The Utilities Committee met 03/12/2024. The item which resulted in the most amount of discussion was the request to award a single source contract for 2024 native landscape management to NES Ecological Services.
Alderperson Israel Del Toro (District 4) was concerned that the contract allowed the use of glyphosate chemicals as one of the tools used to manage invasive species and control algae in the city’s stormwater ponds and channels. He wanted to know if it was possible to amend the contract to allow only the use of non-glyphosate products.
The contract was time-sensitive, however, so the committee ended up voting 3-1 to approve the contract with the understanding that between the time of the committee meeting and the Common Council meeting next week, staff could investigate the feasibility of requiring the use of non-glyphosate products, and then the item could be discussed in more detail at the Common Council on 03/20/2024.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
Alderperson Del Toro’s concerns regarding pesticide/herbicide usage are well established, and he was concerned the types of products that NES Ecological Services could use as part of this contract. He wanted to know if the city could specific that only non-glyphosate products could be used.
Deputy Director of Public Works Pete Neuberger said that right now they used standard industry chemicals and the contract was required to have qualified applicators to use those products. Prior to using chemicals, there was a vetting process to determine whether there were cost effective non-chemical alternatives such as cutting or hand-pulling; however, due to the size of the some of the sites, non-chemical tools were often not practical.
The question of using non-glyphosate chemicals had come up around three years ago. They investigated the possibility of moving to those chemicals but ended up deciding to continue using glyphosate products. “Much of that had to do with the effectiveness of the product, how quickly it becomes inert after placing it, and just the proven track record that glyphosate has.”
Alderperson Del Toro wondered if it would be possible to hold off on approving this contract until another conversation was had because “science changes over three years.”
Elements of the contract, however, were time sensitive because some aquatic vegetation, specifically European Watermilfoil and curly-leaf pondweed, could not be effectively treated after the water temperature in the ponds rose above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
The committee discussed several ways to handle the situation and contemplated holding a special session ahead of the Common Council meeting on 03/20/2024, but eventually, they decided to approve the item as presented with the understanding that staff could review the issues related to it over the course of the week and it could be discussed more fully at the Common Council meeting at which they would have the option to refer it back to the committee if such an action was warranted or it the item could be approved if it turned out that was the better option.
Although Alderperson Del Toro approved of that course of action, he still voted against the item presumably due to his underlying concerns about glyphosate usage.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1182858&GUID=65AFBC07-2569-4A23-A1CD-23E848F00B48
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