Council followed up by discussing the matter at last night’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
Benedetti and her sister Anita own a one acre parcel of land on the north side of Wilson Mills Road, between Lander and Miner Roads. As reported in the press, Benedetti said on April 12th:
“The deer are out of control, they need to be culled. …there's ample room for marksmen to cull the deer.”
“But this isn’t about plants and safety, it’s the whole balance of nature.”
http://blog.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2011/04/highland_heights_will_consider.html
http://hillcrest.patch.com/articles/highland-heights-officials-to-discuss-deer-problem
I found the last comment to be really ironic because as it turns out, Benedetti and several of her family members signed drilling leases with Cutter Oil a couple of years ago.
They are part of the “Sovchen Drilling Unit No. 1,” a frac drilling well that Cutter Oil drilled in 2009 near the intersection of Miner and Wilson Mills Roads in Highland Heights.
It’s kind of hard believe that someone who has actively participated in bringing frac drilling to one of our residential neighborhoods is really that concerned about the “balance of nature”. According to one recent story:
“…(a frac) well can produce over a million gallons of wastewater that is often laced with highly corrosive salts, carcinogens like benzene and radioactive elements like radium, all of which can occur naturally thousands of feet underground. Other carcinogenic materials can be added to the wastewater by the chemicals used in the hydrofracking itself. …Gas has seeped into underground drinking-water supplies in at least five states, including Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia...Air pollution caused by natural-gas drilling is a growing threat, too." Regulation Lax as Gas Wells' Tainted Water Hits Rivers, The New York Times, February 27, 2011
Actually, when I think about it, Benedetti’s position on deer is totally consistent with her overall environmental sensibility as a frac drilling leasee---a sensibility that is (obviously) quite different than mine.
That being said, Benedetti is absolutely correct in her description of the impact that deer have on our residential neighborhoods. Basically her beef is that the deer eat stuff that she plants, they “poop” in her yard, and they scare her elderly father by standing close to her house.
I see a lot of deer because my house backs up to a wooded area that is adjacent to the Municipal Park. The deer come and stand in my yard (they know just how long my dog’s tie out line is, and they love to stand just out of reach, staring at my dog). The deer also poop in my yard---although it’s sometime hard to see because deer poop looks like tiny tic-tacs (it is similar to rabbit droppings--- and is miniscule compared to dog droppings). And yes, the deer have also eaten flowers, fruits and vegetables that I plant in my yard.
It’s frustrating---but, heh, they were here first.
I’ll pass along one tip that’s worked for me: Every year I go to the store and buy the cheapest, smelliest bar soap I can find. I then hang pieces of the soap on my rhododendrons and other plants that the deer seem to love. I also hang soap near my garden. Apparently the scent throws the deer off and makes the vegetation much less attractive to them. (Plus, as an added benefit, I’ve got the cleanest bushes in town.)
What was Council’s response to Benedetti’s concerns? After discussing the issue at the April 19th COW meeting, they decided to follow the advice of Police Chief Jim Cook.
Cook provided statistics about the cost of deer culling (Solon spent $700,000 on its last deer culling effort) and the relatively few deer-related accidents that have occurred in the city over the last few years (far, far fewer than other cities, such as Mentor and Solon).
Bottom line, the Police Chief stated:
“I am not in favor of deer hunters in our city…(With hunting) we could have a severe injury, where we haven’t had that with the deer.”Sensible advice from the city’s top cop---but probably not what Benedetti wanted to hear.
Greenspace Update
Under Council President Scott Mills’ direction, Council is steadily moving forward with a plan to install a Gazebo in the city's new green space. The Highland Heights Lions Club has offered to help pay for the Gazebo, as a way to celebrate its 50th anniversary . That’s a wonderful gift, and Council hopes to take advantage of the Club’s generosity by getting a gazebo in place this summer.
It also looks like some sort of informal community gardens may become a reality, thanks to the Highland Heights Garden Club. The Club does wonderful work beautifying our city, and it won state honors as the 2010 Garden Club of the Year for Ohio (it’s currently in the running for national honors as well). As explained by Noreen Paradise, whatever future plans there might be for a more formal community garden in the greenspace, there is no reason not to start with some type of garden this year. All it will take is tilling the soil and laying out plots using string and wooden stakes.
I’ve got my shovel and seeds all ready.
One interesting sidelight OR How’s this for non-verbal communication?
Councilman Ed Hargate—who usually goes to great lengths to avoid taking public stands—was quite vocal in opposing Council’s plan to tear down the Old Church Building and to develop the area where the OCB stood as a new city greenspace.
During every discussion about the new city greenspace so far, Hargate has physically pulled himself away from the Council table and sat there without saying a word. He doesn’t even pretend to look interested.
Park Snack Bar
For the past several years, the city has struck a deal with a small, locally owned company to run the concession stands at the Municipal Park. It’s been a very good arrangement for the city. The city receives a guaranteed profit each year, while the concessionaire takes all the financial risk and has the headache of staffing and running the snack bars.
During the last several years, the concessionaire paid the city $3,000 for the right to sell snacks in the park. This year, however, the concessionaire proposes to drop her payment to $1,700.
Why the decrease?
One reason is this: in the past, the city actively discouraged picnicking in the pool area---mostly for sanitary reasons, but the policy protected the concessionaire’s turf too. Last year, however, Recreation Director Dave Ianiro sat by and said nothing after the pool staff starting bringing takeout food from surrounding restaurants into the pool area and dining poolside. It’s no surprise that residents quickly followed their lead---and the concessionaire took it in the shorts.
So the city faces a real choice this year: either go back to its former policy of restricting food in the pool area or, like the concessionaire, accept reduced profits from the park’s concession stands.
Council has left it up to Mayor Coleman to strike a deal with the concessionaire.
We should find out pretty soon just how much those poolside pizza parties have cost the city, in terms of lost revenue.
