Shooting in our neighborhoods UPDATED 06.12.19

Our commissioners promised us that it would only be for five years or until the deer/car collisions were reduced by 50%. Gee, is anyone even tracking that now? I haven't seen a report of its kind in several years.
-Elaine

Subject: Shooting in our neighborhoods - Give Public Comment This month, June 11th 8PM
From: a Mt Lebanon Resident for Safe Neighborhoods

Good afternoon Everyone,

I hope this message finds you well.

As you are all aware, the Mt. Lebanon Commissioners have voted annually to spend tax payers’ money to receive a SHOOTING Setback SAFETY WAIVER from the Pennsylvania Game Commission so that they can discharge guns in unknown locations in our parks and in private yards through out our community.  If they don't hear from citizens against it, they will likely blindly continue the program.  Commissioner Fraasch has been the only one over recent years to vote against this program because of the obvious Safety Issue it presents and this is her last year on the Board.

The topic of Deer Management is currently scheduled for the commissioners discussion meeting on June 11th at 6pm.

There is no place within our densely populated community that qualifies under the Game Commission's 150 yards set back safety requirement to shoot guns at animals; Our commissioners request and receive a permit from the State to WAIVE THE HUNTING SAFETY SETBACK REQUIREMENTS so that they can hire outside contractors to shoot rifles without any Safety Setbacks in our public parks and in private yards with permission from only the yard owner!

Use of our tax money to discharge high powered rifles to kill deer around our homes is an accident waiting to happen - Human Error with a gun can happen! 

Further, isn't it ironic that the same company that says Mt Lebanon should shoot deer, gets PAID to shoot deer?  Where's the Oversight??

Other organizations who have suggested alternatives to shooting have been ignored.

Moreover, while they will have you believe that shooting deer is the answer to everyone's issues who complain about seeing deer, science has proven that the rebound effect is real; i.e. once you reduce a population unnaturally, the deer have more food and will have multiple births; i.e. more deer - further other deer just infill where the others were shot.

Let the COMMISSIONERS know you're against the continuation of this Dangerous, Expensive program - They assume everyone is happy with this program ... let them know you're not!  We also have one newer commissioner, Craig Garella, who replaced Dave Brumfield last year.  Let him know what you think of the program.... DON'T LET YOUR VOICES GO UNHEARD!

Please Speak during public comment  at 8:00 pm at the upcoming Commissioner meeting on June 11th.

Commission Chambers, Mt. Lebanon Municipal Building, 710 Washington Rd, Mt. Lebanon, PA 15228

Email your Commissioners:

commission@mtlebanon.org

jbendel@mtlebanon.org

smclean@mtlebanon.org

ssilverman@mtlebanon.org

cgrella@mtlebanon.org

kfraasch@mtlebanon.org

Call them too:

https://mtlebanon.org/28/Commissioners

Thank you for your attention to this grave matter.

Update: June 12, 2019 8:21 PM Review of deer management presented in Mt. Lebanon

Trap and Bolt anyone?

From the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon website:

FINAL SHARPSHOOTING REPORT 2019 Deer Management Program 


Tony DeNicola killed 44 deer this year for $59,605 or $1,354.66 per deer. Twenty-eight deer (64%) were "harvested" from private properties while 16 (36%) were "removed" from the four public properties available.

The original plan:

In 2014 in the interest of public safety, Mt. Lebanon’s elected officials set a goal of reducing the deer/vehicular crashes by 50 percent over five years. http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/View/15824/final-Deer-FAQ-January-2018?bidId=

Do the math, Folks.
Deer Pick-up/Vehicle Data

The spin this past year, according to Sharpshooting 2019 FAQ:  In the interest of public safety, Mt. Lebanon’s elected officials implemented a comprehensive deer management plan with the goal of reducing the number of deer/vehicular crashes.

They forgot to include "a goal of reducing the deer/vehicular crashes by 50 percent over five years."

We just completed season six and there is no end in sight. DeNicola now wants to kill deer in Williamsburg Park. He is suggesting trap and bolt but it sounds so much better when he calls it "non-traditional lethal management activities in very tightly developed areas (i.e., capture and euthanize)."

DeNicola is claiming four years, but we have actually had SIX killing seasons of high powered weapons in Mt. Lebanon. Don't forget Merlin the Magnificent who got in so much trouble when he used the trap and bolt method.

