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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,April 13,2015 <br /> Page 9 <br /> From 2004 to 2013, Mr. Brokke advised that many times the complaints were <br /> generated by the same people reminding staff to address the deer population, but <br /> in 2014, staff had begun to better monitor the number and types of calls parallel to <br /> their tracking of deer inventory and more sharing of information from residents <br /> with staff. <br /> Councilmember McGehee opined that 2014 was probably an unusual year for <br /> wildlife due to the heavy snow and snow cover. Councilmember McGehee noted <br /> that the DNR had actually asked people to feed deer that winter, and increased <br /> deer populations could also figure into the picture as it did for all wildlife. Com- <br /> pared to the overall population of Roseville, Councilmember McGehee opined <br /> that she didn't view fourteen complaints as indicating a major problem. <br /> Feeding <br /> Councilmember Willmus opined that the framework provided by the Parks & <br /> Recreation Commission was a good one, and suggested using that to pursue this <br /> recommendation. As for feeding restrictions, Councilmember Willmus stated that <br /> he supported doing so with a further definition or exception for target species. <br /> Councilmember Willmus advised that one thing he struggled with during past dis- <br /> cussions included the regional issue, not just specific to Roseville, and measures <br /> being taken by other communities to the north, south and east, and the need to be <br /> cooperative in controlling or reducing numbers throughout the region. <br /> Specific to feeding, Councilmember McGehee advised that she had a problem <br /> with the ordinance in general, opining it was premature and that any targeted <br /> feeding ordinance would be hard to enforce as deer herds and any wildlife were <br /> typically and continually on the move between and among communities. While <br /> the City of Roseville may have an inordinate deer population now due to crowd- <br /> ing in other communities, if the City of Maplewood as an example thinned their <br /> deer herd by 200 as per their budget, it may also impact the Roseville deer popu- <br /> lation. Councilmember McGehee suggested a better approach would be to under- <br /> take an aggressive educational program encouraging residents, even though they <br /> like feeding deer, in order to keep the herd at a reasonable number and not need to <br /> authorize a hunt to thin the herd, it should provide individual incentives for resi- <br /> dents to take care of their own properties, whether or not they favored a hunt. <br /> Councilmember McGehee stated that she had made several mistakes herself with <br /> wildlife and plantings on her own property, and had suffered the consequences <br /> accordingly. With the value placed by this community on natural areas and wild- <br /> life as evidenced in several community surveys, Councilmember McGehee reiter- <br /> ated her support for an aggressive educational program to alert residents to op- <br /> tions available with motion sensors, sprinkler systems, or other options that would <br /> serve to address this problem. Councilmember McGehee agreed with the speaker <br /> tonight addressing personal responsibilities and non-violent intervention, opining <br /> that this would prove a perfect place to use that opportunity. Councilmember <br /> McGehee opined that this was a rather minor problem affecting a small area of the <br />