Page 12 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • February 12, 2014 Franklin Lakes Borough officials concerned about spiked fences by Frank J. McMahon The Franklin Lakes Mayor and Council have expressed concern about the number of incidents in the borough in which deer have impaled themselves on spiked fences. As a result, the borough will introduce an ordinance concerning these fences at the Feb. 18 council session. When a deer impales itself on a spiked fence as it attempts to jump over it, the police are called and a police officer must shoot the deer, according to Police Detective Lieutenant/Information Officer John Bakelaar. Then the carcass must be removed from the fence and disposed of by Tyco Animal Control, the borough’s animal control service. Borough officials are concerned, not just about the deer, but primarily that the fences might attract children who might attempt to climb over the fences and become impaled on the spikes. At a recent work session, Mayor Frank Bivona said there were four instances of deer becoming impaled on spiked fences the previous week and, according to Bor- ough Administrator Gregory Hart, Police Chief Joseph Seltenrich has advised that the police experience about a half-dozen of these incidents annually. The council discussed several ways to eliminate the problem. Options included the total prohibition of spiked fences, pro- hibiting them on newly developed proper- ties, requiring the removal of spikes when a property is sold, and using the borough’s existing ordinance to look at certain fences and advise property owners that those fences pose a threat to public health and safety. Borough Attorney William Smith advised the council that the borough has the ability to pass an ordinance to prohibit these type of fences for health and safety reasons, but he is not sure how a judge would rule on retroactively prohibiting such fences. The council agreed with Bivona that any ordinance the borough introduces should be prospective, meaning persua- sive, in the hope that property owners with these fences will remove the spikes. During the winter, deer are searching for food and often eat the foliage on pri- vate properties. This search leads to their effort to jump over fences. Last year, a resident who claimed there are a lot of deer on his property asked the borough council to authorize a deer hunt to thin out the number of deer in the bor- ough because they were destroying the landscaping on his property. The council decided not to permit any kind of sanc- tioned deer hunt in the borough because of the potential danger to public safety. Vengerov performs concert Clarinet and saxophone soloist Alex- ander Vengerov will perform a concert on Sunday Feb. 23 at the Franklin Lakes Public Library. The 2 p.m. program “Not Only Jazz,” will include pieces from Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Fats Waller, Rachmaninoff, Grieg, and more. All are invited. Seating is on a “first come” basis. The library is located at 470 DeKorte Drive. For more information, call Linda Hagedorn at (201) 891-2224.