Interim Manager’s Report

May 2008

1. On April 24, the District had a visitor from the Orange Country Mosquito and Vector Control District. One of their Technician IIIs visited to familiarize himself with our RIFA technicians and our successful methodology for using Advion and Choice.

2. Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District’s Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) Program Supervisor Phil Boeing spoke at the Annual Imported Fire Ant Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. Phil was selected to speak on the expansion and successful evolution of the District’s RIFA program. His presentation documented the progress of suppression of RIFA in the Coachella Valley over the past three years. Additionally, his selection as a presenter validates the recognition the District has received for its program. The presentation was attended by over 150 conferees, many from countries outside of the United States.

3. As a part of its operating authority with the California Department of Public Health, the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District is subject to periodic records and facility inspections to ensure proper reporting, operating, and safety programs are in place.  Joe Burns of the California Department of Health performed an inspection of the District’s facility and records on April 23.  He complimented Field Supervisor Rod Chamberlain on the completeness and accuracy of his chemical inventory and use reports and on the District’s proper storage of its control products and vehicle safety equipment.

4. To improve communication, the management team has invited one representative from any department to participate in its weekly meetings to share ideas on behalf of their co-workers. A list was posted in the lunch room asking one representative to volunteer each week to attend. A meeting agenda is provided to the employee and an opportunity given to add any item(s) for discussion. The notes of the management meetings are also posted in the lunch room.

5. The team building facilitation was held on April 11, and participation was nearly 100%. The dialog was open and honest. This was a constructive first step and everyone involved expressed a desire to have the opportunity to participate in more such events. Interest was also expressed in having some other activities, such as a bowling team or soft ball games. Photos of the day are displayed on the bulletin board in the Multi-purpose Room.

6. The administrative staff, Finance Administrator, Human Resources Manager, and I have been working diligently to meet the requirements of the various public records request from The Desert Sun and the City of Indio. Processing these requests has taken hours of staff time, but it is important for Valley residents to understand that we believe in transparency and are making every effort to comply with these requests in a timely manner.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL DEPARTMENT

During the month of April 2008, the Biological Control Program focused on the following:

Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)

• The mosquitofish production system has produced 20,618 fish for the month of April. The fry have been collected and transferred to grow-out tanks.

Mosquitofish
Production	2007	2008
January	5,250	31,620
February	13,655	31,817
March	5,419	25,701
April	10,637	20,618
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

• Fish stocking in urban locations previously stocked with mosquitofish will be evaluated for additional numbers and preliminary stocking of fish in new sources will be made and observed for their efficacy.

Porthole fish. (Poeciliopsis gracilis)

• Stocking of Porthole fish in urban locations, such as detention basins and wet vaults, has begun. Observations and evaluation of their ability to control mosquito larvae will be monitored throughout the year.

Arroyo chub (Gila orcutti)

• Weekly hatchings of ~150-200 Arroyo chub fry from artificial seaweed are being grown out in an aquatic housing system in the tank room. These numbers will eventually be at the disposal of Dr. Walton from UCR for efficacy studies in controlling mosquito larvae other than the exotic species of mosquitofish in natural wetlands or naturally formed ponded areas in Southern California.

Tadpole shrimp (Triops newberryi)

• The Tadpole Shrimp production pond was flooded for the first time this year on April 4, 2008. Approximately eight days post-flooding visual observations of large numbers of shrimp have been confirmed. The majority of the shrimp were egg-laden. The water has now percolated completely and is drying out for the next flooding.

Nematodes (Romanomermis iyengari)

· An established mosquito colony of Cx. quinquefasciatus is maintained in the laboratory rearing room at Biocontrol laboratory. The colony is currently used as a host for rearing Romanomermis iyengari. An eighth series of mosquito larvae infection with the parasitic round worms has been completed using various water samples from detention basins in urban areas. Results indicate 85%-100% infection rate. Dr. Perez came to visit on Wednesday, April 23^rd to advise on rearing room protocol, procedure, and set-up to raise large numbers of parasitic nematodes for preliminary field experiments. He will be back on Wednesday, April 30^th for an infection utilizing Romanomermis iyengari and Romanomermis culicivorax.

