Levy would extend control

Flathead residents decide Tuesday whether to give the county the right to levy as much as two mills in taxes to control mosquitoes.

The tax request follows the county commissioners' creation last year of a countywide mosquito control district. That district replaced two small districts in the Evergreen and Somers/Lakeside areas.

Now voters have to decide whether to provide dollars for mosquito control in future years.

A full two-mill levy would add about $6 a year in taxes for each $100,000 of property tax valuation. Countywide, the extra tax could raise as much as $330,000 to control mosquitoes.

Health officer Joe Russell said the Mosquito Control Board requested two mills to allow for the worst scenario, such as an outbreak of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus among people in the Flathead.

"We have no intention of running the millage up that far," he said.

A voted levy gives the county the flexibility to use a portion or the entire two mills depending on mosquito control needs each season.

According to Russell, the treatment of ponds with larvicide this year will consume the $87,000 remaining from the former districts.

If the levy fails Tuesday, mosquito control work would cease unless county commissioners moved money from another source.

"I don't want to sound threatening," Russell said. "That's just the reality of what we have."

If voters approve the levy, the county would continue mosquito surveillance. The data collected would determine the lifecycle of the mosquito in Flathead County for use in an integrated mosquito management plan.

Russell considers surveillance a key element.

"You can do a better job of control - not just a shotgun approach," he said.

He explained that this voted levy would support such a program, allowing the board to spend what a particular season demands for mosquito control. It eliminates the "spend it or lose it" problem with other types of government appropriations.

Russell called it the most equitable way to levy.

While the majority of the board support the levy, one member- McGregor Rhodes - has campaigned against the ballot request.

He contends that Western Montana has just two weeks of "nuisance" mosquitoes. Rhodes said there is no evidence that West Nile virus poses a threat here.

He said that bats, raccoons and other wild animals carry rabies which also poses a threat to residents. In recent years, more than a few people had to undergo treatment for rabies after exposure to infected bats.

"I just don't think the government can try to respond to every situation that might come up," he said.

Rhodes, a former organic farmer, said he believes pesticides would pose more of a threat to people if a large-scale program were to be implemented here.

Although the mosquito board and county commissioners have no plans to use toxic chemicals or adult mosquito spraying, he said new members could take a different view in future years.

"Don't pay to be poisoned by our government," he wrote in a letter to the editor.

Rhodes also said that a targeted mosquito control program benefits only some areas while taxing everyone. He also said that county residents shouldn't approve a levy without a control plan.

"The board has not formally adopted a plan yet," he said.

He urges people to take personal responsibility by having screens on windows, using repellent, dressing appropriately at dawn and dusk and encouraging birds and bats which eat mosquitoes.

He also said the county owns traps to help control mosquitoes and has information about other steps residents may take.

Dr. Glen Aasheim, chairman of the Mosquito Control Board, disagreed that the county only experiences two weeks of nuisance mosquitoes.

"I'm not sure where he lives," he said. "But a large segment of the county is very much troubled by them."

Aasheim added that there are many mosquitoes inhabiting the river basin portions of the county.

He also disagreed with Rhodes' contention that West Nile virus poses no threat to the valley. Aasheim, a retired physician, said the virus is certainly in Montana.

Russell said the virus was verified in a horse in the Flathead Valley last fall. Unlike an earlier horse found with the virus, this animal had never traveled outside of this area.

"We have some level of West Nile virus in our county," he said.

Although not as virulent in humans as horses, the virus has proven fatal to a small percentage of the population of the United States, including the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.

Aasheim agreed with Russell.

"West Nile virus is a concern," he said. "To be proactive is our point."

In Montana, 26 people have tested positive for West Nile fever since 2002. Although none died, seven were hospitalized.

To cope with this threat or just to control mosquitoes, Aasheim said, the board needs the levy.

Aasheim agreed with Rhodes on the need to educate the public better about things they can do like eliminating standing water, using window screens as well as wearing protective clothing and repellents.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.