Bow hunting permitted in the village
By Susan Bromley
Staff Writer
Ortonville- Bow hunting will be allowed to continue in the village, both on private property and a 48-acre parcel of land owned by the village where two tree stands were removed last year.
At the village council’s Sept. 24 meeting, the council took no action on amending a 1957 ordinance that bans the discharge of firearms in the village. The lack of action means bow hunting will be permitted, as it has been for years.
‘We’re going to stay status quo,? said Council President Ken Quisenberry. ‘Whatever was in place before last December is what is in place now. We’re not going to invent a problem where one doesn’t exist. We’ve never had any complaints.?
Last December, the village council proposed banning bow hunting in the village after Manager Ed Coy walked the village-owned property that runs from Granger Road north to Mill Street, directly west of the Crescent Hills subdivision and east of the H.T. Burt/Harvey Swanson complex.
During the walk, precipitated by a proposed nature trail on the property, Coy found two tree stands. He and the council were unaware hunting was taking place on the property and expressed concerns over safety, prompting the discussion of an amendment to prohibit bow hunting. But after several residents protested and council learned they would need a hearing by the Department of Natural Resources to proceed with a ban on private property, the proposed amendment was put on the backburner.
Last Monday’s council meeting was the first time in several months the issue has been revisited and the decision to take no action was made by a council that is very different from the one that originally considered a ban. Only three members from the old council remain after the Sept. 11 election.
John Nivelt, who was opposed to the proposed ban and owned the tree stands that were removed, said he was pleased by the decision to take no action and continue allowing bow hunting on village property.
‘It was the right decision,? said Nivelt, who was unsure if he would hunt on the property this year. ‘I never understood why the council was pursuing it in the first place… There were never any incidents out there, it just didn’t make sense.?