Councilman Trent Summers' absence affects Monday's deer vote

Councilman Trent Summers' absence at today's Cape Girardeau City Council meeting will likely push back the scheduled final vote on the divisive proposal to allow urban deer hunting in the city limits until July 16.

Council members said Sunday that the controversial decision on an archery program that has been in the works for nine months should be made by the full council. Typically, the council does not table decisions when its members are not present.

Even Mayor Harry Rediger, who opposes the ordinance, said Sunday that he favors postponing the vote even though, without Summers' support, the plan would fail with the likely 3-3 vote. Summers, who is out of town on vacation, voted yes at the preliminary first-read bill June 18 making the final tally 4-3.

If the plan fails, it would start the whole process over, Rediger said.

"So even though I voted no, I'm not interested in prolonging the discussion," Rediger said. "There will have to be a vote to postpone to avoid that and I am suggesting that we do that. ... I don't want to kill it and then go back to square one."

The plan is supported by council members John Voss, Mark Lanzotti, Meg Davis Proffer and Summers -- all who maintain that a resident archery hunt is the best plan to reduce the number of deer in town that destroy lawns and contribute to automobile accidents.

Opponents include Loretta Schneider, Kathy Swan and the mayor, who have concerns related to safety and the specifics of the plan.

Schneider said she does not like the idea of putting off the vote. Summers should have informed city officials sooner that he would be unable to attend and the schedule could have been adjusted beforehand.

Summers said Sunday that he regrets any time he has to miss a city council meeting, but his vacation was planned several months before the proposal was placed on the agenda.

When he realized he would be out of town, Summers said he checked with other council members and city manager Scott Meyer, and they said it was not unusual to postpone a vote on such a high-profile issue.

Summers said that if he were on the opposing side, he would feel the same way so that residents of his ward would have a say.

Schneider also pointed out that a group of resident opponents, Cape Friends of Wildlife, are waiting a final decision before they begin gathering signatures to put the issue to a citywide vote, perhaps as early as November.

"They want to get their petitions out as soon as possible," Schneider said. "By delaying the vote, we're shortening the time they would have to get it on the ballot."

Stigers agreed, but also suggested the council should not postpone the vote to ensure it gets the desired result.

"I think it's wrong for them to postpone the vote and influence the outcome because one of the council members will not be present," Stigers said. "It's on the agenda. I think by removing it from the agenda they are clearly biasing the outcome."

Plans to circulate petitions have become more definitive as the group hopes to reverse the council's decision by allowing city voters to weigh in, Stigers said. The group would have 40 days following the council's final decision to collect roughly 2,400 signatures from registered voters. The group wants to have the issue on the November ballot and a postponement puts a time crunch on their efforts if they want to make the election deadline.

"I would rather not have to go through all the labor of a referendum," Stigers said. "But we're prepared to do that and we will do that if the council passes the ordinance."

Voss, the plan's chief proponent, said he will probably make the motion to table the vote -- but not simply because he favors it.

"I think because it is an issue that has brought out so much public opinion that the full council needs to be present to represent their constituents," Voss said.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

401 Independence, Cape Girardeau, MO