Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District

Report of District Activities

Manager’s Report

Board of Trustees Meeting

March 11, 2008

1. The large solar panel array has been installed and is operational. We will have data soon on just how much electricity it produces. It is one of the larger systems for IID and will save money for the District long-term.

2. The District has conducted Hazardous Materials training for all staff. Additionally, we are contracting with a company to oversee our hazardous materials business plan update along with other required documents and trainings. This is a required part of our operations, and the numerous complexities make it necessary to use outside resources.

3. The General Manager and Secretary/Treasurer Underwood attended the VCJPA workshop that was held in Aptos, CA. Programs covered included worker’s compensation, liability programs, pooled property program, pooled auto physical damage, business travel accident coverage and group fidelity bond. They additionally provide safety and loss prevention services. The District had the full staff take part in the commentary driving program and found it very it very beneficial.

4. Moreland and Associates has begun their assessment of the District’s financial operations and has met with staff to provide information that will assist the District in its future financial reporting.

5. The General Manager held a phone conference of the Southern Region managers for MVCAC this past month. Regular phone conferences will be held which will help with communication while limiting travel.

6. Vice-President Fuschetti attended the AMCA Conference in Sparks, NV along with the General Manager, Scientific Operations Manager Lothrop, Assistant Vector Ecologist Snelling, and Operations Manager Saulnier. The conference was three and a half days of technical presentations with a trustee session, poster session, and frequent opportunities to exchange information with staff from districts located all over the country.

7. The proposed cuts in the state budget that would have repealed the vector-borne disease certification program have been cancelled. The certification program will continue as before. However, it may still surface in the next round of budget cuts later this year.

Community Outreach Program

Certified staff members attended a three-day training in Anaheim February 26-28. Talks were given on plants of concern, safety in the field, proper application, worker safety, and an update regarding control products, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, bats, flies, chipmunks, dealing with difficult people, dog safety, Murine Typhus in urban mammalian hosts in Southern California, toxicology of pesticides, Red Imported Fire Ants, and more. Vector control continuing education units were earned for all four sections of the California Department of Health Certification program and will apply towards the units needed for certification renewal. Videos will be used to complete the continued certification requirements over the next 18 months.

Preparations continue for the District’s 80^th Anniversary Open House on April 25, 2008, and plans to recognize Ben Laflin for his many years of service to our District as a Trustee are finalizing as well. Supervisor Roy Wilson has included an announcement on his website about the District’s 80^th Anniversary celebration and the special recognition of Trustee Ben Laflin for his many years of service to our District.

Lastly, the District received press coverage on three occasions in The Desert Sun recognizing the scholarships awarded at the February 2008 meeting to Palm Springs High School senior Ana Campos and Cathedral City High School senior Maria Macias.

The following represents the activities of Community Outreach since the January Board Report.

Community Outreach for January 20, 2008 – February 20, 2008
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

Finance

The financial reports included in the packet show the Balance Sheet, receipts, and the revenue and expenditure report for the month ending January 31, 2008. The revenue and expenditure report shows that total expenditure for July 1, 2007, to January 31, 2008 is $5,993,080; total revenue is $5,174,232 resulting in a deficit for the year to January 31, 2008 of $818,849. This item is shown on the Balance Sheet as Excess Revenue over (under) Expenditures. The Finances at a Glance, the Cash Flow statement, show that the District’s Fixed Assets increased by $538,706. This is the capitalization of the second progress payment for the solar panels. The Balance Sheet shows this item as Construction in Progress. 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 bar chart shows the District’s main sources of revenue and the 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. A quarter of the District’s revenue is received in the month of January; the actual revenue for January follows the expected budgeted revenue distribution pattern. Overall 57 % of the total of the budgeted revenue has now been received up to January 31, 2008; this is 7 months (58 %) into the 2007-2008 budget year. In December, half way through the budget year, the District received less than 30 % of the budgeted revenue, with over 50 % of the budget expended. For the period up to December, the District draws from the General Reserve, which is normal procedure. As mentioned the District has deficit for the year to January 31, 2008 of $818,849, that is the expenditure exceeds revenue by this amount. This means the District is still using the reserves to finance the budget.

