Mentor Spends $110K on Deer Management

Mentor spent $110,584 on its deer management program, City Manager Kenneth Filipiak said.

That's a little over $10,000 more than he originally projected.

"That estimate looks to be fairly reasonable at this point," Filipiak said. "A lot of our costs early on were related to equipment purchases, and obviously we won't have as much of that (going forward)."

The city manager announced that figure during his report at the regular city council meeting on Tuesday night. It accounts for spending since July 1, when the program "really got going," he said.

During that span, the program resulted in the culling of 212 deer. Additionally, 131 deer were killed by bow hunters in Mentor this season.

Filipiak said recreation specialists will continue to monitor and count deer, particularly in the fall when the hunting season begins.

Despite a few residents who regularly speak out against the program at council meetings, Filipiak said that many have been in favor of it and expressed as much in city surveys. He reiterated that the city views it as a long-term solution and that the population would pick back up if the city ceased its efforts.

Also on Mentor Patch:

• Mentor's Deer Culling Plan

• Poll: What Should Mentor Do About the Deer?