By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
At virtually every City Council meeting, local environmental advocate Donna Moore appears before the governing body to talk about the potential health hazards of pesticides and fertilizers containing toxic chemicals.
Waving hand-written signs above her head that dramatize her warnings, Moore has been urging Council to have the city’s contractors use environmentally friendly methods to control weeds on parks, playgrounds and other public grounds.
City officials are listening.
As part of a new three-year landscaping contract for parks, playgrounds and other public areas, Ocean City will consider eco-friendly alternatives to pesticides and fertilizers.
City Business Administrator George Savastano said the move is in response to suggestions from Moore and other local residents for the city to use “organic” measures to take care of the grass, shrubbery and flowers on public property.
“For any areas that we would designate as organic, our goal would be to decrease or eliminate the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers,” Savastano said in a statement.
Details have not been finalized, Savastano said. The city has not yet completed the specifications for the landscaping contract as it prepares to seek bids. The contract is expected to be awarded on Oct. 10, according to city documents.
During Thursday’s Council meeting, Savastano told members of the public that the city’s goal is to have “admirable” land management practices that are environmentally friendly.
He noted, for instance, that for the past few months, the city has been using the grounds of the Bayside Center as a test area that is free of pesticides and fertilizer.
Ocean City operates the three-story Bayside Center at 520 Bay Avenue as a combination museum, community center and nature center through a long-term lease with Cape May County, the building’s owner. It is a popular tourist attraction that features sprawling green grounds and a bayside marina.
The city’s new three-year landscaping contract will be for 32 public areas scattered throughout town. The contractor would perform the work for 31 weeks each year from April to November.
After hearing of the city’s plans, Moore thanked Savastano and the Council members for considering organic measures in the contract.
She repeated what she has said at other Council meetings, warning of the health dangers to humans, animals and marine life from pesticides containing cancer-causing chemicals.
To underscore her arguments about dangerous pesticides, Moore carried signs at Thursday’s meeting that said “Toxic to Aquatic Life” and “Groundwater Contamination.” Another one of her signs called for a “Healthier Family Island.”
“These pesticides are inappropriate landscaping choices for our barrier island,” Moore said.
For months, the Council members have repeatedly assured Moore that the city plans to study eco-friendly options to landscaping chemicals, but no decisions have been made.
