Preston — The Parks and Recreation Commission will be in charge of finding a permanent solution to the persistent problem of Canada geese at Preston Community Park, and will have $12,000 to address the problem through June 30.

The issue of how to resolve the geese problem has been discussed by the boards of selectmen and finance and the Parks and Recreation Commission for the past several months, with the three agencies going back and forth on proposals to trap and euthanize the geese, hire a dog handler with trained border collies, spray the fields or use drones or kites to scare them away.

All three commissions held a joint meeting Wednesday, and the Board of Finance voted 3-1 to authorize the commission to spend $12,000 to solve the geese problem without needing to come back for approval of a specific solution.

Board member Kenneth Zachem said he believes the problem should be addressed as a townwide issue, because the geese might just move to another town property — especially the Preston Plains Middle School, which already has geese on its grounds.

Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Antonio Farinha said the commission might be consigned to using the trained border collies after initially objecting to the use of dogs.

The commission has been concerned that bringing in trained dogs would give the impression that the park allows dogs, which it does not.

A few participants in Wednesday's discussion have tried taking matters into their own hands.

Parks and Recreation Commission Vice Chairman Daniel Coley brought a drone equipped with a camera to the park.

He showed video of the geese walking and trotting from the overhead drone, but never flying away.

The geese at one point in the video trotted past the coyote statue purchased a couple years ago by the Parks and Recreation Commission to scare the geese.

Board of Finance member Jerry Grabarek said he went to the park with a remote-controlled truck, balloons tied to the vehicle with big eyes painted on the balloons.

Same result, Grabarek said: The geese parted to let the vehicle drive through the flock, but never flew away.

Parks and Rec maintenance workers said they tried to chase the geese with a lawn mower to no effect.

First Selectman Robert Congdon said he received two proposals from dog handlers, one from Border Patrol Goose Control of Mystic for $4,900 for the first eight weeks and $850 per month afterward, with fewer visits needed as time goes by.

The second proposal, from Wingin' It Goose Control of Washington state, was for $11,800 for 12 weeks.

Farinha said in addition to the border collies, or whatever other solution the commission considers, the commission will work on permanent ways to make the park less attractive to geese.

One idea is to have the state Department of Transportation correct a problem Farinha said the agency created when it redesigned road drainage near the park.

The new drainage system doesn't allow the town to fully drain the small pond in the park, a summer haven for the geese.

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday