Steamboat Pilot & Today

Hayden — Hayden's proposed expenditure for mosquito control in the 2001 budget is more than originally expected, causing some officials to voice opposition to the spending as planned.

Initially, town administration estimated the mosquito-control program would cost $36,000, but the town is proposing to now spend $45,940 in the upcoming budget.

The reason for the increase is that, initially, the town took into account the hiring of one employee to combat mosquitoes instead of two, said Lisa Johnston, town clerk.

The proposed program increased when Johnston factored in the cost of a second employee.

Due to the increase, Mayor Chuck Grobe and Trustee Lorraine Johnson are against the program.

"I have a problem with $45,000 when we are working each year with a budget of about $15,000," Grobe said. "This bothers me. I don't have a problem spraying for mosquitoes. We are almost running scared instead of spraying two or three times and larvaciding as much as we can.

"I have had a lot of people come up and tell me that to do this is a waste of money."

The program Grobe is speaking of is the town's plans to hire two workers, paid $10 an hour, who would travel to Utah to learn from Dr. Steven Romney about mosquito control.

Romney, who has been in mosquito control since 1975, is the director of the Uintah County's Mosquito Abatement Program. Under Romney's direction, the abatement program has been successful in controlling mosquitoes there.

Romney has offered the town his services for free. He is willing to train workers from the town on how to combat mosquitoes.

Along with sending two employees to Utah for Romney's training, the town is proposing to conduct four aerial sprays during the summer.

For two of the sprayings, BTI will be used to kill unhatched larvae. The other two will involve the spraying of Dibrome or AquaReslin for mosquitoes that have hatched.

Also included in the proposed expenditure is to purchase carbon monoxide traps that attract mosquitoes.

The town also is planning to develop a volunteer program for residents who own areas where there are large mosquito populations. The town is hopeful large landowners could administer chemicals, supplied by the city, to standing water on their property.

Johnson would like for the town to research the program at least another year.

"I think $45,000 off the bat is too much," she said. "We are jumping in with both feet too deep."

However, Grobe's and Johnson's position is in the minority.

Board Trustee Ken Gibbon is a strong supporter of the proposal, along with the majority of the six-member board.

"I have had a lot of residents tell me they are excited we are doing this," he said. "They want us to do whatever it takes. They just want the mosquitoes to disappear."