Columbia news, views & reviews received this email “letter to the editor” over the weekend.

“Were you aware that a person or people, acting on Mayor Leo Lutz’s say-so, have been spraying pesticides/herbicides on properties in the borough without any advance notice or permission from the landowners involved? Also, when asked not to spray certain properties, the people doing so refuse to stop claiming they were sanctioned by the Mayor to spray.

“Here’s a thumbnail synopsis of what’s been going on:

“For the past three years, I have encountered a man with a several-gallon plastic backpack sprayer unit filled with what he claims is the herbicide “Roundup” hosing sidewalks and other property along both Chestnut Street and Lancaster Ave. (Rt. 462) in the borough where Chestnut intersects with Lancaster Ave.

“The first year I witnessed this person spraying my property (2011), I accosted him, told him I did not want any such chemicals sprayed on my property (462 Chestnut), and that I would dig out the weeds by hand, as I have been doing for most of the nine years we have lived in the borough. I explained to him that have valuable dogs (English setters) whose lives I treasure and when they walk where this idiot has been spraying then lick their feet, as dogs often do, they will be ingesting his poisons directly. Also, neither myself nor my spouse want to breathe or have these kind of chemicals sprayed in our environment. More importantly, we did not approve the use of these chemicals on our property; and we were not notified by the borough that someone claiming to represent the borough would be using these chemicals on our property.

“When I asked him to stop spraying immediately, this man – he evidently also works part-time for the borough as a crossing guard, because I have seen him at the school doing this – refused to do so, claiming he was authorized to spray everything he deemed a weed by Mayor Leo Lutz.

“It’s safe, it’s safe,” he told me.

I asked him how he knew it was safe, if he could personally guarantee that such chemicals would not hurt my dogs or human beings, he continued his “It’s safe” speech. He also claimed he was doing this as a borough service to homeowners and to keep the borough “looking nice,” without weeds. I literally had to run him off, threaten him, to get to stop spraying my property. I told him never to return to this property to spray. I am not a violent person, but it took this to make him stop.

“This first attack of my property took place in late spring of 2011.

“I contacted Mayor Lutz about this issue, and in a very angry message told him I didn’t want my property sprayed with poisons, that the borough had no right to spray anything on my property without my consent and told him I would run this man off again if he showed up. Lutz responded offering no apology, but claimed he wanted to meet with me to talk about this, suggested I shouldn’t be so angry. I declined his offer of a meeting because I believed it could not be productive.

“In 2012, this same man returned to my property in late spring, spraying. When I accosted him again, asked him if he remembered what I told him last spring, asked him by what right he had to spray my property, he lied, said he didn’t remember-I will guarantee you he remembered me-again claimed he was doing this at the bequest of Mayor Lutz, who saw this as a “service” to homeowners. Again, I had to run him off before he would quit spraying.

“I did not witness anyone trying to spray my property throughout this spring (2013). However, yesterday-July 4, a day celebrating our American freedoms-I left the back door of my home at 462 Chestnut Street to walk my dogs at twilight. I crossed Lancaster Avenue and proceeded north on 5^th Street. At the corner of 5^th and Chestnut, I looked back towards my Chestnut Street home and witnessed a person (couldn’t tell if it was the same person or not) with a backpack sprayer unit hosing my neighbor’s sidewalk and grounds. He was spraying inches away from two families pushing two baby strollers with babies in them and a couple of young children clinging to their parents’ legs who had stopped to talk at the corner of Chestnut and Lancaster Ave.

“When I started back towards my home, to make sure this idiot didn’t spray my property, the man with the sprayer quickly hosed my neighbor’s ground and took off down Chestnut Street, evidently fearing that I might be after him.

“My problems with the borough hosing homeowner’s properties with chemicals are these:

“My principle issue is the safety and health of my dogs and the people who live in my home. I believe the borough’s use of these chemicals puts this in jeopardy. How can I be assured the person doing the spraying is doing this in a safe and efficient manner? Does the applicator have a pesticide/herbicide license? Is he trained by the borough or anyone else to do this safely? What knowledge does the borough have about such chemicals and health and safety? Can the operator genuinely tell a weed from a flower in someone’s garden before he sprays it? Many people work hard to produce nice gardens, how many has this guy ruined?

“Why were there no official warnings, advance notices or communication from the borough about the intent to spray issued? If ChemLawn, Orkin or a farmer wants to hose his ground with chemicals, they must post public notices-signs on the property, especially public spaces such as a hospital or school ground-that such spraying will take place, and an approved, licensed applicator must do the spraying. In this case, it was just the mayor’s buddy, out hosing properties the mayor deemed in need of hosing. It was not in the borough’s Spring-Summer 2013 newsletter (http://www.columbiapa.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/2013-Spring-Summer-Newsletter.pdf) , not in the borough communications on bill notices, nowhere.why?

“By what right does the mayor deem my property in need of spraying but not his, or another big campaign contributor. (And by the way, this is not political; Lutz and I share the same political persuasion.)?

“Did anyone actually think this through-all the possible ramifications – before authorizing it? Is the borough prepared to face a lawsuit, if one of my dogs dies and their poisons can be shown to have contributed to this death, for their use of this? What right does Lutz have to invoke the borough’s sanction to do this? If he is acting on his own, then the borough is not involved, and the liability for spraying falls solely on his shoulders, and that of his flunky’s.

“Are other borough citizens who might believe as we do that such pesticides are not healthy aware that the borough is spraying their properties?”

John D. Taylor, Columbia