Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector
Control District
Report of District Activities
Manager’s Report
Board of Trustees Meeting
February 12, 2008
1.
Former
Trustee Ron Perkins passed away in January.
Mr. Perkins was a Trustee for 13 years at CVMVCD representing the city
of La Quinta
holding positions of Vice-President and President. Additionally, he was a Trustee at LA County
West MVCD. Over a dozen Culver City police
officers attended the funeral in uniform.
Ron was on the Culver City Police Department for 30 years. Our District owes a great deal of gratitude
to him for all the time and effort he spent on behalf of our District. He was the person who recommended a design
for our vehicles so the public would immediately recognize them. He was Chairman of the Building Committee
which oversaw the construction of our new facility. Ron’s service to the District made a lasting
impression and he will be missed.
2.
Solar
panel installation is complete. Testing
of the system and putting it on line is in process.
3.
The
MVCAC conference hosted by our District was a resounding success! Over 500 people registered for the
conference, far more than any other MVCAC conference. We had about 350 people attend the Fiesta
held at our District. The General
Manager made about 250 date shakes with the help of John Munoz and Bill
Wolfs. We have received dozens of
compliments about our District, our programs, and our facilities.
4.
Moreland
and Associates has begun their assessment of the District’s financial
operations and will begin soon to provide recommendations on improvements.
5.
The
General Manager, as the Southern Region Representative for MVCAC, held a
meeting of the So. Region at Greater LA MVCD in Santa Fe Springs. Topics reviewed were District MVCAC
representation, change in management firm, location of next conference, and
discussions of issues related to individual districts.
6.
At the MVCAC Conference, a Board meeting was held with
the GM attending as the So. Region Rep. and Legislative Chair. Additionally, the Legislative Committee met
during the conference and discussed actions in regards to the proposed budget
cuts by the Governor. One of the cuts
may impact vector control certification.
The State Department of Public Health proposes to repeal the vectorborne disease certification program which may have a
major impact on all California
districts. We are trying to determine
the impact of this proposal and if there are alternatives. A letter has been sent to all legislators
stating that the districts in California
would be willing to increase the fee currently paid by districts for vector
certification to keep the program under the auspices of the DPH.
FINANCE
The financial reports included in the Board packet show the
balance sheet, receipts, and the revenue and expenditure report for the month
ending December 31, 2007. The revenue and expenditure report shows that total
expenditures for July 1 to December 31, 2007, were $4,546,206; total revenue
was $2,657,734, resulting in a deficit for the year through December 31, 2007,
of $1,888,472. This item is shown on the balance sheet as Excess Revenue over
(under) Expenditures.
30 % of the total budgeted revenue has been received as
December 31, 2007. This marks the 2007-2008 Budget mid-year point. The bar chart shows the District’s main
sources of revenue and their estimated distribution date. The actual revenue
received is plotted against the budgeted amount. In January and May, the main
disbursements from the County
of Riverside for Property
Tax and Benefit Assessment are shown.
December’s balance sheet has a new item under fixed assets;
this is Construction in Progress – the installation of the solar panels. The first
payment for the solar panels was capitalized and is shown on the balance sheet.
When the project is complete and fully paid, the Construction in Progress will
be zero and the solar panels will be added to the fixed asset group, Structures
and Improvements. The District’s Capitalization Policy calls for any purchase
that is over $5,000 in value and that has a useful lifespan of more than one
year to be capitalized. For government budgeting purposes, the item is still
expensed in the year it is purchased. Capitalization requires a separate
journal entry which debits the fixed asset group and credits investment in the
fixed assets fund balance.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL DEPARTMENT
During the month of January 2008, the Biological Control
Program focused on the following:
Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)
- The mosquitofish production system produced 31,620 fish
for the month of January. The fry
have been collected and transferred to grow-out tanks.
|
Mosquitofish
|
|
|
|
Production
|
2007
|
2008
|
|
January
|
5,250
|
31,620
|
|
February
|
13,655
|
|
|
March
|
5,419
|
|
|
April
|
10,637
|
|
|
May
|
13250
|
|
|
June
|
26,997
|
|
|
July
|
45,332
|
|
|
August
|
54,525
|
|
|
September
|
37,773
|
|
|
October
|
23,554
|
|
|
November
|
18,314
|
|
|
December
|
23679
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
278,385
|
|
- Assessment of fish effectiveness for larval control
at various Duck Club ponds continues to be monitored on a weekly basis.
Evaluation of stomach contents of a standard, small, random sample of fish
will also be determined on a weekly basis.
