City Manager Eric Hanson said the program is humane.
“From a staff perspective, we get a lot of complaints about the crows, and I know the Council gets a lot of complaints,” Hanson told the Council. “This is something we put forth as an option. If the Council says no, I promise, I won’t lose any sleep over this. But, we do believe it’s something we should try, given the shear amount of crows and the challenges they present to the downtown.”
Mayor Peter Schwartzman asked if this was a long- or short-term solution.
Hanson replied, “The intent was to try them the first year to see if it works. If we find it effective and want to expand the services, we can definitely talk to them in the future.
“If it’s effective, I don’t know if it will have to be done every year, but we’ll have to do it consistently enough to get the crows to change their habits.”
Second Ward Councilman Wendel Hunigan said, “If this is effective, this will be one of the great things that has happened to this area.”
The issue drew no public comments.