Environmental and Best Management

• Monthly monitoring of four major public breeding sights in Palm Desert is being revisited. Photographs have been taken since March 2006. Three of the four sights show some improvement of BMP’s (maintenance schedules increased and new structures being formed). A progression of photos for each site from March of 2006 to April of 2008 has been compiled and will be presented to public works for evaluation and recommendations on the continued improvement for source reduction in these problem areas.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM

A press release was distributed on April 7th regarding the 4 positive mosquito pools that were found in southeast of Mecca and along the North Shore area. As a result, Operations Manager Jim Saulnier gave an interview to KESQ and KMIR news stations. In the interview, Mr. Saulnier discussed what a positive mosquito pool meant, the locations of the pools, what measures the District was taking, and how the public could protect themselves from the West Nile virus (WNv) and other mosquito-borne diseases. The clip was played during both the 6:00pm and 11:00pm news hours.

On April 11th, Community Educator Maria Kylis conducted a presentation in Spanish to the residents of the St. Anthony’s Mobile Home Park on the services that the District provides to the public with an emphasis on mosquitoes and WNv. Along with the presentation Ms. Kylis handed out brochures, fly swatters, and mosquito repellent. The community coordinator was very pleased with the presentation and has asked us to do presentations to the other mobile home park communities in the area.

Community Educator Maria Kylis and Premise Inspector Gonzalo Valadez attended the 11th Annual Day of the Child Celebration held in Desert Hot Springs on April 12th. The District’s booth contained live mosquito larvae, pupae, and adult mosquitoes that the children were able to view in mosquito breeders. They were delighted to be able to view them so closely and were extremely excited when they were able to feed the larvae to the mosquitofish. They were able to witness Bio-Control before their eyes. We also took red imported fire ants for them to see, along with brochures, life cycle coloring pages, pencils, pads, and mosquito repellent for them to take home. The event was attended by approximately 3,000.

On April 17th, Community Educator Maria Kylis met with 7th grade teachers from the Palm Springs Unified School District to finalize the curriculum for the 2008/2009 school year. It was confirmed that the District would make two school year presentations to the 7th grade classes and host a District field trip at the end of the year.

April 19th found the Community Educator in Yucipa giving a presentation to 122 Girl Scouts of America San Gorgonio counselors on mosquitoes and West Nile virus, as well as the merit badge program that the District was proposing. The presentation included mosquito breeding sites and ways they could protect themselves while camping out. The District also gave a presentation on the new merit badge program it has for the Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts of America. The counselors were extremely excited about the new merit badge program and will be contacting the District on dates for the troops to attend a program where they can earn their mosquito control patrol merit badge.

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

Community Outreach for March 20 - April 20, 2008
Group Presentations	Est. Audience
Civic and Community Groups
St. Anthony's Mobile Home Park	60
Girl Scouts of America San Gorgonio Council	122
Schools
4th Grade Summer School Teachers for Coachella Valley Unified School District	24
7th Grade Teachers for Palm Springs Unified School District	20
Events
11th Annual Day of the Child Celebration	3,000
Total Individuals Reached	3,226

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 March 31, 2008. The revenue and expenditure report shows that total expenditure for July 1 to March 31, 2008, is $6,992,641; total revenue is $5,978,039, resulting in a deficit for the year to March 31, 2008, of $1,014,602. This item is shown on the balance sheet as Excess Revenue over (under) Expenditures.

The District’s investment fund balance for the period ending March 31, 2008, is $12,966,106; the portfolio composition is shown in the chart below. Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) accounts for 41 % of the District’s investments; the Riverside County Pooled Investment Fund is 37 % of the total. The LAIF yield for the end of March 2008 was 3.78 %; the Riverside County Pooled Investment Fund was 3.95 %; this gives an overall weighted yield for District investments of 3.74 %.