Arroyo chub (Gila orcutti)
- Continued observations of about 80 Arroyo chubs
(native Southern California species), reveals small steady numbers of
naturally occurring fry, which are collected and placed in an aquatic
habitat system designed for generational separation.
Nematodes (Romanomermis iyengari)
·
An established mosquito colony of Cx. quinquefasciatus
is maintained in the laboratory rearing room at the Biocontrol
laboratory. The colony is currently used as a host for rearing Romanomermis iyengari. A
seventh series of mosquito larvae infection with the parasitic round worms is
planned for early January.
Environmental
and Best Management
- Letters were sent in response to Draft’s of
Environmental Impact Reports from the City Planners of Desert Hot Springs
and La Quinta explaining how important it is to include our District in
the design of storm water structures of potential, new developments in the
planning stages and becoming proactive in the elimination of poor design
which leads to breeding areas of low standing water.
Tadpole shrimp (Triops newberryi)
- Tadpole
Shrimp (TPS) production will begin again the spring of 2008 when the
outside pond will again be flooded. The remaining egg soil produced by the
District’s pond from 2007 has been distributed to various date
gardens. Tadpole Shrimp egg
densities are being counted and processed for our established egg bank.
- In
2007, a total of 110,000+ TPS eggs were distributed over 12.1
acres of date gardens at the approximate density of 9,000+ eggs/
acre. See the maps below showing some of the locations TPS were introduced
in 2007.
COMMUNITY
OUTREACH PROGRAM
We participated heavily in the 2008 (Mosquito and Vector Control
Association of California (MVCAC) Annual Conference providing much needed
support to the overwhelmed MVCAC event staff.
In addition to filling in their registration staff needs, our District
provided audio/visual support the speakers, assisted exhibitors with their
displays, and generally filled in wherever needed.
On Monday evening, January 14th, we held a very successful Fiesta at
the District’s headquarters. We estimate
that more than 350 conference attendees visited our headquarters. Visitors were given guided tours of our
facility and ALL left visibly impressed with our surveillance and research
capabilities, the programs we support for our community, and the wonderful
state of our facility. We have received
many phone calls from attendees asking for additional information about our
programs so that they can be implemented in their communities.
Dr. Mir Mulla was presented MVCAC Honorary
Membership at the Awards Banquet, and we produced a press release announcing
this special re cognition to the public.
The story appeared in the local newspapers and on the American Mosquito
Control Associations’ website.
We conducted a silent auction prior to the awards banquet on Tuesday
evening and raised $2,000 for two area high school science students. Trustees will have the opportunity to meet
these students at the February 12, 2008, Trustee meeting where the scholarship
checks will be presented. A photo
overview is featured on our website.
On January 23rd and 24th, we participated in the Ronald Regan
Elementary School’s
Science Discovery Days. We gave a short
power point presentation followed by live exhibits showing mosquito larvae,
pupae, adults, mosquitofish, and tadpole shrimp. The students truly enjoyed watching the mosquitofish much on the mosquito larvae and pupae. We were also photographed and interviewed by
the local newspapers during the Science Discovery Days.
The
following represents the activities of Community Outreach since the January
Board Report.
|
Community Outreach for December 20
- January 20, 2007
|
|
Group Presentations
|
Est. Audience
|
|
Civic and Community Groups
|
|
|
|
0
|
|
Schools
|
|
|
Ronald
Regan Elem Sch
|
320
|
|
Events
|
|
|
MVCAC
Annual Conference
|
5,000+
|
|
Total Individuals Reached
|
5,320
|
|
2007 -2008
Totals
|
FLEET
AND FACILITIES REPORT FOR JANUARY 2008.
The MVCAC conference set the goal of the completion of
several pending projects at the District.
Landscaping north of the Administration building was completed January
10th with the application of 130 tons of stabilized decomposed granite. The stabilized granite has decreased the
amount of dust and dirt that accumulates in the patio and around doors leading
to the multipurpose room. The “meandering stream” located in the center of the
landscape did function as designed and carried rain water into the retention 
basin.
Irrigation water for this area as well as the perimeter fence is supplied by
the water well located in the BioControl parking
structure. The 13,000 square foot area
includes 9 large trees, almost 100 shrubs and ground cover plants, and 700 square
feet of grass.
District wide, over 130 shrubs were planted to replace dead
stock not able to deal with the large areas of shade produced by our growing
trees. Shrubs were selected by Bill
Wolfs, our new RIFA supervisor, who has 25 years of experience in the
landscaping business. He produced a list
of 32 different species to incorporate into the District’s landscaping plan
including plants that are “rabbit resistant.”
