Minutes of the Board of Trustees – Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

1. Roll Call:

Present:      President, Bruce Myers; Secretary, Belen Gomez; Bette George; Evan Long; and Harold Dozier.

Staff:                      Manager, Michael Alburn.

2. Approval of July Minutes:

It was moved by Harold Dozier, seconded by Bette George, and unanimously carried that the Minutes of the July meeting be approved as mailed.

3. Approval of July Bills:

Following discussion, it was moved by Evan Long, seconded by Belen Gomez, and unanimously carried that the July Bills be approved as mailed.  See:  Board Order to disburse funds No. 2, Exhibit I.

4. Approval of August Payroll:

Following discussion, it was moved by Bette George, seconded by Harold Dozier, and unanimously carried that the August Payroll be approved as mailed.  See:  Board Order to disburse funds No. 3, Exhibit II.

5. Public Forum:

None.

6. Operational Report:

Pasture mosquitoes from a previously unknown source came off this week in Seville.  Source has been identified and fogging occurred to knock down the adults in the area.

Farmersville has mosquito problem around the waste treatment plant and an adjacent dairy (Blue Grass), fogging has occurred in the area.

VC Tech I’s, Randy Bell, Katherine Biehle and Alex Aguirre have gone back to school.

The Revco freezer has arrived and we are currently trapping nightly.  The freezer has allowed us to hold mosquitoes over the weekend and submit the beginning of the following week.

Jorge Lopez broke two fingers inspecting a standpipe.  Continued work, w/ cast, no time lost.

Adventure Park was a complete smash.  Great attendance 55 people +/- 1.

7. West Nile Virus Update:

Humans – 59 cases from 13 counties have tested positive for WNV.  No deaths.

Tulare – 1 case

Horses – 5 cases from 4 counties have tested positive for WNV.

Tulare – 0 cases.

Dead Birds – 1,129 positive for WNV from 32 counties.

Tulare – 45 (40 - Visalia, 2 - Farmersville, 1 - Exeter, 1 - Tulare, 1 - Porterville).

Mosquito Samples – 712 positive collections from 23 counties.

Tulare – 16 (10 Visalia, 5 Porterville, 1 Sultana).

Sentinel Chickens – 50 positive from 8 counties.

Tulare – 1 positive (District office).

8. Re-Affirmation of Conflict of Interest Code:

Following review of District Policy #1020, Conflict of Interest, it was moved by Bette George, seconded by Evan Long and unanimously carried to reaffirm the District Conflict of Interest Code.  The Manager will convey the action to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors as required.

9. Grand Jury Response:

The Trustees reviewed the Tulare County Grand Jury’s Report on Boards and Commissions, agreed with the report and confirmed that the Board has implemented the items directed.  It was moved by Evan Long, seconded by Harold Dozier and unanimously carried to affirm the response by the Manager.

10. Tulare County LAFCO:

The meeting of the East County Mosquito Abatement Steering Committee decided that meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month in Porterville at 3:00 p.m.

The purpose of the committee, funding opportunities and public education were the principal discussions.

The benefit assessment option was expounded upon by Delta and was of most interest by all.

Delta committed to making contact with John Bliss, SCI, to come and discuss the benefit assessment option at the next meeting.

Tulare MAD was present and seemed interested in acquiring a part of the proposed coverage, whatever that may ultimately be is still open for debate.  Supervisor Ishida made a comment that it would most likely be best to just move each districts boundaries east. 

Mr. Finney indicated that LAFCO is going to perform a Municipal Service Review (MSR) of the two districts. 

The Manager expressed to the Trustees his sense that LAFCO needs to educate themselves as to the services being offered by each district before it sets its sights on a solution.  Tulare and Delta offer services as different as night and day and if West Nile Virus control is the objective, installing a nuisance control district over a vector-borne disease control district would fall short of the objective.  Therefore, simply moving east is not a solution.

11. CSDA Annual Conference, September 22 – 25, Irvine:

The Manager requested travel authorization to attend the California Special Districts Annual Conference.  It was moved by Bette George, seconded by Belen Gomez and unanimously carried to approve the travel request.

12. SOVE Annual Meeting, September 28 – October 2, Fort Collins, CO:

The Manager requested travel authorization for Yolanda Lourenco, Assistant Manager, to attend the Society of Vector Ecologists Annual Meeting.  It as moved by Harold Dozier, seconded by Evan Long and unanimously carried to approve the travel request.

13. Closed Session § 54957 Personnel Exemption, General Manager:

ACTION: It was moved by Evan Long, seconded by Bette George and unanimously carried to adjust the salary schedule for the Manager position to $7,913.67 / month effective January 1, 2009.

14. Adjournment:

The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.

Board Minutes approved on September 10, 2008.

_______________________________________

Michael W. Alburn, Recording Secretary