A planned urban deer hunt won the final approval of the Fort Dodge City Council Monday, but much remains to be done before anyone can notch up an arrow and go hunting next year.

The third and final reading of the deer hunt ordinance was approved on a 4-3 vote.

Councilmembers Kim Alstott, Dave Flattery, Quennel McCaleb, and Cameron Nelson voted yes. Councilmembers Neven Conrad, Terry Moehnke and Lydia Schuur voted no.

Alstott said residents of Fort Dodge may start seeing coyotes in town if something isn’t done to reduce the deer population, because deer are prey for coyotes.

“I don’t think you’re going to see deer running around town with an arrow in them,” he said. “I don’t think this is going to be a safety problem.”

Councilman Dave Flattery said he believes the problems caused by deer will get worse if something isn’t done.

“I think we’ve got to do something to reduce the deer population,” he said.

Moehnke described the planned hunt as an “inadequate and ineffective way to control the problem.”

Council support for the hunt appears to have softened as it worked through the required process of three votes.

The hunt received its first approval on July 24 with a 6-1 vote. Moehnke cast the lone no vote, saying the hunt would be ineffective. He also argued that a count of deer has never been made to determine if there really is an over-population of the animals.

The second reading was approved on a 5-2 vote on Aug. 8, with Conrad and Moehnke in opposition. At that time Conrad questioned how the city would be able to determine if the hunt was effective. On Monday, he said the city needs an actual count of the deer population, and added that he believes city officials can find the $5,000 to $10,000 to pay for such a count.

During Monday’s 4-3 vote, Schuur joined the dissenters, saying that since the Aug. 8 meeting she has heard from more people who are opposed to the hunt than are in favor of it.

Having an ordinance pass with a declining council majority on each of three votes is rare.

Prior to the council’s vote, five people spoke against the proposed hunt.

Tammy Varland, of 1404 Park Ave., described herself as “highly opposed to it.”

“Can you imagine the lawsuits you can get if someone gets hit with that bow and arrow?” she asked the council.

“I think we have bigger fish to fry in our community,” she added, citing drug abuse and bad roads.

Marianne Carlson, of 1534 N. Eighth St., spoke against the hunt and called on the council to get an accurate count of the city’s deer population.

“I don’t think you can honestly say we have an over-population if we don’t have an accurate count,” she said. “I respectfully suggest you do it the right way and get a DNR count and see if we do have an over-population of deer.”

The DNR she referred to is the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Barbara Long, of 1802 Elmhurst Ave., said she believes there are actually fewer deer in her neighborhood now. She also called for an accurate count of the animals.

“You kind of need to know that number,” she said.

Long added that complaints about deer eating flowers “seem trivial to me.”

Michael Albrecht and Tammy Crouse also spoke against the proposed hunt.

In the wake of Monday’s council action, the proposed hunt will now go before the Iowa Natural Resources Commission, which advises the DNR on outdoor issues. That commission is tentatively scheduled to consider the hunt during its May 17, 2023, meeting.

Archers wanting to join the hunt will have to apply for an urban deer hunting license next summer. They will have to then successfully complete two days of proficiency testing conducted by the DNR and the Police Department.

Once all that is done, the first in-town deer hunt would begin on Sept. 16, 2023, and end Jan. 7, 2024.

Hunting would be limited to about 3,200 acres of private property on the northern, eastern and western edges of the city.