Battle over geese in Peapack-Gladstone intensifies

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE – The man from Philadelphia said he had many better things to be doing than attending a Peapack-Gladstone Borough Council meeting.

He told the Council on June 18 that he'd rather be drinking a cold beer and watching the Phillies game with his family, but he just “wouldn’t be able to enjoy it,” knowing the fatal fate of the Liberty Park Geese.

After his day job as a stone mason laying brick, he said he had driven two hours from Philadelphia to the small town with of population of 2,500 to plea to save the lives of the geese.

He claimed he’s never been to Peapack-Gladstone, nor is he a bird lover, but he just wants to stop the "immoral" killing of the geese.

But the Philadelphia man was not alone in his sympathy for a flock of birds he has never seen.

Though the borough has contracted with the United States Department of Agriculture to control the geese at the park, advocates for the lives of the geese continued to lobby the Borough Council to consider something other than lethal means to keep the bird population manageable.

Mary-Lynn Schiavi, Jennifer Douglas, and Jackie Braun, three of the most strident geese supporters, continued at the June 18 meeting to ask the Council, as they have for the past few months, to cancel the contract and turn to non-lethal methods.

But they also upgraded their offer.Douglas and Braun presented the Council with a proposal of 20 volunteers to help clear the goose droppings from the park and manage the population through egg addling, which they will train their volunteers to perform.

They also offered to submit a formal proposal to confirm the volunteers' commitment and shield the town from any liability,

That would save taxpayers the annual cost of the USDA contract, about $9,000.

Mayor Mark Corgliano quickly shot this down, saying the borough needs a formal proposal to even consider the offer, but due to the liability the borough would have to assume, it would probably be rejected anyway.

"I had never experienced what it feels like to talk to a wall, but now I know what it is like," said Schiavi after the meeting, "No matter what we said, it looked like they didn't even take it into consideration."

The council was also asked to take another vote on the matter, as geese supporters believe the council members may have a fresh opinion on the contract now that they have seen the backlash.

Another resident was willing to gift two swans to the town if council members would cancel the contract.

Both proposals were shot down immediately as the mayor refused to call for a new vote or take donations in exchange for the safety of the geese.

"I feel like all these decisions are almost made on hearsay," continued Schiavi who at the meeting pressed the council on providing proof of the non-lethal methods they had previously used that didn't work. "Then the council thinks they are kings and queens who can do whatever they want without having to answer to the public."

The mayor and council members made it clear that they wouldn’t be working with the N.J. Animal Protection League though many of the geese supporters hoped they would.

Corigliano shot down all speculation of other solutions after one resident thanked the council for undertaking the initiative to control the geese.

"We have gotten a lot of feedback from our residents on how the geese are affecting their lifestyles, ruining their properties, and causing them troubles. That factors into our thinking as well," said Corigliano, "This is not just an issue of maintaining a park in some manner to allow geese to live there.”

The one relief that geese supporters got was Council President John Sweeney saying that the borough would look into cancelling the five-year contract if the USDA's action are successful after a year or two.

Ethan Mannello: Emannello@mycentraljersey.com

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Peapack-Gladstone NJ geese gassing fight continues