FALMOUTH — The Town Council Monday night banned bow hunting on several town-owned properties where traditional hunting with shotguns is already prohibited.

The unanimous decision by the council expanded the current no-hunting-with-firearms ordinance on some densely populated, publicly owned property to include archery.

“This is not anti-hunting or anti-gun,” Town Manager Nathan Poore said, noting that the town has many large public spaces open to hunting.

Previously, bow hunting in Falmouth was allowed during hunting season in some areas where guns were not allowed.

Councilor Chris Orestis said he brought the issue to the council after he recently witnessed bow hunters trekking through the parking lot at the Falmouth Shopping Center on U.S. Route 1 in “full pursuit of deer.”

“It was just so in the mainstream and so out of place, and quite frankly, shocking,” Orestis said.

Deer are the most common animals hunted in Falmouth. In 2012, hunters killed and registered 85 deer in Falmouth, according to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Statewide, hunters killed more than 21,400 deer.

The expanded ordinance now specifically prohibits bow hunting in public areas where hunting with firearms was already banned: school properties, Community Park, Walton Park, Pine Grove Preserve and the Town Landing, among others.

The vote, however, does not prohibit bow hunting during the appropriate season in the area around the Route 1 shopping center, Poore said. Property managers would have to post a no-hunting sign to prevent hunting there because the ordinance does not include private property, he said.

The bow hunting season is longer than the firearms hunting season, but is restricted to three zones that are mostly on the east side of town. The extended season is aimed at controlling the wildlife population, Poore said.

State law allows hunting on private property unless otherwise posted, although hunters may need property-owner consent.

Poore said a public hearing was not required before the Town Council vote because they were only clarifying the understanding of the ordinance, not altering or amending it.

Councilors considered altering the ordinance to define other forms of hunting, which could have triggered a public hearing, but eventually agreed that the inclusion of archery was sufficient and consistent with the intent of the ordinance.

The council most recently approved the allowed hunting areas as part of a larger “housekeeping” measure in 2011. The order involved the use of town-owned lands, but was not specifically related to hunting, Poore said.

Councilor Sean Mahoney said the inclusion of archery strikes an appropriate balance between hunting and safety.

“I think this is recognizing that hunting is important to a lot of people’s lives in Falmouth,” he said. “We’re lucky in Falmouth not to have had any accidents like some other towns.”

This article originally misspelled the name of Town Councilor Sean Mahoney.

Will Graff can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or wgraff@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @W_C_Graff.

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Council gets new draft of library agreement

FALMOUTH — The town manager now has the authority to dispose of surplus property up to $50,000 without seeking Town Council approval.

The unanimous Town Council vote increased the manager’s authority by $40,000.

The council Monday also introduced an updated draft memorandum between the Falmouth Memorial Library and the town.

Town Manager Nathan Poore introduced the surplus property amendment in August and said the increase was necessary because some common items, such as vehicle and equipment trades, frequently exceed the $10,000 threshold.

All of the items would still have to be part of the Capital Improvement Program. Anything outside of that would require council approval.

The amendment also gives the manager the authority to dispose of items valued at $20 or less, which is most commonly used when the town has to dispose of low-value items like tables and chairs.

The latest draft memorandum with the library does not dramatically alter the relationship between the library and the town, Vice Chairwoman Karen Farber said, but seeks to improve communication and cooperation.

The most substantive changes include giving a councilor a seat on the library finance committee, providing the town with a copy of the library financial audit and deciding what to do with library property if the organization were to dissolve.

While the library is a private nonprofit, the town funds 75 percent of its budget and has 50 percent ownership of its Lunt Road building.

The draft memorandum will be the subject of more public comment and council discussion in the coming months. It will also have to be approved by the library board.

The library unveiled a preliminary $5 million expansion plan earlier this month, which includes doubling its size and demolishing the current building.

The library board will host a final public meeting on the preliminary design Oct. 30. The final design will be presented to the council Nov. 13.

— Will Graff

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