Thanks to Bill, we were also able to locate and replace three River She
oaks located near the southwest perimeter.
Carlson Solar is finishing up the installation of the
District’s new solar array, and it should be operational by the time of the
Board Meeting. The array consists of
750 200-watt panels with either 13 or 14 panels wired in series. These groups of panels are then wired
parallel into 18 inverters rated for 7 kilowatts each.
Each inverter is
independent of the other in case of malfunction and offers uninterrupted power
production. The inverters are mounted on
towers adjacent to the main power room in the Operations building and can be
manually disconnected in case of emergency.
District power will be disconnected on
February 2nd to enable the electricians to tie the solar disconnects into the
main power grid that operates the District.
During this time, District personnel will simulate an emergency outage
to test procedures for switching BioControl to a
diesel generator. Power will also be
provided to the server during the hour and a half procedure.
Fleet mechanics have been busy performing annual inspections
and taking care of repairs as needed.
Annual inspections are comprehensive checks that carry maintenance above
manufacturers’ recommendations.
Maintenance that would normally be based on mileage of the vehicle is
done on a yearly basis regardless of vehicle mileage. Many of the vehicles owned by the District
are in a “severe duty” status, and though their mileage is low, the work they
perform is under the worst conditions.
Any work deemed necessary before the end of the following year will be
performed now in order to not take any vehicles out of service during the busy
season.
Two new Workhorses have been purchased by the District and
are in the shop to add modifications to carry the Herd spreader. Structural modifications include a sub frame,
fabricated in the shop, to be bolted to the frame to disperse the weight of the
spreader and its product. The bed of the
Workhorse will be reduced in size to allow the spreader to move forward, closer
to the center of gravity, and reduce its overall length. These modifications
should decrease fatigue cracks in the frame and subsequent maintenance needed
to repair them.
A new electronic speedometer/trip odometer was purchased to
accurately indicate the speed of the golf carts and workhorses in the
field. The device will be used to
calibrate the application of products knowing the exact speed the vehicle is
traveling. It also has the ability to
measure distance quickly and accurately to determine area’s covered.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Recruitment continues for the
positions of Field Supervisor and Senior Biologist. Recruitment has begun for the positions of
Geographic Information Systems Specialist, Vector Control Technician I,
Premises Inspector, and Seasonal Vector Control Operator. Interviews are being scheduled for the Office
Assistant position.
On January 25th, a
representative from The Valley Partnership, the District’s new Employee
Assistance Program (EAP), presented an orientation on services that are
available to staff. The EAP program is a
local and confidential service designed to help employees and their family
members. It also assists employers in
addressing productivity issues. The
program went into effect December 1st.
Staffing
levels for calendar year 2007 were as follows.
|
|
Regular Employees
|
Seasonal Employees
|
Subtotal
|
Temporary Agency Workers
|
Total Workforce
|
|
Jan-07
|
43
|
0
|
43
|
1
|
44
|
|
Feb-07
|
45
|
0
|
45
|
1
|
46
|
|
Mar-07
|
46
|
6
|
52
|
1
|
53
|
|
Apr-07
|
46
|
5
|
51
|
1
|
52
|
|
May-07
|
46
|
11
|
57
|
0
|
57
|
|
Jun-07
|
48
|
10
|
58
|
2
|
60
|
|
Jul-07
|
45
|
14
|
59
|
3
|
62
|
|
Aug-07
|
45
|
13
|
58
|
2
|
60
|
|
Sep-07
|
43
|
13
|
56
|
1
|
57
|
|
Oct-07
|
45
|
12
|
57
|
1
|
58
|
|
Nov-07
|
45
|
12
|
57
|
1
|
58
|
|
Dec-07
|
49
|
4
|
53
|
2
|
55
|
DISTRICT
FIELD OPERATIONS
Cold weather continues
to suppress invertebrate breeding and activity in the Valley. Mosquito abundance remains low in all
habitats, allowing time for Operations personnel to work on winter projects, to
prepare for the forthcoming season, and to prepare for the District open house
associated with the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California
conference held in Palm Springs.
DISTRICT
RODENT AND BEE CONTROL PROGRAMS
RODENTS
In late January,
several articles appeared in The Desert
Sun and on their website concerning roof rats and the problems Valley
residents were experiencing dealing with them.
The articles made brief reference to the Coachella Valley Mosquito and
Vector Control District’s role in assisting residents in the control and
elimination of roof rats from their property.
