Downtown pigeon problem addressed by Price city council members

By Sun Advocate

Some claim there has been a pigeon problem downtown for many years and up until now it was the business owners’ responsibilities to take care of it.
However, that might be changing as Price City is getting involved and at the regular city council meeting last Wednesday a committee was formed to review the options and come up with some solutions to deal with the situation.
Spearheaded by Councilman Don Reaveley, the city listened to three testimonies concerning the pigeons and the potential health hazard in addition to the obvious problems the large number of birds have created on tops of several businesses on Main Street, primarily between Carbon Avenue and 100 South.
Claron Bjork, with the Carbon County Health Department, addressed the council and did say that the droppings from the pigeons could be a potential disease hazard. “There is a high potential that the pigeons are a health issue and we need to be concerned because its a growing problem,” he stated.
Tom Smith from Target Pest Control in Castle Dale, stated that his company is more than willing to discuss the options of how to get rid of these pests.
Kerry Krompel, a business owner on that block explained that droppings from the pigeons are now in the ventilators and swamp coolers and are blowing into buildings in that part of the city.
Bjork estimated that there are upwards to 300 pigeons and explained how quickly the pigeon population can grow.
He distributed a report prepared by the Humane Society for the control of pigeons and explained the problems that they can cause.
The handout points that while pigeons can pose a public health hazard, their role as disease carriers has been exaggerated almost to the point of hysteria by an ill advised segment of the public which considers these animals a nuisance.
There are twelve pigeon-borne diseases which are commonly referred to by the advocates of bird control programs; however, in most instances, pigeons do not play a significant role in communicating infections to man, states the report.
The document does suggest a thorough survey of the pigeon problem should precede any attempts at control. Factors such as sanitation defects may be uncovered which can be corrected to reduce pigeon population without offending community residents.
The committee that was formed is made up of Bjork and Krompel, as well as council members Reaveley and Richard Tatton and Nick Sampinos, city attorney.
Although it was not specifically discussed what the committee will be looking into, the handout did suggest that a survey should include items such as feeding sites, nests, roosts, damage, food contamination, clogged drains, dead pigeons, refuse and garbage storage. Many of these issues around the pigeon problems were discussed at the meeting.
The committee will be making recommendations at the next council meeting.