St. Johns County Government Has No Business Taking Over Mosquito Control

St. Johns County government has no business taking over mosquito control.

It's a bad idea.

Just look at how St. Johns County handles environmental regulation. See my 2005 Collective Press article, "Pollution Partners," below.

Our County is not a just environmental steward. It's environmental record is awful, including approving some 80,000 new homes without infrastructure, with Commissioners "selling their wares" (in the words of Romulo Betancourt) to the highest bidder.

The likes of JAMES BRYANT, KAREN STERN, BRUCE MAGUIRE, MARC JACALONE and their ilk sold their birthright -- and St. Johns Countians' birthright -- for a song. Now BRYANT and STERN want their old jobs back?

Meanwhile, County officials are looking to take over mosquito control, commissioning a quick and dirty study by a conflicted bond consulting company with no expertise in mosquito control, which never met with any of the staff or any of the elected officials of the Anastasia Mosquito Control Commission of St. Johns County.

Putting St. Johns County government in charge of mosquito control would be like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank. Mosquito control involves sensitive environmental issues.

St. Johns County staff won't do their jobs now to promote mosquito control -- giving them more power and responsibility is simply out of the question.

St. Johns County won't clean out ditches full of standing water, refusing to remove obstructions.

Former St. Johns County Commission Chairman THOMAS G. MANUEL wanted to take over mosquito control, other independent taxing districts, two cities and one town. This would reduce the number of elected officials by 35 and reinforce the power of the corrupt Republican political machine here in St. Johns County.

We don't need to reduce democracy.

We don't need to reduce the number of elected officials.

We don't need to give five Republican County Commissioners control over Mosquito Control, the Airport, the City of St. Augustine, the City of St. Augustine Beach and the Town of Hastings.

Former Commissioner THOMAS G. MANUEL once told Dr. Dwight Hines and I in his office that if the County took over mosquito control, he'd spend only 20 minutes a year on it. That's why the County must not take over mosquito control -- it is a public health function, best handled by experts.

As exemplified by Road and Bridge Department Director JOSEPH STEPHENSON -- who refuses to remove obstructions from ditches and canals, causing mosquito breeding -- it appears that St. Johns County has delusions of adequacy.

Amateur Hour at the County government complex has its hands full with waste, fraud, abuse, misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance -- it does not need to take on skeeters.