Does Creve Coeur Have A Deer Problem?

Tom and Judy Evans don't hate deer. They know the emotion that comes whenever someone talks about "Killing Bambi". But the couple, longtime residents in the St. Louis area and Creve Coeur for the last seven years, went before City Council members Monday night to describe their growing frustration with the amount of damage being caused by what they feel is an increasing deer population.

"Right now, these guys are hungry," Evans said afterward. "They're gonna get their meals wherever they can, I don't blame them," he said. Ward Two Councilwoman Tara Nealey requested discussion on the topic as she and other city leaders have started getting more vocal complaints. Evans said he sent the mayor and council members an email about his concerns recently and heard back from Nealey and Mayor Dielmann within a half hour. Ward Three Councilman Bob Hoffman said he received an email about it Sunday night from a resident who claimed deer were responsible for  $3,000 in property damage.

The issue of deer management has come up before, but there is presently no ordinance on the books that calls for what to do about it. The topic has been controversial in several St. Louis communities which have tried varying approaches to the problem----with varying levels of success, at a cost.

Councilwoman Nealey, Creve Coeur Police Chief Glenn Eidman and others will meet with a representative from the Missouri Department of Conservation on Thursday to get recommendations for how the city might proceed. Besides the residential gardening concerns, there are also worries about deer-car accidents. City staff told council members Monday there have been between 6-9 such accidents annually for the last few years, although City Administrator Mark Perkins says the possibility exists that the number is under-reported. That amount pales in comparison to Town and Country, which counted 78 accidents in 2010.

Judy Evans knows there isn't a perfect solution that will keep her garden free from intrusion. She just wants to limit what she and her husband say is a growing problem which has led some of her neighbors to worry about the safety of children around once-docile does who may have become more defiant.

"We have property in Franklin County--there's plenty of deer out there, but not nearly the numbers, there's no predators to stop them there either, but there's still not the numbers," Judy Evans said.

In other council business:

• There was more discussion about the possibility of using metal detectors for council meetings, and additionally at Planning and Zoning Commission sessions. The idea first came up Feb. 14 after the city became aware of  posed by a city resident who authorities say they believe legally owns a gun. Council members will now weigh feedback from P&Z Commissioners, along with reviewing financial considerations which would come with likely having a second police officer present at meetings to run the machine.  

• Members gave first reading to a bill which would give city staff flexibility to alter rates at the under a plan that would allow a third party web site, www.golfnow.com, to give discounted rates for hard-to-fill tee times.

Information from Town and Country-Manchester Patch was used in this story.