Council Appointee Sub-Committee — Portland, ME
Date: 2019-04-02
Time: 18:30

City of Portland
 Pesticide Management Advisory Committee


 April 2, 2019
 6:30 PM
 Room 24 ­ Portland City Hall

1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Review and approve minutes from March 11
 a. Minutes from March 11, 2019
3. Report on contacts with members of the public regarding the ordinance
 a. Requests for information or waivers
 b. Outreach
4. New Business
 a. Report on issues being addressed by South Portland and Scarborough pesticide
 committees
 b. Discuss approaches to managing grubs.
5. Set next meeting date.
6. Adjournment

City of Portland
 Pesticide Management Advisory Committee


 April 2, 2019
 6:30 PM
 Room 24 ­ Portland City Hall

1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Review and approve minutes from March 11
 a. Minutes from March 11, 2019
3. Report on contacts with members of the public regarding the ordinance
 a. Requests for information or waivers
 b. Outreach
4. New Business
 a. Report on issues being addressed by South Portland and Scarborough pesticide
 committees
 b. Discuss approaches to managing grubs.
5. Set next meeting date.
6. Adjournment
 CITY OF PORTLAND, MAINE
 Pesticide Management Advisory Committee



 Draft Minutes March 11, 2019

Members Present:​ Avery, Kara, Carol, Jesse O’Brien, Tim Lindsey, Priscilla Scary
Staff Present​:​ Troy Moon, Ashley Krulik

Meeting was called to order at 6:24 PM by Troy Moon.

Welcome and introductions

Committee Responsibilities
  ● Reviewed responsibilities as outlined in the ordinance
  ● Items of discussion:
 ○ Waiver process
 ○ Reporting
 ○ Need to review exemption language
 ○ For new development, require higher soil quality from the start

Applicator Roundtable Takeaways
  ● Review Waynflete and Cheverus athletic field concerns
  ● Seeding lawns at the wrong time of year poses issues
  ● Customers do not understand ordinance
  ● Professionals are not currently charging for consultation time
  ● Cost to homeowner
  ● No organic solution for grubs
 ○ Beneficial nematodes - work 20-30% of the time
 ○ Milky spore - mixed results
 ○ Acelepryn - reduced risk pesticide - currently not allowed within ordinance
  ● Retailers asked to play educational role
  ● Need to change cultural perception of a “beautiful” lawn
  ● Ashley to send meeting notes to PMAC
  ● Need to follow up with applicators

Select Officers and Waiver Committee
 ● Secretary - Karen Snyder- all in favor, 7-0
 ● Chair - Jesse O’Brien - all in favor, 7-0
 ● Waiver Committee - Avery - all in favor, 7-0
 ○ Tim suggests a weekly waiver committee meeting to react quickly to requests
 ○ Jesse asked that waiver committee share information with entire PMAC
 ○ Meet as needed unless there is a steady stream of waivers
Review Brochure Content
 ● Keep brochure content simple
 ● Revise title
 ● Resources to reference:
 ○ Maine Yardscaping content - Is Your Lawn Truly Green
 ○ Beyond Pesticides content
 ○ Board of Pesticide Control and Extension - Megan Patterson
 ● Put more detailed information on the Sustainability website
 ● Request NOFA brochures to handout at events

Retail Point of Sale
 ● How do we approach retailers to add point of sale signage on land care products
 ● Retailers moving synthetics higher on shelves

Outreach and Education
 ● Maine Flower Show seminar
 ● Green Neighbor Family Fest table - partnering with Stormwater team
 ● Farmer’s Market
 ● Postcards
 ○ Insert into existing City mailers? Tax bills, stormwater bills, etc. Rec brochures -
 Troy/Ashley to reach out to Parks & Recreation.
 ● Email notification to City email lists - alert - talk to Jessica Grondin
 ● Neighborhood organization meetings
 ○ Blind copy PMAC on neighborhood association email
 ● Landlord association meetings
 ● Tabling at retailers
 ● Field Day event
 ○ Fall is the best time for lawn care
 ○ Need to educate public on soil quality
 ○ Possibly partner with South Portland
 ● Connect with Portland applicators to get everyone on the same page
 ● Workshop with Handyman equipment
 ● Workshop for landscape professionals
 ○ Need to educate professionals on alternative practices
 ● Outreach to equipment retailers who work with LCOs
 ○ Wako mower - return clippings
 ● Social media
 ○ Mowing right
 ○ Why to leave the clippings
 ● Key Messaging:
 ○ Should be focused on the problems that homeowners typically fix with synthetic
 pesticides
 ○ Preventative care
 ○ Healthy soil

ISA - International Society of Agriculture
 ● Advanced different land care management practices
 ● IPM - inspect and treat as needed

Audiences:
  ● Homeowner
 ○ DIY
 ○ People who hire contractors
 ○ People who do nothing
  ● Lawn Care Applicators
  ● Contractors - earth, grassing, irrigation, mowing, sprayers
  ● Retailers



MOFGA article:
  ● IPM is never used in contract lawn care, rather applications are made per a schedule
 throughout the year

Meeting schedule
  ● First Tuesday of the month @ 6:30pm
  ● Potentially take the summer off due to busy season

Next meeting: April 2
 ● Discuss fall event

Motion was made by Troy Moon adjourned the meeting at 8:07 pm.

CITY OF PORTLAND, MAINE
 Pesticide Management Advisory Committee



 Minutes April 2, 2019

Members Present:​ Avery Kamilla, Karen Snyder, ​Carol Laboissonniere​, Jesse O’Brien, Tim
Lindsey, Priscilla Skerry
Staff Present​:​ Troy Moon, Ashley Krulik

Meeting was called to order at 6:24 PM by Jesse O’Brien.

