2009.10.19 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hugo City Council Minutes for October 19, 2009 Page 5 of 10 Steve Mottl, 376 County Road F, St. Paul, said his family lives on the lake, and he has been hunting Bald Eagle Lake for years. He asked the Council to reconsider their decision. He said it was not a safety issue; hunters now need a Firearm Safety Certificate to purchase a license, and there have only been four homes built in the area in the past 19 years. He questioned why the urgency to ban hunting now. Frank Freshwater, 44 West Mangolia Avenue, St Paul, said he hunts deer at Rice Lake. He asked that archery hunting be left open in City Parks. Crystal Bernston, 12686 Ethan Avenue North, has lived there since 1986 and said her windows shatter every single hunting season. She did not let her kids outside or go canoeing on the lake when there were hunters on the lake because it was not safe. Bruce Discher, 6302 165th Street North, said he is an archery hunter, and 500 feet is a long way for an arrow to go; the maximum shot is around 30 yards. With the proposed ordinance, he said he would not be able to harvest an animal on his land with a bow and arrow if his neighbor is anti -hunting. Jim Silk, 6121 West Bald Eagle Boulevard, said there is a 100 -year duck hunting tradition on his property and he questioned the high water mark. It was determined he could shoot on his property if he stayed outside of the ordinary high water mark. Judy Silk, 6121 West Bald Eagle Boulevard, was curious about the number of noise complaints from hunting versus other noise complaints. Judy said her family has been hunting over 100 years; gun safety and duck habitat are being taught to kids who are outside learning about nature. Stuart Johnson, 5438 Franklin Avenue, White Bear Lake, questioned the findings of fact, which he said stated reasons for banning hunting was because it was too noisy and because it was hard to enforce. He asked why ban something because it was too noisy or too hard. Michael Clyne, 15450 Geneva Avenue North, said he has lived on Egg Lake for 10 years and hunts with neighbors and kids, and he has never seen a safety issue. Michael said the season is short, it is usually cold with not much recreation on the lake. He said he thinks the uses on the lake should be able to co -exist and not banned because of what a few people are saying. He wants to see Hugo maintain its rural culture, and said he is a proponent of allowing bow hunting in the City's passive parks. Gary Caruth, 62375 West Bald Eagle Lake, asked about where he could put decoys on the lake. Tom Creaver, 14942 Ingersoll Avenue North, lives on Sunset Lake. Tom said he hears the hunting on Sunset Lake, and it is more quiet than the motorcycles going around the lake. Matt Russell, 5997 Egg Lake Road, asked about air -soft guns being considered a controlled weapon as defined in the proposed ordinance. Dwight Harvey, 12471 Ethan Avenue North, said he has lived there for 11 years and hears guns every day of hunting season, giving reason for other municipalities to have prohibited it. Dwight said it is a safety issue.