District Investment Portfolio 3/31/2008

DISTRICT FIELD OPERATIONS

The prevailing warmer weather during the past month has greatly increased invertebrate breeding and activity in the Valley. Mosquito abundance and breeding, especially along the Salton Sea Shores, Duroville, and duck clubs has increased considerably, requiring increased District control activities in those areas. During the month, eight positive mosquito pools for West Nile virus were detected along the North and West Shores of the Salton Sea, as well as southeast of Mecca. Ground and aerial fogging operations commenced immediately to assist in the reduction of mosquito abundance along with intensified larval surveillance and treatments. During the two week period of fogging, mosquito adult abundance was reduced, and a number of larval sources related to the detection areas were treated. A third aerial treatment of the Salton Sea marshes using Altosid pellets (a long tern control product) was applied in late March.

Several meetings with local farmers were conducted during the month to obtain a greater understanding and cooperation between the farmers and the District to obtain source reduction of Psorophora related to Agricultural production. The encroachment of urbanization in agricultural areas, especially in the Vista Santa Rosa area of the Valley, has created an issue for new residents in that area concerning the discomfort created by these mosquitoes..

Urban mosquito surveillance and control activities, as always, remain a high priority in order to continue to protect residents from the threat of West Nile virus infection. Mosquito abundance suppression through continual surveillance and treatments (80 percent of the treatments and 84 percent of the surveys) is ongoing. Agricultural irrigation is now intense with the warmer weather creating additional mosquito breeding sources requiring additional surveillance and treatment activity.

The urban country club and agricultural trapping program is now well underway, with over two dozen country clubs already signing up for service. Fly and eye gnat disposal bottles are also being placed and baited in many of the agricultural fields to assist in reducing abundance.

MOSQUITO CONTROL ACTIVITIES:

10	FIELD EVALUATIONS BY SUPERVISORS
2	SERVICE REQUEST EVALUATIONS
4	OPERATIONAL MEETINGS
3	FIELD SAFETY CHECKS
12	STANDING WATER REQUESTS
98	GREEN POOL ADVISORIES RECEIVED
7	MEETINGS WITH OWNERS/REPRESENTATIVES
6	NEW MOSQUITO BREEDING SOURCES
127	SERVICE REQUESTS
2,247	FIELD INSPECTIONS BY TECHNICIANS
742	MOSQUITO TREATMENTS (Larval)
0	URBAN/SUBURBAN ACREAGE ADULTICIDED
1,567	RURAL ACREAGE FOGGED
12	ADULTICIDE NIGHTS 11Ground 10 Aerial
1	AERIAL LARVICIDE TREATMENTS
3	MAJOR MOSQUITO SOURCE REDUCTION ACTIONS

COMPARATIVE MOSQUITO HABITAT ACREAGE TREATED

TREATED THIS MONTH	ACREAGE TREATED MARCH 2008	ACREAGE TREATED MARCH 2007
LARVACIDING ADULTICIDING	160 Acres 1,567Acres	46 Acres 0 Acres
FISCAL YEAR TOTALS	LARVACIDING	ADULTICIDING
2007/2008 YTD	3,190Acres	10,089 Acres
2006/2007	2,073 Acres	5,075 Acres
2005/2006	1,580 Acres	20,172 Acres

PERCENTAGES OF MOSQUITO HABITAT ACREAGE TREATED

HABITAT	February 2008		March 2008		April 2008
	Acres	%	Acres	%	Acres	%
Salton Sea	3	1	89	1	5	3
Duck Clubs	202	88	143	88	55	34
Residential	8	3	15	3	64	40
Agriculture	19	8	14	8	37	23
Totals	232	100	261	100	161	100.00

MOSQUITO INSPECTIONS

HABITAT	February 2008		March 2008		April 2008
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Salton Sea	22	2	12	1	19	1
Duck Clubs	242	16	224	15	164	7