City goes on offensive against mosquitoes
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, June 10, 2003
In the interest of backyard barbeques and overall comfort, the city of Albert Lea will be spraying to kill mosquitoes once again this year, the city council decided Monday.
&uot;When we did the budget there was no money set aside for spraying,&uot; City Manager Paul Sparks said. &uot;I think that when we did the budget (in the fall) mosquito spraying was put on the back burner because they weren’t around. In June it goes to the front burner.&uot;
The city decided it would spend an estimated $35,000 to have a Blue Earth company to spray several times throughout the summer.
Sparks said the spraying kills from 1 to 40 percent of the mosquito population. But a large factor will be the amount of rain this summer. A drier summer will mean there are fewer places for mosquitoes to hatch.
Councilor Randy Erdman urged residents to take precautions against mosquitoes on their own properties by emptying out water-filled tires, cutting weeds down and emptying bird baths.
Not all thought the mosquito spraying was money well spent.
&uot;It’s almost like it’s cosmetic,&uot; Councilor Jeff Fjelstad said.
While there was some discussion to that effect, the council passed the resolution to pay for spraying unanimously.
Other notes:
-A new no-parking rule will go into effect on Fountain Street between Broadway and Vine avenues and between Fountain Street and Mariner’s Lane on Park Avenue.
Erdman entered the motion to create the rule. It will be in effect Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Residents from Fountain Street applauded the new ordinance, saying it would increase safety and help to cut back on the number of cars parked on the edges of their driveways. Parking is congested in the area because of the nearby Albert Lea Medical Center.
-New roofing will be put on four buildings at the wastewater treatment plant over the next year. The estimated cost is $120,000.
-Marshall Street will have its sewer system replaced this summer. The low bidder for the project was Sorensen Brothers Inc. at $86,304.45. The project is expected to get underway this August.
-Councilor Warren Amundson was appointed to the Blazing Star Trail joint powers committee and Mayor Jean Eaton was appointed to the Freeborn County Family Services Collaborative.
-The area near the Pelican Breeze will be cleaned up this summer, thanks to a motion by Council George Marin that the council passed. The area, which now houses drying beds, gravel, fill and dirt, will be cleaned up and seeded as a grass field.
&uot;This was one of the areas discussed at the council retreat as an eyesore,&uot; Eaton said.
The area will still be used for the placement of plowed snow during the winter.