The District provides
year-round service to Valley residents to assist them in controlling rats on
their property. Upon receipt of a
telephone call from a resident, a service request is generated in which
information is obtained from the caller relating to the location, problem, and
concerns of the resident regarding rodent activity at their property.
Within 24 hours of the
call, a District certified service technician contacts the resident to set up
an appointment to meet with the caller at their property to assess and address
the problem. At the site, the technician
discusses the problem with the caller to obtain detailed and pertinent
information as they investigate the site.
Following the interview, the technician makes a thorough physical
inspection of the premises, both inside and out, searching for evidence of any
rat activity or sign (rub marks, urine stains, foraging evidence, nesting
activity as piles of shredded paper or fabric, gnawing activity and feces), as
well as assessing and determining food, water and harborage sources present and
any potential entry sites for rats to enter the building.
While making a
physical inspection of the property, the technician will also make an
inspection of the surrounding properties, in which the Rule of Five is
applied. This requires an inspection in
the same manner of the five adjoining improved properties to assess the degree
of rat infestation in the area. If
rodent activity is found at the adjoining properties, the property owners of
those properties are also notified of the problem. The technician provides relevant brochures
and information on rodent prevention and recommendations for source reduction
and exclusion on their properties are provided as well.
As each property is
inspected, a rodent inspection report and form is completed by the technician
at the time of inspection, and a copy of the findings for each respective
property inspected is given and discussed with that property owner. The technician thoroughly reviews each
report with each property owner independently and confidentially and explains
where and what action is needed by them in order to control and eliminate
rodents from their property. The
findings report includes the degree and abundance of visible rat infestation
indicators and the degree and locations of rodent activity observed
. Food, water, and harborage
sources are located, and recommendations are made for reduction or
elimination. Recommendations are made
for sealing external building entry points and.
Roof rats are commensal rodents (living with
man), and their presence is typically a communal problem, often involving the
entire neighborhood.
Brochures and
information on the biology, breeding, behavioral patterns of roof rats are
provided on the first visit to the property to help educate the property
owner(s) on methods to control rodents, along with specific recommendations and
information to assist the property owner in rodent exclusion and
elimination. Courtesy glue board traps
and usage information are provided to business and home owners that are willing
to engage in personally trapping rodents.
The technician also provides recommendations on the appropriate
materials that should be used, as well as where and how to apply those
materials to exclude rodents from building access.
The technician also
works closely with the property owner’s commercial pest control operator and
provides information to assist and expedite control efforts in eliminating roof
rats by the operator. Snap traps and rodenticides are not provided to residents by the District
since those services are available and provided by Valley commercial pest control
operators, although information on the use of snap traps and tips on the best
placement locations is provided to the resident.
At the conclusion of
the first visit, the technician will leave a business card and schedule a
follow-up appointment for a second inspection of the property with the
resident, allowing sufficient time for the resident to act upon the initial
recommendations. The follow-up inspection is conducted to determine the effects
of the control measures initiated. The
level of control and the findings of the follow-up inspection are reviewed and
discussed with the resident. Additional
recommendations, information, and other issues are discussed with the property
owner to determine if additional control measures and actions are required. Any additional follow-up inspections and
recommendations for control activity are dependent upon the complexity of the
rodent problem and degree of compliance.
During the year, the
District also conducts block rodent surveys in various areas of the Valley to
assess rodent population densities and abundance. Live trapping of roof rats within selected
areas of the Valley are conducted as a means to determine local abundance or
other issues related to rodent abundance.
The District’s
outreach program provides information, brochures, pamphlets (in Spanish and
English), and videos of all District vector control programs, including its
rodent control program, to educate and provide guidance to the public on rodent
prevention, exclusion, and control. The
program provides the public with recommendations on cost-effective, rodent
prevention and control. Outreach
presentations are presented to homeowner associations, schools, city agencies,
senior centers, and other Valley organizations.
Additionally,the
District conducts wild rodent surveillance continually near the Palm Springs
Aerial Tramway at an elevation around 2000 ft., where the deer mouse is
normally distributed. Staff then sends
specimens for hantavirus testing to CDPH.. In regards to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
(HPS), as stated by CDPH “for most Californians, the risk of getting HPS is
extremely low. Fewer than 50 cases of
HPS have been diagnosed in California
in the last 10 years,” and “Havtavirus is carried by
wild rodents.
Field mice service
requests are also taken and a property inspection with exclusion and source
reduction recommendations are provided to residents. As with roof rats, the resident is provided
with a
