Mosquito District takes six-figure hit

SEAN KINNEY

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Weeks after adopting a 2014-15 budget, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District took a six-figure revenue hit with its loss of a contract for spraying service held since 1968.

Naval Air Station Key West, with bases at Boca Chica, Trumbo Point, Truman Annex and attendant military housing including at Sigsbee Park, has received mosquito control service from an Arkansas-based company since Oct. 1.

Navy officials picked Vector Disease Control International over the local service following a competitive bidding process.

The out-of-town company’s bid was $265,000 less than the Mosquito Control District’s $615,000 projected price tag.

“It definitely stings,” District 5 Mosquito Control District Commissioner Jack Bridges told Konk Life of the contract loss.

“One thing I think we probably did wrong,” he said, “is we did not take into account a lot of environmental work the Navy has done.”

Specifically, the Navy spent a decade and about $50 million in wetland restoration around Boca Chica Field in the Lower Keys.

He said the district based their bid on old data that incorrectly counted acreage that would need to be sprayed for mosquitoes.

On the upside, he said, “Our staff has gotten this down to where it’s revenue neutral.” Providing less service means less pesticides will be purchased, an open staff position won’t be filled and other costs would go down to reflect the decrease in coverage.

In September, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Board adopted a $12 million 2014-15 budget supported by a tax rate of 48 cents per 1,000 of assessed home value.

That means the owner of a home worth $300,000 would pay a mosquito control tax bill of $144.

And based on the overall budget, the loss of the Navy contract is equivalent to a loss of 6 percent of all revenue.

“But that still doesn’t mean we get a 6 percent break on helicopter insurance or anything like that,” Bridges said.

Losing the contract “might make us more competitive,” he said.

Bridges also pointed out there’s no distinction between Navy and non-Navy mosquitoes. “They can fly through fences.”

Any inconsistencies on the part of Vector, he said, “could potentially create a problem for Key West residents living near Navy bases.”

On Tuesday an attorney for the district filed an appeal of the Navy’s decision with the Government Accountability Office “to protect our rights,” Bridges said, but the board is not going to pursue the appeal.

The district earlier this year purchased an $800,000 piece of property on Big Coppitt Key and plans to construct a $2.5 million building beginning in early 2015.

The new space will replace the district’s headquarters off College Road on Stock Island; that building is owned by the city of Key West and used by the district through a long-term lease agreement.

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