Date:   May 21, 2008

Time:  7:00 p.m.

Location:    Paonia Town Hall

I.    The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by Michael Soule, acting Chair.  Board members present:  Michael Soule, Kris Kropp, Tara Budinger.  38 members of the public attended and signed in, though it appeared a few more came in late.

II.    Announcements:

        A.    It was announced that Bill Kolb and Dwayne Shearer resigned from the Board, along with acting Secretary Lesley Lewis and the spray crew.  Board members voted to accept the resignations.

        B.   The purpose of the Special Meeting being called so soon was to enable the Board to make time-sensitive decisions regarding the larviciding operations already underway. Waiting until the next regularly scheduled meeting in June could have seriously hampered the effectiveness of the program.

        C.    Michael announced that in all likelihood there will be spraying this season.  Last year it did not begin until mid-June.  This year it will depend on the weather and the mosquito counts.  We hope to avoid the very controversial calendar spraying, instead reducing mosquitoes by more thorough larviciding and using adult mosquito surveillance to target spray to where and when it is most effective.   We will be using Biomist 3+15, already purchased by the previous Board for the season.  Several community members expressed that they expect to be sprayed because of large numbers of mosquitoes on their property due to its geography and proximity to large amounts of standing water.  Another member volunteered that the photographer J.T. Thomas did some research on mosquito habitats in our area and might be able to help the District locate more breeding sites to treat.

        D.   The next Board Meeting will be held at its regularly scheduled time on Wednesday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the Hotchkiss Town Hall.  

III.    Election of Officers:

        Michael proposed that election of officers take place in Executive Session.  Some members of the public raised objections, and PMCD attorney Aaron Clay clarified the criteria for holding Executive Sessions.  Elections were then held in the general meeting.  Tara moved that Kris Kropp be elected President/Chair as he had garnered the most popular votes in the election and had the most experience with managing pest control operations in the field.  The motion was seconded and Kris was elected as President unanimously.  Tara Budinger was nominated and elected as Secretary.  Michael Soule was elected as Treasurer.  The Board voted to have Michael continue to run the meeting. 

IV.    Tara Budinger read the minutes of last week's meeting written by Lesley Lewis, the former acting Secretary.  The minutes of the last meeting were approved as amended.  See May 14, 2008 Minutes. 

V.     Reports:

        A.     Field Report

                 Kris Kropp gave the Field Report with the help of Ron Seipel, one of the employees who has taken a leadership role with the crew.  The same four people hired by the previous Board to do the larviciding are continuing to work with the current Board.  Ron reported that there are many "hot spots" in Hotchkiss and along Back River Road.  It would be helpful if folks would clean their ditches and clear or burn cattails to make it easier to access the sites.  At the beginning of the season, there were about 150 sites recorded in the computer database that the PMCD crew is using.  They have found and added about another 70 sites and are adding 3-4 per day.  There are probably many more sites as yet undiscovered.  Kris reported that Bill Kolb's estimate of the number of sites PMCD was tracking was around 300.  Others had heard there were around 800 sites.  There may be sites known to prior Boards that were not recorded in the database.  Kris believes he can gain access to many sites that were previously unavailable to the Board because they were on organic orchards and farms and until last season there were no certified organic products available from the District.  The PMCD will continue to make organically certified larvicide available to those growers who are certified or wish to be certified organic.  A non-certified but very similar (and much less expensive) product will be used elsewhere.  Several visitors asked about what the could do to treat their own properties.  Kris explained that people are welcome to larvicide their own properties, but they will then have to buy their own product.  For small ponds and water troughs, a Mosquito Dunk containing Bti, the bacteria that kills mosquito larvae, can be used safely.  Local hardware and garden supply stores should carry it.  For larger applications, larvicide can be purchased in granules on line or through several vendors.  An audience member provided a list of vendors in Mesa County reprinted here.  Good information on how to clean up your own property is available at FightTheBiteColorado.org.  A training on mosquito management is available tomorrow in Grand Junction.  Two of the Board members and some of the crew will be attending.  The audience was also reminded of a talk by Ken Nordstrom, Environmental Health Director of the Delta County Health Department, on mosquito control and prevention of West Nile Virus here at the Paonia Town Hall tomorrow night.      

        B.    Finance Report

              Gordon McAlpine, a C.P.A. who donated his time to the Board to review the books and handle the transfer of the accounts since the former accountant resigned, gave a Finance Report.  Expenses for the month of May to date were $6,679.12.  Income for the month to date was $0.00; however, the County did cut a check to PMCD in the amount of $26,047.10, which may be in transit between the former accountant's office and PMCD's new address, which is P.O. Box 485, Hotchkiss, CO  81419.  Gordon reported the Labor, Salaries & Wages expense will be higher than usual this month as there will be three pay days in May instead of the usual two.  Gordon was aware of no outstanding bills for the District, but Tara reported there were a few left in the old post office box after the former Board had thought it was closed, which she will turn over to Gordon.  The budget review has not yet been completed and will be reported on next meeting.  Through the work of Lesley Lewis, the former accountant, the PMCD Board is now exempt from sales taxes.  The financial report was accepted by the Board as read.

