Editorial: Outside help needed on mosquito control

Editorial: Outside help needed on mosquito control
Publication Date: 09/23/07
The Anastasia Mosquito Control District Board could possibly cancel its $1.9 million helicopter deal on Thursday. The Bell Helicopter company has told district officials it can get its deposit back and abandon the contract if it wishes to do so. A motion to cancel the controversial purchase is on the table. Finally some good news. Earlier this month District Commissioner John Sundeman's motion to cancel the contract was tabled until Thursday's budget meeting by Chairperson Emily Hummel. Revisiting the 2006 purchase by the previous board speaks volumes of a change in attitude and understanding of who pays the bills, the taxpayers. We encourage the board to keep mending those fences. None of us like to see the blood-sucking skeeters land on us. But we expect our tax dollars to be spent wisely after a careful prior review. We're not sure the previous board did enough research. Or did the board want one because other districts had them, too? The deal has caused some ugly jousts with the public at recent meetings. Have some board members forgotten they were elected by the people? We recommend that the board cancel the contract and get outside help deciding aerial spraying needs. That's been suggested before and rejected. The board needs outside help. St. Johns County has an abundance of CEOs, CFOs, and international and nationally recognized consultants in various fields. Surely some would share their expertise. We also suggest a medical doctor familiar with mosquito-borne illnesses and their treatments, and a university researcher on mosquitoes and mosquito control. We suggest the board consider also Don Girvan, a retired Army helicopter pilot. Ironically he was one of the people on whom the board called the cops in July. Girvan turned the other cheek though and secured a $28,710 credit from a Bell subsidiary due to an error in the chopper's paint job specs, by calling the company himself. The board rightfully acknowledged Girvan's efforts but why didn't the district staff catch that error in the first place? The board's number one goal is to kill mosquitoes and kill them cheaply. It may be that a helicopter is the best way to go or there may be cheaper ways to accomplish aerial spraying such as buying time on someone else's chopper. The board needs outside help to win the war against the skeeters.
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