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PTC may sic the goats on kudzu

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Some patches of kudzu in Peachtree City may be gone to the goats, if a staff request is approved for a pilot program that will give a herd of goats — or possibly sheep — a steady diet of the fast-growing plant pest.

Staff is asking council to approve $10,000 in the budget for such a pilot program. If approved, the goats would tackle three areas in town: a patch on Ga. Highway 54 next to McDonald’s, another along the access road to the Kedron Fieldhouse and another one by a detention pond off Kedron Drive.

City Manager Bernie McMullen said two of the sites were chosen because of their proximity to residential areas to discover what potential problems could arise.

“That gives us some feedback on concerns,” McMullen said.

The goats wouldn’t be on the city payroll. Instead, the city will contract out all required services, liability insurance, transportation and contingencies from a local service provider, according to a memo from Public Services Director Tom Corbett.

The city’s first kudzu control efforts, started on a one-eighth acre tract near the tennis center, involves spraying herbicides and then cutting and clearing kudzu vines. The cost per acre for that is $16,750 a year, while the cost per acre for the goats or sheep to snack away on the kudzu is $2,500 per acre per year, Corbett said.

If the city decides to go with a full-scale livestock solution later on, such a contract would cost about $250,000 a year based on a minimum of 100 acres.