The Pell City Civitan Club postponed their eighth annual boat regatta scheduled for Saturday in Lakeside Park because city officials closed the public beach last week after facing a potential public health hazard caused by the overwhelming number of geese flocking to the area.

 Last Thursday city officials held a public hearing to hear public input and determine possible solutions to eliminate the problem of an overwhelming number of geese overtaking areas surrounding the lake.

“We have had a steady stream of complaints for months,” Mayor Bill Hereford said. “it is a public health and safety problem as well as being a nuisance.”

Canadian geese swarming the area are leaving droppings, which contain high levels of e coli.

“We are concentrating on what we can do in the park, ball fields and lake.  We can’t tell you what to do in your yard,” Hereford told residents at the hearing.

Pell City attorney John Rea conducted research and consulted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture about ways to solve the problem.  Rea presented three possible options at the hearing.

“There is a great deal of potential for a public health problem if goose droppings continue to accumulate,” Rea said.

The city has the option of hunting the geese, but with 200-300 geese in the park alone, city officials realize hunting them one time will not solve the problem.  

Another option would permit the city to participate in a roundup.  Authorities would drug induce the geese, causing them to fall asleep and then relocate them elsewhere.  However, this method should be put into action no less than 30 days before hunting season begins Sept.1 because officials must avoid the possibility of hunters shooting geese that have been exposed to the drug.  Authorities do not want hunters accidentally exposed to or ingesting the contaminated geese.  As a result the city would not be able to begin the process until mid October.

The city also has the option of taking measures to apply a substance to geese eggs to prevent them from hatching to keep population growth at a minimumA.

“All three options are important,” Barnett Lawley said.

Police Chief Greg Turley offered the city the option of using the department’s resources including a team of trained hunters and their marine unit at no cost to the city.

The LMLPA has also been working on ways to fix the problem by creating the “Goosance Committee” to address the issue.  Mike Riley, president of LMLPA, said that he and other members of the organization have conducted tests on e coli levels and tested water quality.

“We have been doing research on possible ways to handle the situation.”

Councilmen agree that people are not educated or aware of the facts involved concerning the issue.

“We knew we had a problem.  We didn’t realize the problem is as bad as it was, but when you start talking about kids, we’ve got to educate folks in the community,” Councilman Donnie Guinn said.  “This is not some one time thing.  It will take years to get this situation under control.”

Mayor Hereford and other councilmen suggested including financial means in next year’s budget to get rid of the geese since the city faces this problem in the coming years.  If the city decides to seek assistance from the USDA, they face an estimated cost of $5-7,000.

“It is a costly issue but we are willing to do whatever it takes,” Mayor Hereford said.