Commissioner Settles Power Feud With Power Washer

Dallas Co. commissioners clash over bird poop outside county building

By KEN KALTHOFF

Updated 9:45 PM CDT, Tue, Mar 10, 2009

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KXAS

A Dallas County commissioner is cleaning up the bird poop piling outside the building -- even if it flies in the face of a fellow commissioner.

Commissioner John Wiley Price showed up at the county office building Tuesday morning with his own pressure washer to personally continue a job Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield wanted stopped last week.

"I had a county commissioner complain about my guys doing it, so why penalize them?" Price said. "Let them go do something else; I can do it."

Mayfield complained last Tuesday that workers cleaning bird droppings from the sidewalk accidentally sprayed him with water as he entered the building.

Dallas Co. Commissioner Puts Pressure on Bird Poop

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Dallas Co. Commissioner Puts Pressure on Bird Poop

The workers were at the building last week under Price's instructions.

The county office building, formerly known as the Texas School Book Depository, is also the site of the popular Sixth Floor Museum, which houses displays about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Mayfield reportedly asked that future cleanings be done at a different time.

But Price said the perfect time is early on Tuesdays, before additional visitors attend Dallas County Commissioners Court meetings.

Other commissioners had mixed reactions to the wet sidewalks when they arrived.

"It's a good public service," Commissioner Mike Cantrell said. "It takes care of what the problem is. To me, it's a non-issue."

But Maurine Dickey said the wet sidewalks were a nuisance.

"I think it might be better to do it on another morning," she said.

County Judge Jim Foster tried to sidestep the feud.

"This is a personal situation, I think, between two of the commissioners," he said. "I don't see any need to get into it."

Mayfield did not have a chance to personally inspect Price's cleanup work -- he was out of town Tuesday.

But Price said he'll continue washing the bird droppings.

"I'll be doing it every Tuesday until the birds quit migrating," he said.

Price and Mayfield have argued about many topics before, and Price is not known for avoiding disputes. He recently threatened to sue Foster and U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson over comments they reportedly made about him.