City Hears Deer Complaint

Vere Shenefield, a Pam Street resident, approached the Warsaw City Council Monday asking that something be done about the deer population.

He suggested they all be destroyed.

The city's deer population, according to Shenefield, is so concentrated they are potential disease carriers.

"Lyme disease is curable," he said of illnesses the animals can contract. "Mad cow disease is not. And if the deer get mad cow, the entire beef industry is threatened."

His recommendation was to reduce the deer population to zero using Department of Environmental Management personnel armed with bows and arrows. He said from tree stands, the hunters can shoot down on the animals.

Shenefield and his wife have planted $4,000 worth of hostas and the deer are destroying the plants.

"We definitely need a kill," he said.

City ordinance Article III - Sec. 54-61, prohibits the discharge of firearms, with the exception of police officers or members of the armed forces or National Guard engaging in official duties.

Councilwoman Trish Brown asked what the deer population was and how many was too many.

Mayor Ernie Wiggins said the problem is while some people find them a nuisance, others, a large number of people, like the wildlife and put out salt blocks for them.

Councilmen Joe Thallemer and Jeff Grose said they want to see a plan backed by the DNR before any changes to the laws are made.

Grose agreed the deer are very tame and he talked about a recent encounter with one deer gazing at his Grose's 3-year-old from about 50 feet, near the Courts of Colfax.

Grose also was concerned about vehicles hitting the deer.

Councilmen Charlie Smith and Bill Rhoades are adamantly against any kind of weapons discharge in city limits.

Shenefield then suggested poison would make short work of the deer.

The council wanted information from county and state officials before revisiting the topic.

Barbara Rhorer, a Greenhill Drive resident, approached the council regarding the voluntary annexation letter she received last week.

Last month a neighbor, Phoebe Arrington, came to the council asking for permission to hook into the city sewer line running through her back yard. Arrington's property is in the county, although three of her Greenhill Drive neighbors receive city sewer service.

At the west end of Greenhill, two properties are in city limits. Another four properties to the east are also in the city.

Nine properties are in the county.

City planner Jeff Noffsinger said he heard from two residents, one in support, the other, Rhorer, against.

Five residents must support the annexation for it to be approved.

Rhorer said there wasn't enough information in the building and planning department-generated letter, like the $1,500 cost of hookup, $900 for a contractor and monthly sewage fees.

Rhorer said she bought her property in 1997 and updated the septic system's leach field. She thought snow removal and municipal fire and police services would be a plus.

She pays $222 a year for waste removal now and thought city trash removal would be a benefit. Her property taxes would increase about $108 per year.

Noffsinger said hooking into the system could be done at the leisure of the property owners; the city had no intention of forcing the neighbors to hook on at this time.

Wiggins said because it is a voluntary annexation, it is up to the neighbors to get at least five property owners to agree to the annexation.

In other business, the board:

• Heard from community development coordinator Teresa Ho about activities of the downtown action committee, which meets every other Wednesday. She said more than 30 people helped during the volunteer cleanup last Saturday, one of the committee's projects.

The group was formed following the Hyett-Palma downtown action plan adopted last winter.

One problem the committee is addressing is the parking problem downtown. She said parallel spaces are planned at the Owens Supermarket and on the north side of the courthouse when construction is complete.

Ho said two architects are expected at an upcoming meeting with renderings of a greener downtown.

She also displayed prototypes of parking and informational signs.

• Approved a residential planned unit development for Silver Fox Developments Inc.

The PUD was given a favorable recommendation by the plan commission last week.

The development, west of Husky Trail, consists of condominiums and duplexes, and, according to Noffsinger, will have no setback or minimum lot size. Designed with seniors in mind, the buildings will be close to the sidewalks, of uniform construction, for a neighborhood feel.

• Approved a 3 percent increase to elected officials' salaries on first reading. This elevates the mayor's salary to $53,508; clerk-treasurer, $45,240; and members of the council, $4,640 each. Half the wages come from the sewage operating fund and the other half from the general fund. The ordinance will be read for a second time at the Nov. 4 meeting.

• Approved the creation of a tax increment financing district for properties adjacent to the Gatke property along Winona Avenue. Called the Winona Interurban Redevelopment Area, the designated brownfield is scheduled for remediation beginning this fall with asbestos removal.

Noffsinger updated the council regarding demolition bids that were received at Friday's board of works meeting. The expected bids for removal of bunker oil stored underground and phenolic resin in above-ground tanks were not received. The city planner said recommendations for demolition would be announced at the next board of works meeting and two quotes would be sought for the fuel removal.

County commissioners are expected to sign a deed over to the city at this morning's meeting.

Council members are Jerry Patterson, Bill Rhoades, George Clemens, Jeff Grose, Joe Thallemer and Trish Brown.