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Session 1891 <br />July 7, 2003 <br /> <br />significant presence of West Nile then it is alright to spray. Mayor Adams asked the <br />proponents of the resolution to define "significant presence" because he does not know <br />what this means. He said that there was a report this evening that said that the affect of <br />West Nile in humans is greater than what they originally projected. He does not know <br />the answer nor does he understand the science behind this issue. He must rely on <br />experts that do. He thinks it is wrong to say that we will not spray no matter what the <br />threat is. He thinks we should spray at the Concerts in the Park for the comfort of <br />people who go out there. Maybe signs should be posted noting that spraying does <br />occur. He is sensitive to mosquito bites and feels that spraying is important. <br /> <br />Ms. Welsch reiterated that this resolution does not totally ban mosquito spraying. It says <br />we will not contract for mosquito spraying. We accept the fact that the County has the <br />authority to come in and spray and Mr. Ollendorff has talked to the County about what <br />their threshold parameters would be. This resolution does allow the County to spray <br />and for pinpoint spraying in Heman Park when needed, which Mr. Ollendorff has also <br />discussed with County Vector Control. Finally, she knows the concern with someone <br />getting ill with West Nile Virus if we don't spray, but her point is that no one has <br />connected spraying to the lack of West Nile Virus. In cities around the country where <br />the spraying is heaviest, that is where you have the most cases of West Nile virus. <br />Dallas, Texas is the perfect example of this as compared to Ft. Worth, Texas which <br />does not spray. <br /> <br />Mr. Munkel said that this resolution, as he understands it, does not undermine the <br />County's authority. It makes no sense to have a surveillance program in the County <br />with a large mosquito trap in Heman Park, if we are not going to spray. This resolution <br />says that we are not going to voluntarily spray, but we will not usurp the County's <br />authority in this matter. Spraying does not guarantee that a University City citizen will <br />not contract West Nile Virus. He wants to see the County do more larvaciding and if at <br />some point, the County feels that they need to spray, they will. He would support the <br />County's decision to do this. <br /> <br />Mr. Wagner said that the CDC recommends several steps to take when attempting to <br />control mosquitoes, from important to the least important, which are: larvaciding which <br />has the least side effects, public education against standing water, wear sensible <br />clothing. The last thing on their list is to try and catch a mosquito to spray it. Spraying <br />from the street does not get to the mosquitoes that are in the back yard. It isn't <br />effective. Research shows that spraying kills many predators of mosquitoes. Research <br />also shows that mosquito spraying, in the long term, is counter productive for the <br />number of mosquitoes present. <br /> <br />Ms. Colquitt believes that we are doing a great disservice to the Council's constituents <br />by not contracting the County to come out and spray for mosquitoes. She said that we <br />have several people that live in the City with challenged immune systems and she feels <br /> <br />Page 8 <br /> <br /> <br />