T.F. considers reducing use of pesticides

T.F. considers reducing use of pesticides
Council mulls which parks should be pesticide free
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS — The Borough Council is expected to consider reducing the use of chemical pesticides on borough properties.

Environmental Commission members Jonathon Cohen and Jeff King at the July 6 workshop meeting presented the council with a rough draft of a resolution to reduce pesticide use.

Cohen suggested that Tinton Falls should join many other municipalities across the state in reducing the use of pesticides.

“There are a list of other [towns] around the state that have done this, and we’d like to join with them,” he said. “They have been shown to be hazardous to children, pets, adults, anybody.

“Recently there was a study showing that it could be one of the causes of autism and other pretty bad diseases around children,” he added.

Cohen listed Ocean Township, Asbury Park, Neptune, Keyport, Hazlet and Red Bank as local municipalities that have adopted resolutions on pesticide use.

King explained that children are particularly vulnerable to pesticides.

“Children are particularly vulnerable due to their size, rapid development and hand-tomouth behavior,” he said. “We want to do what’s right for our families, and this resolution will actually save the borough money in the long term and the short term.

“We don’t know how harmful these are in the environment.”

However, Borough Administrator Gerald Turning had some reservations on restricting pesticide use on particular borough fields.

“Our concern is what areas of borough property are we talking about,” he said.

“This was tried once before; it was tried on our soccer fields and our football fields, and what happened was we had a deterioration of the grass and the playing conditions,” he added. “We received many, many complaints.”

Turning said he’d like to see specific parks and fields added to the resolution for clarity.

“The only thing I’d like to see is that we identify those areas where we will be doing it and those areas where we will not be doing it because of past problems that we’ve had,” he said. “We don’t want to be in a position where we’re not allowed to use certain things on certain fields.

“I really would like someone to say to me where are we talking about.”

King explained that the policy is not aimed at eliminating pesticides but rather reducing their use on certain fields.

“The policy will not prohibit us from using chemicals; it just basically says use the least toxic methods first,” he said. “If there is an emergency or a problem, it is not an ordinance, there is no law saying we can’t do anything that we need to do.”

Councilman Andrew Mayer, who is a member of the environmental commission, suggested that the borough administration decide at which parks to eliminate the use of pesticides.

“It gives us the freedom to address issues where there’s issues, while decreasing the amount of chemicals that get dispersed,” he said. “This is really identifying the reduction part, and it is up to the administration to identify those areas that are pesticide-free zones.”

Cohen suggested that if the borough started using organic pesticides as opposed to the chemical-based type, it could save money.

He went on to say that the borough has taken steps in recent years to cut back on the use of pesticides on borough properties.

“The borough has been doing a lot of very good management,” Cohen said. “We would like to make it a policy that it would be the best thing to do for the children and the borough of Tinton Falls.

“They wouldn’t be putting signs up all around saying the property is treated if it wasn’t dangerous.”

Cohen did say the pesticide issue is one that does not require the borough to take immediate action.

“It is not something that has a date or time we need to deal with,” he said. “We’ve been discussing this with many administrations throughout the years, and it is not something that needs to be done tomorrow.”

Turning said the borough would take up the issue sometime in August.





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