allow trained archers to shoot deer as soon as Sept. 19 as part of a deer management strategy. Commissioner Kelly Fraasch cast the lone “no” vote, saying she hopes the plan to have contractors Jody Maddock, a managed hunt organizer, and Dr. Anthony DeNicola, a sterilization and deer population researcher, train and organize local archers will be successful, but that she had hoped for non-lethal means to be considered.

The measurement for success would be a 50 percent reduction in deer-related crashes over five years, as municipal planner Keith McGill reported police data show 9 percent of accidents in the area involve deer. The contractors would have to find, vet and train local managers and archers, and find property owners willing to waive state-mandated archery setbacks within the municipality, which could take several weeks. The contractors, with White Buffalo Inc. and Whitetail Associates, return to the commissioners Sept. 8 to provide updates on progress.

Commissioner Coleen Vuono, citing testimony and research from DeNicola that at least 200 female deer would be needed to be killed to reduce the population, said she would want to see additional cull methods combined with an archery program.

“Dr. DeNicola said 150 female deer killed would stabilize the population. The contract estimate says 100 deer through this archery program. I think we should include sharpshooters (with rifles) as part of any plan … I’d like to hear something about it at the August meeting,” she said.

Commissioner Dave Brumfield said he’d vote “no” on any rifle-hunting proposal, citing safety concerns residents have expressed to him in his ward. Board president John Bendel said he’d only vote for a sharpshooting program if archery fails, or if a follow-up sterilization program isn’t found to be viable.

A majority of the nearly two dozen speakers who testified before the commission wanted action on a deer cull program, saying public health and safety is their concern. Others said the proximity of hunters in a densely populated neighborhood posed a greater threat to peoples’ safety.

There was action on other animal-related items at the meeting, as the commissioners voted to allow manager Steve Feller to investigate the viability of allowing goats in Bird Park to eat invasive plant species. One of the caveats is that the goat herd would need a “guard mule” to alert them to predators or aggressive pets as the proposal from Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy board member Thomas Schevtchuk pitched a $4,000 pilot program to keep the goats in the park for about two weeks. The contract would be with Steel City Grazers.

In other business, there won’t be a ballot item in November asking residents whether commissioners should be allowed to vote on debt issues without a supermajority. The vote failed 4-1, with commissioner Brumfield voting yes. But residents will be voting on a potential home rule charter amendment to change advertising requirements for debt. The ballot item will ask whether the municipality should change the current requirements of two separate advertisements between 7-15 days, to one advertisement over 30 days. The home rule charter committee recommended changing the listing requirements because the current charter goes beyond state requirements, and members said it is cumbersome and confusing.