District Field Operations

Cold weather has helped in suppressing invertebrate breeding and activity in the Valley through mid-February. Since then, prevailing warmer weather conditions have increased mosquito abundance and breeding, especially along the Salton Sea Shores and duck clubs, requiring increased District control activities in those areas as warming weather continues. Surveillance and treatment activities have also increasing in residential areas with the advent of warmer weather since mid-month.

District Rodent Surveillance

Roof Rat block surveys were conducted at Cathedral Canyon Country Club in Cathedral City and Monterrey Country Club in Rancho Mirage. A total of 15 traps deployed over 8 nights collected 4 rats from the northern areas of Monterrey Country Club. Twenty-four traps set over 9 nights in Cathedral Canyon Country Club produced only one rat. Mountain Cove Country Club in Indian Wells is scheduled for Roof Rat block surveys beginning next week.

Mosquito Control Activities

9	FIELD EVALUATIONS BY SUPERVISORS
1	SERVICE REQUEST EVALUATIONS
4	OPERATIONAL MEETINGS
2	FIELD SAFETY CHECKS
3	STANDING ATER REQUESTS
25	GREEN POOL ADVISORIES RECEIVED
5	MEETINGS WITH OWNERS/REPRESENTATIVES
3	NEW MOSQUITO BREEDING SOURCES
14	SERVICE REQUESTS
1,590	FIELD INSPECTIONS BY TECHNICIANS
430	MOSQUITO TREATMENTS (Larval)
0	URBAN/SUBURBAN ACREAGE ADULTICIDED
0	RURAL ACREAGE FOGGED
0	ADULTICIDE NIGHTS 0 Ground 0 Aerial
0	AERIAL TREATMENTS 0 Larvicide 6 Adulticide
0	MAJOR MOSQUITO SOURCE REDUCTION ACTIONS

Comparative Mosquito Habitat Acreage Treated

TREATED THIS MONTH	ACREAGE TREATED January 2008	ACREAGE TREATED January 2007
LARVACIDING ADULTICIDING	231 Acres 0 Acres	109 Acres 0 Acres
FISCAL YEAR TOTALS	LARVACIDING	ADULTICIDING
2007/2008 YTD	3,037 Acres	8,522 Acres
2006/2007	2,027 Acres	5,075 Acres
2005/2006	1,408 Acres	20,172 Acres

Percentages of Mosquito Habitat Acreage Treated

HABITAT	December 2007		January 2008		February 2008
	Acres	%	Acres	%	Acres	%
Salton Sea	0	0	0	0	3	1
Duck Clubs	269	78	50	89	202	88
Residential	49	14	4	7	8	3
Agriculture	29	8	2	4	19	8
Totals	347	100	56	100	232	100

Mosquito Inspections

HABITAT	December 2007		January 2008		February 2008
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Salton Sea	26	1	3	1	22	2
Duck Clubs	151	6	72	15	242	16
Residential	1,979	82	359	74	1,267	80
Agricultural	250	11	39	10	177	12
Totals	2,406	100	473	100	1,708	100

Mosquito Habitat Treatments

HABITAT	December 2007		January 2008		February 2008
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Salton Sea	2	0	1	1	9	2
Duck Clubs	71	10	19	13	92	21
Residential	605	85	119	82	292	68
Agricultural	35	5	7	4	37	9
Totals	713	100	146	100	430	100

Red Imported Fire Ants

The majority of control activities for RIFA continues to be focused in the cities of Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, and Rancho Mirage where infestation continues to be the most extreme. And, most of 106 RIFA service requests were also from these areas. Operations surveillance and treatments continue to be focused on homeowner associations, common areas in country clubs, parks and schools, city greenbelt areas, and response to service requests.

Saturday control activities and surveillance continues to be focused on surveillance and treatment of Valley school campuses and service requests responses to residents who are unavailable for contact during the workweek.

Cold weather conditions temporarily postponed any treatments of country club golf courses. These activities will commence again when daytime ambient temperatures return to the 70’s or higher.

Inspections, Treatments and Acreage

CITY	Inspections	Positive Sites	Treatments	Treated Acreage
Bermuda Dunes	1	7	7	21.88
Cathedral City	0	30	30	95.20
Coachella	0	1	1