HomeMy WebLinkAbout06032015 Mosquito Control Commission MinutesNANTUCKET MOSQUITO CONTROL PROJECT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Minutes of the June 3, 2015 Meeting at 2:00 pm
Nantucket DPW, 188 Madaket Road, Nantucket, MA
Commissioners Present: Kara Buzanoski, Ken Giles (arrived late), Sarah Oktay and Charlie Stott.
Commissioners Absent: Helene Weld.
State Reclamation Board Staff: Jessica Burgess and Jennifer Forman Orth.
Vector Disease Control International: Emily Hibbard.
Members of the Public: Mark Palmer and Mark Pearson.
Buzanoski called the meeting to order and announced that the first order of business would be the
election of officers. A unanimous vote of the three commissioners present resulted in the election of
Stott as Chair, Oktay as Vice Chair and Weld as Clerk.
Burgess reviewed the requirements of the Open Meeting Law. A motion was adopted to permit remote
participation as permitted under the Commonwealth’s Open Meeting Law.
Buzanoski reported that there will be no bidding through the SRB this year as the transfer of funds to
the trust fund has not been authorized by the Town. Accordingly, the contract is to be handled in the
same manner as it was for the previous fiscal year. Bids were opened on June 2 and there was one
bidder – VDCI, which will be awarded the contract for mosquito surveillance and treatment.
Foreman Orth explained the SRB’s reporting requirements, which include weekly reports on weather
conditions, progress made and testing results.
The transfer of funds to the trust fund will have to be approved at a Special Town Meeting or the Annual
Town Meeting. The Commissioners were advised that the trust fund could accept contributions. A
motion was adopted to include an article in the warrant for the ATM that would authorize the transfer
of a yet to be determined amount of money to the trust fund. If the article is on the warrant, the SRB
can begin the bidding process for the next fiscal year prior to the ATM. The SRB can provide specific
trust fund information.
The SRB update was provided. Two SRB members are retiring.
The SRB staff explained that each project allocates funds into a pool for testing for EEE and West Nile
Virus conducted by the Department of Public Health. It is estimated that the cost of testing for
Nantucket would be $1,500 annually. Hibbard said that VDCI now does testing for West Nile Virus, but
not for EEE. Contributions could come from anyone including VDCI, but the Town would have to
authorize an appropriation.
A motion was adopted by a vote of 2-1 to conditionally authorize acceptance of contributions to the
trust fund and to authorize DPH to conduct the testing.
Giles noted that his term of office is expiring and that he will not be seeking reappointment. Mark
Palmer, a member of the public expressed interest in the position being vacated by Giles.
Buzanoski said that she would be resigning from the Board of Commissioners and it was suggested that
Dr. Tim Lepore is interested and would make an excellent commissioner.
During the public comment period, there was a discussion about vectors such as birds and horses.
Hibbard said that Nantucket does not have vectors that carry EEE or West Nile Virus.
Buzanoski said that she would discuss the vacancies with Town Manager Libby Gibson and that the
commissioners recommend Palmer and Lepore.
It was agreed that commissioners would be polled about their availability for a meeting in July.
There being no further business to consider, a motion was adopted to adjourn.