Savastano cites progress, although slow, on pesticide change as evidence
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Ocean City Business Administrator George Savastano said although it may take time, city officials sincerely want to work with citizens to address their concerns.
At the Nov. 5 City Council meeting, Savastano addressed how the city is moving forward to eliminate toxic pesticides from use on public properties, an issue raised before council for several years by resident Donna Moore and her allies.
At the last council meeting in October, council members told Moore they agreed with her long effort to get the city to stop using toxic pesticides on city property. She had appeared countless times to speak during public comment, often holding signs – and having supporters hold signs – warning about the dangers of toxic pesticides.
Savastano wanted to make clear the city administration was listening.
Acknowledging members of the public had talked about that for the past few years, he said he wanted to make clear the city’s use of pesticides has been done “legally and properly.”
But, he added, “Having said that, there are legitimate concerns brought up about the potential negative effects of pesticides. Last year the city incorporated into our bid process the requirement that eight out of our 30-some public lots that are contracted out for landscaping, be treated organically. We started that last year.
“Now the mayor has directed his administration to plan on the organic treatment of all city public facilities and grounds in 2021. That would include those that we contract and those that we maintain ourselves,” Savastano said. “We plan to report on our efforts to achieve this in the next 30 days.”
He said there have been some roadblocks that stopped the city from going all organic in the past.
“One is the effectiveness,” he said, “… but the mayor directed us to give it a shot and see how it works on all public properties. That’s what we’re going to do. We’ll find out what the costs are and how we can accomplish that.”
Savastano said the city would probably have to go out to bid rather than amend its current contracts “but we’ve been listening.”
“I think it is a testament to all of us working together,” he said. “ …. We’d much prefer to work together with folks. We’re not always going to agree on everything. And in the end, the mayor and council, when it comes to government business, have to make decisions that they think best serve the entire community, understanding that some of those decisions parts of the community won’t agree with and parts of the community will agree with.
“But we’d much rather work together to accomplish things and get things done,” he added. “Sometimes it’s not as fast as people would like. Sometimes it’s not to the extent that people would like, but what we do, quite frankly, it’s not rocket science. It’s complex that there’s a lot of stuff to take care of, but our goal, ultimately, is to leave this place better when we’re done than when we started.”
During public comment, Moore thanked the administration and council and again brought up supporters with signs about the dangers of toxic pesticides.
“Thank you for embarking on a year’s worth of trial of pesticide free,” she said. “George mentioned pesticides have been legally and properly applied. That sounds great, but pesticides corporations proclaim safety on their chemicals. And their research is funded by the pesticide corporations for these chemicals. They write the safety information on the package.”
She offered to provide research and support for the city’s efforts because it will lead to the safety of children – who are more susceptible to the effects of toxic chemicals – to wildlife and to ocean and bay life that is affected by the runoff.
Moore added that she hoped private property owners would follow suit.
“We’re grateful for beginning to address pesticides on public lands and hope it will lead to more pesticide-free land on our island so we can become a healthier family resort,” she said.
She had support from resident Pam McIntyre, who also spoke at the meeting.
“As a master gardener and person who cares about people’s health and livelihood I would definitely encourage” getting rid of toxic pesticides, she said. “I’m happy to hear what is already happening and believe even more could happen in that regard.”
Noting that this is a dense community “with a lot of landscaping and a lot of landscapers,” she echoed Moore’s concerns about the impact on wildlife on the island and in the nearby waters.
“I’m not a naturalist, but I’m a naturalist at heart. I hope you’ll consider the further removal of pesticides from the general community,” she said.
Councilman Jody Levchuk thanked the administration for listening to the information presented about pesticides and taking steps to protect children in the community. As a parent, he said he and other parents appreciate having pesticide-free playing fields.