Bird poop to get scooped at airport

Several hangars at Polk County's airport will soon be going through a major cleanup as officials look to solve a big bird poop problem.

The county will br spending $22,250 on the project with local cleaning company Certi-Clean to remove 8 hangars worth of droppings safely from the airport since the build-up over the years of the mess can be hazardous to the health of workers and airport users alike.

Public Works director Michael Gravett explained the droppings left by pigeons over the years have grown a type of fungus that can get in the lungs and grow, eventually developing into a serious respiratory problem and pneumonia.

Also, the years of droppings have also accumulated a lot of ammonia which is also toxic if not handled properly.

Certi-Clean will remove the droppings as if it was a hazmat-style cleanup, and then dispose of them properly to ensure no one gets sick from handling and removing the poop.

Following the finish of the scrubbing work, the county will then move in and make repairs to holes in several hangars which have allowed pigeons to get in and roost.

Also among the moves made by the county commission during their Nov. 8 session was to change rental rates for hangars at the airport.

Prices are as low as $150 for airplane storage space, and

range upward to $175. The new rates were put in place as a measure to attract new leases from pilots in the area.

Commissioner also voted at the same time to give authority over the rental prices to the airport manager, should they need to be changed in the future.

Landfill Advisory committee gets filled, others tabled to December meeting

New members are set to get to work now that commission has voted unanimously to appoint 8 people to the Landfill Advisory committee, up from the originally planned five-member body.

The move was made in order to allow for more people to join on the advisory committee to both the Allied Waste and the county on issues surrouding landfill operations and the community.

Among those organzations seeking to take part are the Development Authority of Polk County and Keep Polk Beautiful. County officials promised a full list of the new appointees, but it was not made available as of press time Monday.

Other positions were tabled until the December meeting for decisions on expiring terms on several boards. The county commission will vote on new or incumbent members of the Development Authority of Polk County, the Board of Elections, Board of Assessors and the Planning and Zoning Board.