Welcome and introductions ​- information sharing among the group
  ● CedarCure - tick treatment that committee should review to see if it’s allowed under the
 ordinance - carcinogenic
  ● April 9th - South Portland workshop with City Council regarding fertilizer
  ● Jon Hinck’s firm recruiting people with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma for Roundup lawsuit

Review and approve minutes from March 11, 2019
 ● Tim Lindsey moved to accept, Avery seconded, all in favor 7-0.

Report on contacts with members of the public regarding the ordinance
 ● Troy
 ○ Very few calls about the ordinance so far
 ○ City in MA interested in our ordinance
 ○ Trying to connect with Maine Hardware on educational materials
 ○ One question about treatment for ticks
 ○ Participated in Channel 6 news story
 ○ One call about carpenter ants in the home
 ● Karen - create a spreadsheet with comments and questions that we receive

Waiver Applications
  ● Received one from Cherverus but it was not complete, asked them to fill in gaps and
 review ordinance again to determine if they are eligible.
  ● Waynflete - Application included a treatment plan with no changes to adhere to
 ordinance. No current sign of grubs. Waiver application denied, do not expect an appeal.
  ● Review process
 ○ Cannot discuss items over email, should discuss during meetings so that it is part
 of the minutes
 ○ Need to share fair judgement on waiver applications
 ○ Our meetings are public meetings and waivers are posted prior to waiver
 committee meeting, which is not the case in South Portland
 ○ Committee members should not deliberate prior to waiver committee meetings
 ○ Can clarify agendas via email

Brochures
 ● 2 brochures are better than one
 ● Use South Portland as a base
 ● Karen to incorporate Avery’s comments into her version of the Top 10 brochure
 ● Post Karen’s version of the Pesticide Ordinance brochure for committee to review to
 Google Drive
 ● Reverse order of aeration and overseeding in Top 10 brochure
 ● Recommend spiking in addition to core aeration (spiking may bring up fewer weed seeds
 than core aeration, but spiking can cause compaction, site and time specific)
 ● Add UMaine Cooperative Extension Cumberland County as source
 ● Timing: aiming for the end of the month
 ● Distribution:
 ○ Events
 ○ Stores
 ○ Insert in Stormwater bills?
 ○ Included in Parks and Recreation digital newsletter
 ● Develop materials specifically for youth? Hold for now.
 ● Get quote to develop Pesticide Ordinance logo

Tabling:
 ● Home Depot has OK’ed
 ● Waiting to hear from Lowe’s and Paris Farmers’ Union
 ● Risbara Bros - haven’t contacted yet
 ● Maine Hardware - talk to Tim
 ● Need people to commit to manning the table on a Saturday in May
 ● Sustainability Office to order table
 ● Jim Lausier - Peak’s Island - Jesse to man

Outreach
 ● Add pesticide section to “Fix-It Portland” - Troy to look into
 ● Enforcement - use education first
 ○ How do we prove the use of ordinance? Cannot test, need to trust people’s word.
 ● Add links to helpful books/resources to website

Approved Contractor List
  ● Cannot recommend based on certification
  ● Add disclaimer to compliant land care companies on website

Applicator’s Round Table Review
  ● High priorities:
 ○ High Use Athletic Fields
 ○ Homeowner education
 ○ Grubs
 ○ Reseeding during correct time of the year

Managing Grubs:
  ● 1 year lifecycle - grub -> pupate -> japanese beetle/other types of beetles
  ● Japanese beetle is being overtaken by the Oriental beetle
  ● European Chafer beetle - largest and most voracious
  ● Eat roots
  ● Once they reach large population, animals start to forage for then and tear up land
 quickly
  ● Issues: lots of different types of beetles, unpredictable, come and go quickly
  ● Need to discuss if Japanese Beetle traps are banned under ordinance
  ● Treatments:
 ○ Milky Spore - used as treatment for Japanese Beetles, does not work for other
 types of beetles, can be sporadic and doesn’t last
 ○ Nematodes - specific to each type of beetle, spray into turf and attack grubs, all
 variables need to be perfect to work - may not survive Maine winters
 ○ Pre-emption - need to apply treatment before there is any sign of infestation to be
 effective - first or second week of August - once grubs are visible there is no
 effective organic product. Can use traps or watch for Japanese Beetles to
 determine if there will be an issue.
 ○ Possible to test in late fall if grubs are present? Yes.
 ○ Rescue treatment
  ● Need to consider long term effects of pesticides on children
  ● Acelepryn
 ○ Reduced risk product
 ○ Scarborough has been organic since 2011 - using Acelepryn on athletic fields to
 address grubs
 ○ South Portland also exploring Acelepryn for athletic fields - PMAC may
 recommend amendment to ordinance to allow Acelepryn for certain
 circumstances
 ○ Acelepryn affects muscles of insects - does not affect bees - could affect
 beneficial beetles/worms
 ○ Needs to be applied second week of May in coastal Maine
 ○ 48 hour re-entry time for schools
  ● LD 50 - used to rate all pesticide products - the higher the number, the safer the
 treatment is
  ● If pesticide is used in a proper manner at a proper time, it can save people thousands of
 dollars
  ● Artificial turf also poses issues and has high cost
  ● Thresholds are key
  ● Best educational resource for grubs: UMass, UConn and NOFA
Next meeting: May 7, 6:30pm
 ● Determine tabling events and who will work at each event
 ● Discuss enforcement

Motion was made by Troy Moon adjourned the meeting at 8:13 pm.