The Indianola Board of Aldermen was quick to swat its mosquito control vendor this past Monday night.
That following a report of a positive test for West Nile Virus in one of the traps that had been set in the city by Vector. Mayor Ken Featherstone said during the meeting that Vector did not notify the board about the positive test.
Ward 1 Alderman Gary Fratesi took it a step further, stating that there were at least three cases of people who had contracted West Nile, but it went unreported, he claimed.
Fratesi said he received a call from a neighbor who said she was infected. He then said he called Vector to report it.
“I’m really disturbed by the lack of communication from that group,” Featherstone said. “This is very serious.”
He said he was unaware of the individuals who were affected, but he noted that the information would have been helpful ahead of a big weekend of events that included
Gentry’s Homecoming and Nola Arts Fest.
The city sent out a press release through The E-T to inform residents that West Nile was found in the area and provided instructions on methods that could help prevent infection.
“Had we known we could’ve prevented that one case that you speak of,” Featherstone continued.
Ward 4 Marvin Elder posed the question of terminating the contract with the company. Board Attorney Kimberly Merchant suggested that the board investigate other options before they decided to opt out.
No one from Vector was present at the meeting.
A motion was made to terminate the contract with Vector Disease Control. The board voted unanimously in favor of this. Ward 2 Darrell Simpson was not in attendance.
The board in turn, according to Featherstone after the meeting, voted to hire American Choice Chemical Company out of Vaiden to replace Vector.
New CPA Firm
The board also called a special call meeting on Tuesday and hired a CPA firm to begin work on the city’s back audits.
“The Indianola Board of Aldermen voted to hire the CPA firm of Tann, Brown and Russ Co., PLLC of Jackson,” Featherstone said in a release.. “Getting caught up on annual audits gives a strong indication of financial wellness and qualifies us to receive much-needed federal funding. We are on the right trajectory!”