VI.    Old Business  

         A.   Tara reported that Bill Kolb had been negotiating with a potential buyer, who wished to remain anonymous, for the two older sprayers that are for sale and suggested the matter be discussed in Executive Session.  Aaron Clay clarified that a buyer of public equipment cannot remain anonymous (although a donor can), and the matter was tabled until another meeting.
 

VII.    New Business

        A.   Ed Fleming and Joe Cox from OtterTail Environmental, Inc., one of two companies in Colorado that specialize in mosquito management, came to give a presentation on the fundamentals of sound mosquito control.  OtterTail has worked in several communities in Colorado and does about 50% of its business in mosquito control, the rest in conducting biological studies.  Controlling larvae before they emerge as mosquitoes and become mobile is by far the most effective means of control. 

            The first task of an effective program is to do a thorough survey of the area to be managed and map every potential breeding site, whether there are larvae present or not.  The public can be very helpful in this role, as they may know of sites on their property that are not easily visible or accessible from the road.  Aerial photos are used to identify likely mosquito habitat; then ground crews survey the area on foot for positive identification.  The region is divided into square-mile grids, with a detailed map of each grid showing the mosquito habitat, ideally with GIS coordinates.  The data sheet attached to each grid allows ground crews to record their observations and any treatments done that day.  The data is entered into an Excel database, which allows it to be tracked and analyzed over time.  Larvicide is applied using backpack applicators.  Usually, Bti is used (an inert bacteria deadly to mosquito and black fly larvae but harmless to virtually everything else).  The site is checked one to two days later to check for effectiveness.

           The second task of a good program is adult mosquito surveillance.  This is critical for WNV detection as trapped mosquitoes can typically start testing positive for the virus several weeks before the disease starts showing up in animals and humans.  Monitoring is done by light traps, which  use light and  CO₂ from dry ice to attract mosquitoes.  Traps are set up in a particular location one night per week and retrieved in the morning.  Trap counts and residential complaints are combined to determine whether spraying is needed.  The numbers of mosquitoes found in the traps generally correlates with both the number of complaints as well as the number of WNV cases reported.

        B.   The Board members proposed to consider hiring OtterTail or Colorado Mosquito Control as consultants to help us with Phase I of good Integrated Pest Management, the mapping and setup of data systems to monitor all potential breeding sites in the District.  Hiring a company as a consultant rather than contracting the whole task out will allow the PMCD to retain its own employees and will be much less costly, a consideration  which is important given that the prior Board had already set a budget with different priorities and much of the money is already earmarked or spent. 

        The Board voted to withdraw to an Executive Session for contract negotiations before presenting a motion to consider.  While the Board members were in session with Rosemary Bilchak, who had researched the references for the two companies and had relevant information to offer, the folks from Ottertail fielded questions from the audience.

        C.   Upon reconvening the meeting following the Executive Session, Tara summarized the discussion and conclusion of the Session, stating that although both Colorado Mosquito Control and OtterTail Environmental had good reputations and did quality work, only OtterTail was able to work within our tight time frame and has shown an exceptional flexibility in responding to our particular needs and budget limitations.  She therefore moved that the PMCD contract with OtterTail in the amount of $24,900 to provide Mapping and Database Forms for the entire District, which is estimated to require two experienced technicians approximately 1-2 weeks (working 12-hour days).  In addition, OtterTail will train our personnel to use these forms and will provide expert Field Management and training to our larviciding crew during the 2 weeks they are here.  They will also make all their expert personnel available for consultation by the Board during those 2 weeks on any other mosquito management issues such as advice on implementation of other phases of a comprehensive program, adult mosquito surveillance, etc.  The motion was seconded and carried after some discussion about whether the PMCD could afford the cost.  Gordon McAlpine reported that the money is available, though the budget will have to be reworked and will trim several different areas in order to accommodate the expense.  Though the expenditure seems large, it will be a one-time expense that has the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of the mosquito control program.

        D.   Another item of new business that had inadvertently been left off the revised Agenda, though it was on the posted Agenda, was the nomination of new Board members.  Tara suggested Kevin Parks, who was present at the meeting and spoke a few words.  As the Board had received only enthusiastically positive feedback about Kevin, it was moved and seconded that he be appointed as a Board member, and the motion carried.

        E.   Last item of business was the selection of a new accountant and a new secretary.  Although the decision was initially slated to be discussed in Executive Session, Board members chose to conduct the business in open session as there did not seem to be any sensitive personnel issues likely to come up.  The Board voted to hire Gordon McAlpine as the PMCD accountant at the rate of $35.00 per hour.  Tara welcomed any offers of clerical help with minute-taking.  Diana Crisler, who had been doing the data entry for the larvicide crew, offered to help, and the Board voted to hire her to take the minutes.  At this point the Board discovered she was not already on the payroll and had been volunteering her time "for a steak dinner."  It was decided to work out details of her employment outside of meeting time.

VIII.    The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:30 p.m. 

Tara Budinger, Secretary