Bay Village City Council votes to award contract for annual deer management program

Community NewsBay Village Police Chief Robert Gillespie addressed City Council during a Sept. 8 meeting regarding the city's deer management program.(Bruce Geiselman, special to cleveland.com)By Bruce Geiselman, special to cleveland.comBAY VILLAGE, Ohio – City Council voted on Sept. 8 to award a contract to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide the city with deer management services.The $23,444 contract will cover the cost of USDA sharpshooters culling deer in the city.“They do a great job for us,” said Police Chief Robert Gillespie. “They do it every year. I want to let everyone know that we have a community survey that is online now. I recommend everyone go there and make their voices heard on that.”Backyard deer raise concerns about the spread of diseases. These deer were spotted grazing in Bay Village in 2017.Carol Kovach, special to clevelaBay Village first began culling operations about a decade ago to manage the white-tailed deer population to reduce the likelihood of car and motorcycle accidents.The online community survey collects information about deer sightings and problems deer may be causing in specific neighborhoods. It asks residents how they feel about the current deer population in Bay Village. It also asks what specific problems residents have had with deer, such as garden or landscape damage, aggression toward humans or pets, and ticks or dead deer found on properties. The survey also asks about dollar losses that residents have sustained due to deer damage.The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will consider the survey results when deciding how many permits for deer it will issue this year, Gillespie said.The deer culling operation in Bay Village takes place annually in the late fall and winter. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued 15 tags -- or permits -- for the Bay Village deer culling operation last season. However, sharpshooters only eliminated four deer last season. Sharpshooters reported finding few deer in the city last winter. Gillespie said in January.The meat from the culled deer is processed and donated to an area food bank.Read more from the West Shore Sun.