HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-14-104 - Termite Control and Enforcement Report - Plan
REPORT TO: Council
DATE OF MEETING: September 15, 2014
SUBMITTED BY: Mike Seiling, Director of Building/CBO, 519-741-2200 ext. 7669
PREPARED BY: Tim Benedict, Manager of Building, 519-741-2200 ext. 7645
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All Wards
DATE OF REPORT: September 10, 2014
REPORT NO.: CSD-14-104
SUBJECT: Termite Control and Enforcement Report/Plan
_____________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
1) That in-kind funding be provided to the area bound by Briargate Drive and
Greenock Drive (23 properties) for the following;
a) Application of Borate wood preservative treatments of existing sheds,
b) Borate rod treatment of existing fence posts,
c) Application of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Spring and Fall starting
2015 ,
d) Annual Spring and Fall yard clean-up weekends and,
e) Monitoring of termite activity by installing in ground traps including
staff to monitor traps; and,
2) That staff be directed to undertake a review of the existing by-law Chapter
689 of the City of Kitchener Municipal Code; and further,
3) That staff be directed to implement a Public Education Program about
termites for the entire ‘red’ and ‘blue’ zones as identified by the Chief
Building Official (map attached).
BACKGROUND:
Based on the presentation and subsequent recommendations from Dr. Tim Myles and
the comments from council we are adding/amending previously submitted report CSD-
14-095 “Termite Control and Enforcement Report” that was discussed at the September
8, 2014 Community and Infrastructure Services Committee and the following
deferred to the September 15, 2014 Council meeting
recommendation was :
“That no funding be provided to individual home owners for the treatment
of termites on private property; and,
That staff be directed to undertake a review of the existing by-law Chapter
689 of the City of Kitchener Municipal Code; and further,
That staff be directed to implement a Public Education Program about
termites for the entire city starting in 2015.”
Report CSD-14-080 “Insect/Pests Control and Enforcement” was discussed at the
August 11, 2014 Community and Infrastructure Services Committee and further
resolved at Special Council “That consideration of the following recommendation be
deferred to the September 8, 2014 Community and Infrastructure Committee
meeting
:
“That Community Services Department report CSD-14-080 be referred to
the 2015 Budget process for consideration of long term funding; and,
That funding assistance is allocated as outlined in Chapter 689 (Termite-
Wood-Destroying Insects Control) of the City of Kitchener Municipal
Code; and,
The funding assistance should be limited to $2,000. for each of the 13
properties that have had observed termite infestation, for residents that
are willing to proceed with treatment of their property in 2014; and
further,”
REPORT:
Building Permits within ‘red’ zones
The 2012 Building Code gives municipalities prescriptive construction requirements to
address Termite and Decay Protection under Division B, 9.3.2.9. The Building Division
will develop standard construction details to address construction in termite areas and
will address the use of polystyrene below grade in these details. The Building Division
does not have the legal authority or ability to pose a higher standard than the Building
Code such as banning or preventing the use of polystyrene across the entire city.
Direct Financial Assistance
Staff do not recommend providing direct financial assistance (grants or loans) to
homeowners for the application of termiticides or the making of repairs to dwellings
resulting from termite damage. This is in keeping with the review of practices of other
municipalities and also the comments made by Dr. Myles at the September 8
Committee meeting wherein it was acknowledged that this is a homeowner
responsibility and not the role of the municipality. The reference to grants and loans in
the City by-law is the legacy of a long-defunct Provincial funding program which was
never accessed. This reference to financial assistance should be removed from the By-
law given the Provincial funding is no longer available.
The City has generally avoided placing itself in the position of acting as a "banker"
because of the associated administrative and collection complexities among other
considerations. Further, given that there is a need for homeowners to re-treat with
termiticides periodically, it is conceivable that a homeowner would continually need to
access municipal loans for this purpose, essentially giving rise to a revolving line of
credit with the municipality.
Staff has characterized the recommended actions as a termite control program intended
to have a City wide benefit by preventing the spread of termites. If the City were to
provide loans or direct funding to property owners, this would be considered a grant
under the Municipal Act and rental properties would be excluded from eligibility for such
grants.
Pilot Project (Nematodes, Borate Treatment and Monitoring)
The Briargate Dr and Greenock Dr areas are being proposed as a pilot project for the
in-kind funding as they are the only known active cluster of properties at this time. It
would be appropriate to report back in late 2015 to see if we are seeing positive impact
in this area. Information collected from this pilot project would provide the basis for
whether the program should continue, whether the project should cease if results aren’t
as expected or if the project needs to be extended to other areas that may come to light
over the next year.
Public Education
Based on the experience of Dr. Myles, we are revising the Public Education piece to
only providing an annual mailing with information on prevention and treatment to the
areas indicated by the ‘red’ and ‘blue’ zones. Should more ‘red’ and ‘blue’ zones be
identified they too would receive the mailing as part of public education.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
This report aligns with Community Priority: Quality of Life which states “Our shared
vision is for Kitchener to be a community that invests in maintaining basic services...”
Per strategic direction 8, this report supports the city working with partners to create a
culture of safety in our community.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
City staff will use our purchasing process as appropriate to obtain best value on multiple
property treatments, some rough estimates of costs could be as follows for the 23
properties in the ‘red’ zone;
a) Application of Borate wood preservative treatments of existing sheds
- Treatment can range from $100-$500 with roughly 12 sheds at a total cost
of $4,200
b) Borate rod treatment of existing fence posts
- $22 per fence post with roughly 240 posts at a total cost of $5,280
c) Application of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Spring and Fall starting 2015
- An average lot for commercial application by a pesticide company runs
from $100-$150 plus tax. Annual cost for 23 properties twice a year
$6,900 plus tax
d) Annual Spring and Fall yard clean-up weekends
- Each clean-up weekend with 4 bins and disposal fees would run roughly
$2,200. Annual cost for two(2) yard clean up weekends $4,400
e) Monitoring of termite activity by installing in ground traps including staff to
monitor traps
- The cost to build traps would be minimal, however there will be greater
costs associated with the resource to check these monitoring traps every
two-three weeks from May-October analyze and track the number of
termites in the area. The estimated resource would be $5,000-$10,000.
f) Public Education Program for ‘red’ and ‘blue’ zones as identified by the CBO
$2,000
$32,780 plus tax
Total cost estimate to implement recommendations with be roughly
If supported by Council, the cost of a City-administered termite monitoring and control
program will be brought forward as a 2015 capital budget provision.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM – This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in
advance of the council meeting.
CONCLUSION:
The maximum community benefit would be to provide in-kind funding for a termite
monitoring and control program (nematodes, borate, clean-up weekends, etc.) rather
than direct funding to home owners for termiticide treatment of their structure. Many of
these in-kind treatments will require consent from home owners to access their
property.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Michael May, Deputy CAO Community Services Department
Red and Blue Zone Map