Less Talk... More Action

EDITORIAL - Monday, October 13, 2008 - The Downtown Ironwood Area Pigeon Excrement Removal Committee (DIAPER) will be meeting Tuesday to discuss options to control the downtown's pigeon problem.

I'd better stop right there... and make sure that everybody knows that this is not real (at least, not yet!)

Oh yes! There definitely will be a meeting to discuss the pigeon problem in the downtown, but no formal committee has been formed... yet.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if such a committee is created at tomorrow night's meeting, however. There is no doubt the massive number of pigeons in the downtown has become a serious problem. The point I'm trying to make is that this City has more meetings, public hearings, and creates more committees than any town in the United States!

We have a pigeon problem... it's a blight problem... take care of it! I can't even begin to tell you how many times the "pigeon problem" has been presented to the Downtown Ironwood Development Authority (DIDA). What would make anyone think for a minute that pigeons and their poop are a "development authority's" problem?

Is a meeting necessary to correct the problem? I surely wouldn't think so! Will we need to form a committee and have dozens of meetings to discuss the matter? Strangely enough... I honestly believe the City will find a way to do just that!

The first thing the City needs to do is to determine what the cause of the pigeon problem is. Those cities that have dealt with such a problem in the past have identified two major causes... a place to nest and an abundant food supply. The birds are nesting in abandoned buildings throughout the downtown. There is a gaping hole in the roof of Sharon's Place and a similar one in the roof of the Superior Education building -- just to name two. What better place is there for the pigeons to nest? Buildings open to the elements are a hazard to the community. They need to be shut down! It's just that simple!

Open, abandoned buildings devalue the downtown, and create attractive nuisances for pests, animals, criminals, and curious children. What possible good would ever come by allowing such pronounced violations of our City's blight ordinance? Are dilapidated buildings somehow good for a downtown business district? Those business owners that are trying their hardest to maintain their buildings and run respectable, honest businesses are penalized by the City's failure to enforce their own ordinances.

The primary focus of our blight control officer should be to make sure badly neglected buildings are either sealed off to the elements or condemned and razed. Will consumers refuse to shop in downtown Ironwood because the grass behind the stores is a couple of inches too tall? How ridiculous! Will customers stay away because they don't want to walk through filthy, disease infested bird droppings? Will they tend to avoid the downtown because they don't want to be attacked from above with fresh bird feces? I certainly think the situation can't help business much!

When a new visitor comes to the downtown; picks up his area pee map; and begins to tour the area... is he going to be thrilled at the site of freshly whitewashed buildings and the constant cawing of the pest birds on the building tops?

The City of Ironwood needs to quit with all the unnecessary meetings. They have to do away with the overabundance of committees, boards, commissions and authorities. They need to start DOING SOMETHING instead of simply DISCUSSING issues to death!

Jim Albert