NSBA Meeting May 20, 2009
Following is a recap of the May 20, 2009 North Shore Business Association meeting.
Lake County Vector Control
Our main speaker was Jamesina J. Scott, PhD, of the Lake County Vector Control District.
Lake County Vector Control District (LCVCD) was developed in 1948 to deal with the Clearlake Nat but they’ve expanded since then. They’re an independent special district, funded by property taxes. Presently their primary focus is mosquitos, but they deal with many other creatures of all sorts.
A lot of their time is spent searching for mosquito larvae. When they do they work with the property owner or manager to eliminate the habitat. Presently a big problem are swimming pools that aren’t well maintained, but mosquitos can grow even in the water that exists in spare tires on the property.
Mosquito fish are also a big help and are very inexpensive. They also use a lot of bio rational products which are completely natural and don’t affect anything but the mosquitos - other animals can still drink the water.
Disease surveillance is also a part, where they identify the types of mosquitos. There are 23 type of mosquitos in Lake County, some of which don’t bother humans at all. They also use chickens to see if those have been exposed to viruses.
The natural environment of Lake County is a great opportunity for all sorts of vectors, or critters that bite. A single swimming pool can produce tens of thousands of mosquitos and those can fly up to five miles. Vector Control will come and abate the situation either with fish or other treatment procedures.
Vector Control has found ticks that do carry lime disease in the county, but also other diseases. Another critter is the biting black gnat.
You can bring critters to the Vector Control District to have them identified.
We do have West Nile disease in Lake County, but it’s been very minor with only three human infections in total.
A common insect are the midges, which occurs in fresh water world wide. Lake County has a beautiful habitat for these which feed on decaying vegetable matter. They only live for 24-72 hours. Spraying adults is completely ineffective because there are so many more coming off the lake, especially since they only live a day or so. They are great food for the bass and swallows, however. Midges stand close to walls, mosquitos have a proboscis which looks like a seventh leg. Mosquitos bite, midges do not.
As with all agencies, Vector Control is facing budgetary issues. With less money, they can’t offer the same level of service. This actually could affect tourism and public health. They did a survey and over 50% of the respondents said they agreed to pay additional taxes, an average of $13.96 per year for the average property owner.
You can reach Dr. Scott at jjscott@mchsi.com or (707) 263-4770
Denise Rushing - Board of Supervisors
The county is doing about $12 million in projects including $1 million which comes from stimulus money. The remaining $11 million comes from expected items for which the county has been budgeting already.
Upper Lake Main street starts on the 7th of June - bids were less than expected.
One of the grants that the county is applying for is a chipping grant that will replace the money that the county spent on a fire person.
In Lucerne, one of the two hotel that have been scheduled to have been torn down has been. The swallows have nested in the site of the other hotel, meaning that it can’t be town down ‘till the fall.
Code Enforcement has been focusing on the Highway 20 corridor, especially with regard to large vehicles being parked on county right of ways.
Upper Lake High School
The high school is planning to sell banners on the field to help compensate for lack of state funding. Feedback is requested as to pricing, which will support things like bandages and other items the teams need. You can visit the high school's web site: click here.
There will be a barbecue at the Boat House Bar & Barbecue on May 31 to help support the high school.
Eric Seely - Lake County Redevelopment
Argonut construction was awarded the job for Upper Lake, the same company who is doing the construciton on the 20 between Upper Lake and Nice. Presently they’re doing a shoulder widening project.
There will be a grand opening on May 29 in Clearlake Oaks at the new senior center and Methodist church. There is senior housing available in Clearlake Oaks - contact any senior center in the County for more information or an application.