IRONWOOD, MI - Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - Last night's meeting to discuss the overpopulation of pigeons in the City proved to be a very productive one.

City Manager Scott Erickson started the meeting by explaining that the City intends on euthanizing pigeons in the downtown area in an attempt to control the population. The Chronicle has recently featured articles that highlight the problem. Several downtown businesses have been inundated by the birds. Pigeon excrement covers areas of City sidewalks, and many building rooftops have become favorite roosting spots.

According to Erickson, the City will be working with specialists from the USDA to control the problem. Erickson told the small gathering at last night's meeting that effective management of the population is best done once the abundance of food supply dwindles. Once snow has blanketed the area and the ground is frozen, it will be easier to introduce treated bait to the birds.

Dick Leklem, 203 South Mansfield Street, asked Erickson if the City had an ordiance that forbids the feeding of pigeons. Erickson told Leklem that there was no such ordinance.

"Because those are nothing but flying rats!" Leklem said of the pigeons. He further explained that they are everywhere, and that their droppings are a health hazard.

"Food and places to roost are the two things that attract pigeons." Steve Frank explained, "First of all, I'm totally against poisoning things! That's just wrong! We'll just have dead birds lying around in the City. They're going to fly away after eating the feed. It's cruel! It's horrible! It's absolutely wrong to even think of doing that, and it does absolutely nothing but treat a symptom of the problem. The reason that we have a number of pigeons in this town is the abundance of food source and the it's the number of roosting spots. Near the Catholic church there are those two buildings -- exactly right!"

Frank, who is on the Downtown Ironwood Development Authority (DIDA), went on to say, "We're participating in that Blueprint Program," a State of Michigan initiative that is intended to improve downtown business districts, "We know again that they're going to say we need to deal with the abandoned buildings in our downtown. So why treat the symptom of this problem?  Put our energy -- instead of talking about pigeons -- put our energy into doing something about the downtown and fix the pigeon problem in the process!"

Father Darryl Pepin, Pastor of the Our Lady of Peace Parish, 108 South Marquette Street, spoke up, "Well, our bell tower is not abandoned, and we have a flock of about a hundred pigeons roosting there!"

"Have you taken any steps to keep them off of there?" Frank questioned.

"I've been working on that over a year now," Pepin explained, "And we're trying to partner with the City!"

"I don't know why you need to partner with the City. To me, that's an individual's; homeowner's; business's choice or whatever! The City has things to do that the average person cannot do!  There are non-lethal methods to keep pigeons away. If you get rid of the roosting spots, they will not congregate."

Leklem suggested netting the birds and relocating them.

Frank explained that his daughter was extremely distraught when he explained that the City was planning to euthanize the pigeons. "She thought it was absolutely horrible to do that!"

"What caused the flood and the damage at Constantini's?" Leklem asked. Erickson, obviously wanting to avoid that issue, quickly tried to change the topic. "It wasn't the brick that fell of the theatre building! It was the amount of water that fell that night and forced the feathers and the pigeon dung -- and when it got to the t0p of the drain -- it encapsulated and it made it look like concrete!"

"But, why should the City then be using my tax dollars to take care of that business? That's a maintenance issue on that building! There are basics that have to be done! And talking to the theatre, they should have been dealing with that!"

"Do you know who owns the theatre building?" Leklem asked. "The City does!"

Erickson went on to say that the City definitely needs to address the buildings where pigeons roost, but he further stated that reducing the overall numbers of pigeons was necessary to control the problem. According to Erickson, USDA told him there are very few effective methods to control the problem, and thinning the population is one of them.

Frank continued by saying that every other effort should be tried first. He explained that all of the information he has researched shows that euthanizing the birds was "at the bottom of the list" and that other tactics should attempted before taking such a drastic measure.

DIDA Chairman George Goerig asked Erickson if larger birds of prey could be brought in to control the problem. He explained that several major cities have introduced Peregrine Falcons to control their pigeon problems.

This reporter mentioned the October 9, 2008 Chronicle article that featured effective methods used by Alemeda County, California to control their pigeon problem. Alemeda effectively controlled their problem using these methods, and the suggestion was made that the City examines what other communities have done to address the same issue.

Dick Leklam suggested that the City initiate stronger blight ordinances "with some bite" that will force property owners to seal off their buildings. He said the problem will never be controlled until these buildings are sealed off from the elements.

After much discussion involving methods to control the problem, the meeting took an interesting twist. Father Pepin explained to the group that the owners of the two buildings near the church (along McLeod Avenue) wanted, at one time, to donate the buildings to the church. Upon hearing that, Commission Tom Laabs suggested that the Church accept the donations and then partner with the City to have the buildings razed. Laabs explained that the City has recently been attempting to purchase tax-forfeited, abandoned and blighted properties in an attempt to better control the City's blight problems.

Steve Frank suggested that several of the churches in the area partner together. With the City's help, the various churches could have the buildings razed (at a considerably lower cost than what the City would have to pay due to abatment issues). The City could offer some financial assistance to raze the buildings, and the property could be shared as parking space by the area churches.

Pepin said he will try to contact the owners through the real estate agents that have the buildings listed. Both Commissioner Laabs and City Manager Erickson explained that the City could get more "bang for their bucks" by partnering with individuals and groups to take over and raze abandoned buildings. Laabs pointed out that the City has spent thousands of dollars razing buildings on property the City doesn't even own.

A brief inventory of severely blighted buildings that are open to the elements was discussed. City Manager Scott Erickson assured the group that action would be taken to attack the pigeon problem in an effective, safe manner.

For more information or to voice your concerns regarding the pigeon problem in Ironwood, please contact City Manager Scott Erickson at (906) 932-5050.

Jim Albert