Question and Answer Forum for Candidates for City Council Ward 6

The Revere Journal has asked each candidate for Ward 6 the following question: With recent building activity and most of the ward being marshland, an increase in the number of rodents has been experienced.  How do you propose as councillor to address this issue?   The following are their responses:

 

Making sure that trash is secure in the trash cans

By Athur DeMattia

The rodent and wild animal sightings have been an issue for some time now. I remember being in high school waiting for the bus on Salem Street and seeing coyotes crossing the street in the morning. There have been other animal sightings as well over the years. North Revere does, in fact, have a large amount of marshland, as well as a large amount of woods area. In a way, you can’t blame these animals for coming out into the public since we are invading their space, but we can’t be living with rodents in our streets, yards and sometimes houses.

The first thing I would do is to send out a notice to the residents of Ward 6 letting them know they should be keeping their trash in a secured trash can with the cover on tight to prevent the lour of rodents into their yards. Second, I would explore what other cities and towns do about this situation and weigh the options on how to control the influx of vermin. Third, I would pay closer attention to the amount of construction that is being done, especially in the areas close to the marshlands in deep in the woods of North Revere. We can’t just let people build wherever there is a spot. We have to remember that Revere is a suburban city, but has many rural sections, which separates us from other cites. Having the ability to experience natures just a few miles from downtown Boston is something I have always enjoyed growing up and should be something that is embraced.

By slowing down construction, making sure trash is secure in the trash cans, continuing to preserve the woods and marshlands, and finding a humane way to control the rodents are the city’s best solutions.

Three steps are needed to control the rodent problem

By Councillor Charles Patch

With the expansion of building in the Ward 6 community, I feel strongly that to control the increase of rodents  we must have a three step program:

First, the City of Revere must implement a maintenance program  for the entire ward that could be instituted by the city’s lSD division.  They have the knowledge and expertise to deal with this serious situation; they also have the tools to find out what other  communities have done  in other  cities and what is an effective approach in alleviating this major  problem.

Second, after the maintenance program  is established, we need to make sure that there  is a monitoring procedure  in place (i.e., data analysis) that proves that our program  is really maximizing the elimination of rodent  infiltration.

Lastly, with  all this new development happening throughout the City of Revere, I feel developers should be responsible  for some of the costs in helping to eliminate this serious problem. I would  propose that when any type of development comes forward, the Site Plan Review Committee set as part of the application process, a condition that  makes the developer  explain how they are going to address this problem and share the cost necessary to make the development and the neighborhood a better place for all of us to live.

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