Commission, residents talk peacock problem

Longbeach Village residents aren’t the only ones concerned with the peacock problem on the north end of the island.

The Longboat Key Town Commission has been giving the Village $2,400 a year since 2008 to cull the bird population down to a dozen birds each spring.

“I have been dealing with the overpopulation of peacocks for more than 10 years and have spent hundreds of hours dealing with a problem that’s been placed squarely on my shoulders,” said Longbeach Village Association President Michael Drake at the April 11 Goals and Objectives workshop. Some Village residents have criticized Drake for not taking care of the problem. “I truly believe the problem really belongs with the town of Longboat Key.”

Drake also suggested that if the peacocks were living in Country Club Shores, the town would have taken care of the problem immediately.

The comments, however, didn’t go over well with the Town Commission.

When Drake noted there are currently 120 to 150 peacocks in the Village, Mayor Jim Brown insinuated that was Drake’s fault.

“I feel like asking for the money back because you didn’t do your job,” Brown said. “This shouldn’t be the town’s job. We didn’t put the peacocks down there. A better solution has to be worked out.”

Commissioner Pat Zunz, a Land’s End resident, also questioned why the goal is to get the peacocks down to a dozen birds.

“The magic number of 12 birds has always puzzled me,” said Zunz, who explained that if any females remained, the birds would multiply quickly. “In my opinion, you need a couple of male birds that people can take pictures of and that’s it.”

For now, the commission promised to work closely with the Village to try and come up with a more manageable solution that will help reduce the birds and help curtail destruction of Village residents’ property.

Also at the workshop, several organization representatives came forward to ask for funding in the coming year and give an update on the status of their organizations.

Tom Mayers, president of the Longboat Key Historical Society, asked for a town contribution of $1,000.
Although the Town Commission won’t begin to discuss the fiscal-year budget until May, Town Manager Bruce St. Denis told Mayers the two walls at Town Hall behind the Commission Chambers can be used to display Key history.

Gaele Barthold, co-president of the Longboat Key Public Interest Committee, submitted a list of six goals for the Town Commission to consider and support, including the Aging in Paradise Resource Center at the Longboat Island Chapel and an island-wide revitalization effort.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]