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Bid to drop bird whisperer's contract is killed

Posted January 07, 2008 10:00 pm

Chris Wetterich

The bird whisperer's contract won't fly away tonight, as many expected, after the squawking of downtown business owners caused a Springfield City Council committee to withhold an emergency ordinance terminating the agreement.

The public affairs and safety committee failed to muster the votes Monday to allow Ward 8 Ald. Kris Theilen's ordinance to go forward for consideration tonight (Tuesday).

Ward 9 Ald. Steve Dove and Ward 7 Ald. Debbie Cimarossa said they had heard from many downtown businesses supporting James Soules, who received from Mayor Tim Davlin and the previous city council a two-year, $164,000 no-bid contract to rid downtown of nuisance birds using a secret, non-lethal method.

Some have questioned the effectiveness of Soules' methods and whether they truly are non-lethal.

Dove noted that the money to pay Soules comes out of the downtown tax increment financing district account, which downtown property owners alone fund for downtown improvements. Those business owners say whatever Soules is doing is working, Dove said.

"Their opinion matters much more than the rest of the city because they're paying for it," he said.

The majority of downtown businesses like Soules' results, said Victoria Clemons, executive director of Downtown Springfield Inc.

"I'm not saying we're with the bird whisperer," Clemons said. "We have seen some effectiveness happen. It's up to the city council to decide who they want. We don't want to see any option where there's nothing."

Shirley Fitzgerald, a clerk with Springfield Novelties and Gifts on South Sixth Street who also lives downtown, is adamant in her belief that there have been fewer birds with Soules on the job.

"You're never going to get all of the birds completely," Fitzgerald said. "There are less droppings on the ground. Where I live, we have a courtyard. It used to be where you couldn't even sit out there because there were so many bird droppings. Maintenance had a hard time keeping it clean.

"I'd hate for the city council to get rid of him (Soules)."

Clemons sent out a mass e-mail to her members warning them that the city had told her it would do nothing about the bird problem if Soules' contract was terminated, including having the public works department clean the sidewalks.

Ernie Slottag, a spokesman Davlin, declined to confirm Monday whether the city told DSI that.

Theilen said he and some other aldermen came to oppose Soules' contract after his appearance before the council in December, when he told aldermen that a bald eagle tried to pick him up and take him away when he was 2 years old. Theilen had said he accepted the Decatur resident's explanations after a private meeting that preceded the council testimony.

"When he wanted to answer questions, he was sharp and lucid," Theilen said Monday. "When he didn't want to answer questions, he was hard of hearing and started telling tall tales."

Theilen and Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards said Soules did not adequately explain reports that he or his workers had been seen shooting birds with a .22-caliber rifle. Soules said his company uses only an air rifle to shoot ailing starlings that attract other birds.

Edwards said he talked to an individual who works downtown who had recovered the casings. Edwards gave Police Chief Ralph Caldwell the name of that individual, and Caldwell said he would look into it.

City attorney Jenifer Johnson said using an air rifle downtown for animal control would be legal. Caldwell said using a firearm would not.

Earlier Monday, Theilen had predicted he had enough votes to cancel the contract. But that changed abruptly when Republicans Cimarossa and Dove announced their opposition.

All four of the Democrats on the council - Ward 2 Ald. Gail Simpson, Ward 3 Ald. Frank Kunz, Ward 5 Ald. Sam Cahnman and Ward 6 Ald. Mark Mahoney - said they opposed revoking the contract.

"When you have businesses saying the problem has been eradicated, that's enough for me," Simpson said. "I don't think we should decide to change our minds because of individuals poking fun of us.

"I used to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken. He doesn't tell us what his recipe is. People still eat it. Other companies don't have a proven track record. This man does."

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