Oregon Councilman Paul Drake III speaks during the Perrysburg Council meeting on Tuesday. The two cities have been affected by foxtail barley, which is harming pets.
Roger LaPointe | Sentinel-Tribune
PERRYSBURG — Following reports of severe illness — even death — in dogs, council and the mayor are making a formal request to have foxtail barley declared a noxious weed.
One man’s dog died from ingesting them.
“This seed has barbs on it that tunnel into soft tissue. Our dogs get it into their mouths and they get upset. What’s a dog do when it gets upset? It eats grass, and that’s where the foxtail barley is,” J.R. Miazga said at Tuesday’s council meeting. “At one point, we had 15 pieces of foxtail barley taken out of one of my dogs.”
He held up samples of the barbs, still covered in dried blood. He warned that it can be just as dangerous to humans, and especially children.
About a dozen residents attending the council meeting.
Mayor Tom Mackin sent a letter to the Ohio Director of Agriculture to have the plant listed as a noxious week and council on Tuesday passed a resolution to have the plant listed.
“Long term, we need to address this as a community, in a rational, logical approach, that says this is something that hurts animals, it potentially hurts children, we heard today. So we need to take this seriously. We asked the State of Ohio to take this seriously. If we take it seriously, then we can come up with solutions,” Mackin said after the council meeting.
The problem is not unique to Perrysburg. Oregon Councilman Paul Drake III attended Tuesday’s meeting, to see how Perrysburg’s solution might also work for his city.
The city was alerted to the foxtail barley problem at the end of June. Seeds from the weed growing on an Eckel Junction Road farm field, that was also planted with soy beans, blew onto residents’ properties. Described as being like cottonwood seeds, they filled swimming pools, littered garages and covered air conditioners, sometimes to a depth of several feet.
The city has had ongoing discussions with Bethel Assembly of God, which owns the land, as well as the farmer who leases the land from the church.
An official release from the city states that “the issue does not properly fall into enforcement under the Planning and Zoning Code. It also does not fall under the General Offense Code Section 660.14, which discusses noxious weeds per the Ohio Revised Code; and invasive plants per the Ohio Department of Natural Resources; and grass that is over 8 inches high that is growing on land in the city.
Citing the health risks, Mackin and council have requested that foxtail barley be listed by the director of agriculture in the ORC as a noxious weed, and by the ODNR as an invasive plant, in order for the city to have the power to take action.
On Tuesday, several solutions were suggested, including eminent domain and controlled burns.
Mackin said there are limitations and protections related to property rights.
“The property owner has rights, and also the farmer has rights. In the state of Ohio the rights of agriculture have a certain priority in the community,” Mackin said. “Eminent domain is a serious step for a community, to say that we are going to take over somebody’s property. I’m not prepared to say that that’s a real solution.”
So far, a 2-foot silt barrier has been erected.
“When I went out in that neighborhood and saw that silt fence, I laughed. Not only did I know it wasn’t going to work, but someone should teach him how to install one,” Councilwoman Jan Materni said.
Council President Jonathan Smith was in favor of the controlled burn concept.
“I would be very hesitant about doing a controlled burn without doing more research,” Materni said. “Sometimes what happens is it shoots those seeds air born and they don’t get burned and it makes it worse.”
Prior to her retirement, she worked for the Ohio Department of Transportation and had experience in road construction and maintenance.
Materni recommended also looking into herbicides, or a combination with burning.
Smith also urged residents to write directly to the Ohio director of agriculture.
Mackin said that the city had already sent the street cleaning machine down affected neighborhood’s roads, but he recognized that it was not getting the seeds that were not on roads.
Mackin, who is a lawyer, also made the suggestion that citing private rights of action by residents may also be possible.
“The best solution for both the property owner and the residents nearby, is to work together for a solution. The city can help mitigate that and that’s what we have been doing,” Mackin said.
