Council member Aaron Stephens at the July 16 City of East Lansing Council Meeting.
At the Jan. 21 meeting, East Lansing City Council unanimously voted against putting a ballot question regarding a deer cull in the city on the Aug. 4 ballot.
Some council members expressed concern that citizens would vote against a cull and the problem would persist— Mayor Ruth Beier said she's been dealing with the issue of deer overpopulation for six years.
"We're elected to make decisions," Council member Mark Meadows said.
The ballot question would have been advisory, so the council wouldn't be bound by the public's decision.
Mayor Pro Tem Aaron Stephens said the ballot question was a good idea because a cull would take place over a number of years. He also said he's heard from a lot of people on both sides and would like to see the entire community's feelings.
"We're not just talking about this council doing this," Stephens said. "We're talking about continuous years, multiple years of deer culling, it's not a one time thing."
City Manager George Lahanas said he didn't think it would be possible to hold a cull this winter. He said it takes time to arrange things with the U.S Department of Agriculture and that next winter would likely be the earliest a cull could take place.
Multiple council members said they'd like a definite answer whether a cull would be possible this winter. That way they would know if putting the ballot question in August would delay action for another winter.
Council will discuss the cull at the Feb. 11 meeting. Council members said they'd like to hear from members of the community at the meeting.
The council could revisit the ballot question later after hearing more from the public and the city manager.
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