We're talking "scary deer." Not alligators, Commissioners.

Show me the numbers.

Mt. Lebanon commissioners approve budget, sharpshooting program

Please show me where the deer/car collision reports are. Where is the deer "management" proposal/contract for 2019? It has always been posted before the commissioners voted to approve it.

http://mtlebanon.org/2114/Deer-Management-Information

This place is so corrupt.

Looking for deer "management" on the municipal website? Good luck!

After searching for the link to Mt. Lebanon's deer "management" program, I finally did a search. Sure enough, it was hidden on December 5, 2018. To find it, go to  

1. Home >
2. Services
>
3. Administration
>
4. Official Documents>
5. Deer Management Information>
6. Historical Deer Management Information

Whew! That was easy. There is no information about Tony DeNicola's proposal for killing up to 75 deer for no more than $59,605. Such a bargain!!! Want to hear more about this deer killing sale, go to tomorrow evening's commission meeting where you will hear Craig Grella (the guy who is afraid of deer) read this action item on the agenda. We go through this exercise every year. Nothing is posted on the municipal website. No car crash reports. No proposals.  No documentation whatsoever.

Last year, we spent $1352.81 per deer killed in Mt. Lebanon. 57 deer were killed. If DeNicola kills 57 deer next year, it will only cost taxpayers $1045.70 per deer. Remember, Tony told us that it would only cost us about $200-$300 per deer, while sterilization would cost much, much more.

Read about it here: https://lebocitizens.blogspot.com/2018/03/are-you-sitting-down-135281-per-deer.html

2018 Manager's Recommended Budget

Mary had a little scam
As deep as drifting snow
And everywhere that Mary went
The scam was sure to go

Mary failed to recuse herself

Which was against the rule
It made the Ethics Board investigate
Individuals at the schools

And so the public tuned her out
But still she ruled with fear
We waited patiently
With hopes she’d disappear

The 2018 Mt. Lebanon Manager's Recommended Budget has been published. On page 51 of 92 pages of the pdf, the service level narrative for Outreach is:

Minimum Support (Current Level). Subsidy to provide the current range of counseling services to Mt. Lebanon clients at no charge for two sessions and reduced session costs for sessions 3-10. Provides for free parent consultations. Includes office and counseling staff with facility located within Mt. Lebanon. Provides for 1,045 hours of direct services.

The Outreach Program is operated by an independent nonprofit corporation. 

The service level cost remains the same at $104,040. This is a little misleading, however. The magazine provides free advertising via ads, social media, feature stories, and brochure mailings in the print mailings of the magazine.

****

Additionally, the manager is recommending $55,000 for deer "management." See pages 46-47, service levels 3 and 4.


Mt. Lebanon Commission will hold open discussion workshop sessions to review the 2018 Manager’s Recommended Budget. These sessions are scheduled for 6 p.m., at the Municipal Building, 710 Washington Road, on the following dates:

Monday, November 13, 2017
Monday, November 20, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Portions of these meetings may be in executive session to discuss personnel matters related to compensation.

The public hearing on the manager’s proposed budget will be held on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, at 8 p.m., in Commission Chambers located at the Municipal Building, 710 Washington Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15228. On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, the Commission will hold a public hearing at the same location on the proposed adjustments to the manager’s recommended budget and vote on the final 2018 budget document.

Tony Spills the Beans UPDATED

Tony admits that the archers are being reimbursed for their supplies, funded by taxpayers! Mt. Lebanon hired White Buffalo to reduce deer/vehicle collisions, not to focus on addressing residents' complaints on their properties. We all knew it is about the gardeners, and not trying to reduce deer/vehicle collisions. Tony also admits that he was hired to avoid media attention. Everything is a secret. See highlights in email exchange below.

"Deer numbers"

Update January 2, 2017 4:32 PM Oops! Tony has said too much. Keith is taking over now. Sorry, Nick. You've been shut off. Again.

I know. Mind my own business. Take TWO

Controversial deer cull starts again in Mt. Lebanon

Updated Deer "Management" Information on Municipal Website

Mt. Lebanon updated their website today concerning Deer "Management." http://www.mtlebanon.org/2114/Deer-Management-Information 

DeNicola's consulting fees and expenses were not listed.

