The town of Bancroft has a bird problem at one of its buildings and will spend over $20,000 to clean it up.
Council has approved a sole-source contract of $21,350 for pigeon removal and decontamination at the Monck Street public works building.
The contract was awarded to Kingston-based Greenshield Pest Control.
Earlier this summer, council directed staff to engage a pest-control provider to address the infestation.
The work will involve removing the pigeons currently living in the building, cleaning up their droppings and sealing all access points where they are entering.
Manager of Infrastructure and Capital Projects Jake Krupa said the town contacted numerous pest-control companies seeking quotes for the work. However, most did not provide the full scope of services, including cleanup and sealing the pigeons’ entry points, or have the proper permits to remove the birds.
Only two companies were found that could complete the work.
He added the company has a solid track record of dealing with pigeons, including providing services to the Darlington and Pickering nuclear stations.
“They will be pigeon-proofing, so they will be installing one-inch galvanized screens in the window openings that are busted in the building rather than replacing windows so we can just put on screens to stop the pigeons from entering. Then, we will have to be mindful when the windows are open.”
The town will use money from its corporate services reserve to pay for the work, with 30,000 approved at a June council meeting to pay for work on the building’s exhaust system.
