Cape city, conservation officials to discuss deer census

This story has been updated.

Acknowledging there is “activity supporting the fact that the deer population is growing” in Cape Girardeau, city manager Scott Meyer said a meeting has been set with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) on Nov. 23 to discuss the process for conducting a deer census in 2021.

Meyer distributed a handout on the subject to the seven-member City Council on Monday.

According to the “deer incident data” report compiled Oct. 30, the number of vehicular incidents involving deer has been, in Meyer’s words, “flat,” year-to-year since 2012.

Eight years ago, there were 60 traffic accidents involving deer; in 2019, there were 67.

The number of dead and sick or injured deer, however, is notably up over the period.

In 2012, the year the City Council passed an ordinance authorizing an urban bowhunt within city limits, the numbers of dead and sick/injured deer were 71 and 32, respectively.

Last year, those numbers rose to 162 and 82.

The partial data for 2020 accounts for the first ten months of this year (January-October):

• Dead: 106
• Sick or injured: 76
• Vehicular incidents: 24.

Meyer said the pre-Thanksgiving conversation with MDC will involve discussion of how to reduce the number of deer, emphasizing the talk is preliminary only.

The council’s approval of an urban deer hunt eight years ago was struck down by a voter referendum in 2013, the first time a municipal ordinance was invalidated by plebiscite in city history.

Sewer tap fees reduced

The council gave final approval to cutting the fee for a 3/4-inch tap from $2,500 to $1,625. The fee for a 1-inch tap was cut from $3,000 to $2,230.

Street repair authorized

The council approved on final reading an agreement with Nip Kelly Equipment Co. for the 2020-2021 street repair project for $763,122. The money is paid for out of the voter-approved capital improvement sales tax.

Citizen Academy graduates recognized

Taylor Davis, Renita Green, Adrienne Henry, Salvador Mondragon and Karen Seabaugh received graduation certificates. Mayor Bob Fox noted the academy normally has 20 graduates per class but COVID-19 cut significantly into participation this cycle. The academy “educates people on what the city does and how the city does it,” Fox said.

Health and dental

A 5.4% overall increase in the self-funded city employee health insurance program through Anthem Blue Cross was approved.

The council also gave its OK to a contract with Delta Dental for city employee dental insurance with no increase in fees for the similarly self-funded plan.

Appointments

Claire Kneer was appointed to the Golf Course Advisory Board.

Brianna Biri was appointed to the Historic Preservation Commission.

Scott Blank and Jeff Glenn were appointed to four-year terms on the Planning and Zoning Commission, while Kevin Greaser and Melissa Stickel were named to partial, one-year terms on P&Z.

Miscellaneous

• Atelier Boutique, 221B Independence St., was named “Beautiful Business Property of the Month.”
• The council approved its regular meeting schedule for 2021. All meetings will be held on the first and third Mondays of each month with exceptions for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day, when the meetings will shift to Tuesdays.