Solon City Council Approves Deer Plan; Hunting On Hold Until Election

The Solon City Council approved a comprehensive deer management plan by 5-2 vote Monday, though the controversial hunting options in the plan are on hold until Election Day.

Council members Bill Russo, Bill Mooney, Rick Bell, Nancy Meany and Toni Richmond voted for the plan. Council members Ed Kraus and Bob Pelunis voted against.

The includes a host of options Solon can use to get its growing deer population under control. While there are nonlethal options available, including planting recommendations and public education efforts, officials admit that the only way to reduce the herd to a manageable level is through hunting.

But voters will decide on Nov. 8 whether hunting will be allowed in the city when they vote on the , a resident-led effort to ban hunting in the city.

The city passed the plan Monday in order to be ready for culling and hunting efforts if the anti-hunting law fails at the ballot box. But officials said there will be no hunting of any kind until after the election.

Solon Mayor Susan Drucker said the administration believes Solon needs a comprehensive plan that includes lethal and nonlethal methods, but the lethal methods will be on hold until the voters decide in November.

Earlier this month, city council with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to manage Solon's sharpshooting efforts. That contract was approved, city officials said, so the city can get on the USDA's schedule. The contract would cost the city as much as $128,000 to remove about 400 to 500 deer.

Another lethal option in the plan is crossbow hunting. The city has explored crossbow hunting as a way to supplement culling efforts and help bring down costs.

Kraus is opposed to crossbow hunting, which was his reason for voting against the plan. He has said in the past that the city needs some sort of lethal method to control the deer, just not crossbow hunting.

Pelunis voted against it for financial reason: He disagrees with spending money on culling after the city sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into culling a few years ago with little to show for it.