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A reader sent in the following comment. It is published unchanged.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of the AURORA CITIZEN.
I sent the following email to Mayor Morris on October 16th, 2008 as I am sitting on an invoice from my lawn care company. I have yet to hear a response from her. I have also sent the same email to Councillor Collin-Mrakis and not had a response. What should the public do when we cannot get answers from our elected officials? I have lost the early payment discount that I was eligible for. I thought it would be best to send this to the Mayor as she vets everything from staff anyways.
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Mayor Morris,
I have for a number of years contracted with Weed Man for lawn care. I have received their 2009 schedule and prior to my authorizing payment, I have asked them to assure me that they are compliant with the Town's bylaw. They tell me that they are compliant in that they use a product called Sarritor. The actual bylaw does not speak to actual product brand names. Can you tell me if Sarritor satisfies this bylaw or pass the request to the appropriate person for a determination?
As well, they tell me that they will still have to place a warning sign on my lawn (Federal regulations). Will I have to endure bylaw officers knocking on my door with a summons because this sign is on my lawn? In order for this product to work, I also will have to water the lawn for 15-20 minutes three days in a row. My other concern here is that as you know, the Town operates under a limited outdoor water use bylaw that would place me in a position of violation in order to properly activate this lawn care product. What is the Town's viewpoint on this situation?
Thank you.
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Aurora Citizen: How are other citizens dealing with the issue of our pesticide ban? Share your thoughts.
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7 comments:
Hello Sir,
My apologies that you did not receive a response. Please note that I try quite hard to respond to residents' emails within 48 hours.
I have checked my emails and I have not received this message.
So thank-you for bringing it to my attention.
I will follow up on your behalf with our Town staff and will get back to you as quickly as possible.
Please contact me at the email address below so that I may correspond with you directly.
Alison Collins-Mrakas
acollinsmrakas@gmail.com
Who wrote the original post?
Why no name?
Is it for real, or manufactured?
Who is responsible?
Should I worry?
The person is real, we chose not to publish their name/email for privacy reasons.
As you can clearly see above your anonymous post, Councillor Collins-Mrakas has reached out to contact the person and I am sure she can confirm whether the person is real.
As for the issue, the question is relevant to many citizens. Hopefully Council will provide a response that will benefit all readers.
Then you won't have to worry, because you will have all the information necessary to make an informed decision.
Thank you for posting this. I have exactly the same concerns. When I received my early discount invoice I put it aside noting the same issues. I look forward to some information from the Town to help me understand if I will be in violation of the by-law by hiring the company again this year. I look forward to an update.
As per the gentleman's request, I have followed up with Town staff and expect to have an answer very shortly. I will relay any information I receive as quickly as possible.
And, as always, you can email me anytime if you have a question or concern.
AC-M
I have followed up with staff and there has been a bit of back and forth on the issue re the use of Sarritor.
Staff have advised that it is not a straightforward issue.
They are investigating and will get back to the resident (and myself) as soon as they have a definitive answer.
Regards,
Alison Collins-Mrakas
An update:
As per correspondence with Town staff, it has been determined that the use of Serritor (the product in question) is permitted under the Town's pesticide use by-law.
While there is still an outstanding issue with regards to water use re the administration of the product, the matter of whether the product may be used has been addressed.
The resident has been put in touch with the appropriate staff at the Town so that Staff may address the remaining issues with the resident, directly.
All the best,
AC-M
Councillor Alison Collins-Mrakas
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