Celebrate Rat Amnesty Day

At 5:30 tonight, the commission will be discussing Public Works and Recreation Departments line items in the 2016 Manager's Recommended Budget. During Tuesday's Budget Public Hearing, I asked specifically about Rat Control and Deer "Management."

Mt. Lebanon has decided to stop baiting for rats. They are taking a nonlethal approach by educating residents as to how to coexist with rats. Upon further investigation, Public Works has come to the conclusion that bird feeders are a contributing factor of rat infestation. Will our commissioners be banning bird feeders next? Since rat/car collisions are at an all time low and rat complaints are nonexistent with the majority of our commissioners, our commission has eliminated rat baiting from our budget.

Additional line items to be discussed tonight are the three line items for deer "management," totaling $100,000. There will be a carryover of $30,000 from 2015, which will give commissioners $130,000 to play with for deer management in 2016. For the record, Dave Brumfield will not spend $5,000 for an aerial survey to determine how many surviving deer are in Mt. Lebanon, after 4.5 months of archery.

Agenda for the Dog and Pony Show UPDATED

The agenda has been posted for the June 22, 2015 deer "management" commission discussion session.

June 22, 2015 

6:00 P.M. Mount Lebanon High School 

Fine Arts Theater 

155 Cochran Road, 

Pittsburgh, PA 15228 

Commissioner Work Session and Discussion on 

A Goal to Improve Deer Management 

Speakers: Keith McGill, Municipal Planner 

                 Jeannine Fleegel, PA Game Commission 

                 Jody Maddock, Director of Campus Services Bryn Athyn College 

                 Dr Anthony DiNicola, White Buffalo, Inc. 

Agenda: 

1. General Overview of Deer Management in Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair- Brief history, reports/statistics, deer/vehicular collisions, (Keith McGill, Municipal Planner) 

2. General problems with deer, Pennsylvania Game Commission approach, where to get accurate info, need for a management plan and why deer numbers are not appropriate for management decisions in these areas. (Jeannine Fleegle, Wildlife Biologist, Pennsylvania Game Commission) 

3. Development of a deer management plan and discussion of suburban “managed hunts” utilizing recreational archers (Jody Maddock, Director of Campus Services Bryn Athyn College) 

4. Sterilization/Contraception, costs/issues, status of response to previous PGC questions and other deer management issues. (Dr Anthony DiNicola, Founder/President, White Buffalo Inc.) 

5. Commission Q & A 

6. Commission discussion on next steps.

Update June 17, 2015 10:01 PM Speakers to discuss deer issue in Mt. Lebanon 

Solicitor Phil Weis told the commission closing the meeting to public comment was legal, Morgans said.

Of course it is, Susan. That is why we pay you the big bucks.

Michalina Pendzich is pleased the commission is holding the meeting. She is one of the five pro-kill women.

Jason Margolis, against killing deer, sees the public not being able to comment as a huge red flag.

As I read this Trib article, I am getting a feeling that a decision will be reached on June 22. Is that what Item 6 on the agenda means? The commission will make a decision without hearing citizen comments?  I hope everyone understands why I am calling this a dog and pony show. Mt. Lebanon is so damn corrupt.

I think this blog will be going invitation only on Friday.

Update June 18, 2015 8:47 AM There is another expert who is not listed on the agenda, Dr. Allen Rutberg. It is unclear whether he will be in attendance. Humane Alternatives to Controversial and Ineffective Deer Culls: The Humane Society of the United States

Update June 18, 2015 9:02 AM I just received this latest example of PIO spin.

Just posted: Read what happens
when writer Sally Bucey rides along with animal control:
http://lebomag.com/23017/ride-sally-ride-animal-control/ 

Animal Control covers 11 districts:  Mt. Lebanon, Upper Saint Clair, Scott Township, Dormont, Green Tree, Whitehall, Castle Shannon, Heidelberg, Carnegie, Baldwin Township and Rosslyn Farms. But the mtl Magazine reports:

He’s compiled a list of statistics from last year, including the number of animals caught in traps, Dead On Arrival or DOA deer removed (319, the most he’s ever seen), dogs picked up, cats picked up, relocated dogs, DOA dogs and cats… the list goes on.

The reader immediately thinks Mt. Lebanon. No mention how they died. Was it from car accidents, sloppy culling, poachers? Subtle, PIO. Very subtle.