Ross Commissioners Avoid Vote on Feeding-Ban, Kill Issue

Ross Township Board of Commissioners voted 7-1 Monday to “cease spending activity” on efforts to prepare an ordinance that would ban the feeding of certain wildlife within township boundaries.

“The ordinance is not going to pass,” said Commissioner Pete Ferraro, who made the motion. Ferraro represents the 8th Ward.

Targeted primarily at prohibiting deer feeding, The vote was not on the agenda, and it was taken at the end of Monday’s regular board meeting after most of the members of the committee had left.

The convoluted 7-1 decision followed a split 4-4 vote during which some commissioners said they thought they were voting to table the issue for later debate and others on approving the ordinance — an action that violated rules requiring the ordinance to be advertised for a public hearing before the board could vote on it.  

The agreement to “cease spending activity” is intended to get around that rule by prohibiting township funds from being used to advertise it in advance of a vote.

It will also cut off funding to the deer management committee, which to date has received about $100 for supplies such as copies and binders, according to both township and committee leaders.

“It’s a dead issue,” said Ross Township Solicitor Bonnie Brimmeier.

Commissioner Grace Stanko, of the 5th Ward, was absent Monday. Commissioner Chris Eyster, of the 2nd Ward, , voted against the move.

Eyster proposed a similar feeding ban in 2008, which failed in a 4-4 vote before the commission. He worked with the committee, formed after the original proposal’s failure, to craft a more palatable version of the ordinance.

The new version took a broader approach, addressing not just deer feeding but also the feeding of other wildlife, such as fowl, raccoons, feral cats and skunks. It also sought to address concerns about enforcement, prescribing a written warning first and then progressing to citations and fines between $50 to $300 for each offense.

The local measure, had it passed, would have been the first of its kind in the state.

Monday’s decision effectively terminates the committee, he said.

“I feel bad about the result,” he said. “It’s kind of a slap in the face to the people on the deer management committee.”