MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICT HAS TURNED THE CORNER AFTER A DARK TWO YEARS.

        FROM AUGUST 2025 TO APRIL 2026 THERE WERE SOME CONTENTIOUS MOMENTS AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS “NO CANCEL 5 YEAR CONTRACT” EXPIRED. HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE SIGNIFICANT ACTIONS:

The Executive Directors 5 year contract from 2020 to 2025 was not renewed but that director was offered a revised contract which was “diligently hammered out over several months using both the district’s attorney of record and a prominent labor attorney. The upshot was that the director refused the new contract and the salary offered (but delayed her response until her complete severance kicked in.) The board members offered to extend the deadline by a month to continue negotiations but in the end it was to no avail.

One of the three commissioners who lobbied for the director opposed all actions and even filed an ethics complaint (with the state) against his own senior fellow board member. (That complaint was perfunctorily dismissed by the state). He failed to be present at meetings ( while in Austin, Texas) and the situation became untenable. Fortunately the remaining two commissioners kept both attornies  present at all meetings for that whole process. By April the director was gone after refusing to accept contract offered, as was the commissioner (who actually had moved to Texas in late December but failed to resign. His house had been listed for sale in April 2025 9 months before. His Texas house was listed in wife’s name.)

The remaining two commissioners working with attorneys and staff formed a three person professional search committee and after receiving over 40 applications narrowed the selection to 12 and then 3 candidates. This was accomplished without a paid search firm only using public notices.

By May the district had screened candidates, interviewed the top three and reached a 2 year contract agreement (more favorable than previous contract )with an extremely qualified scientist/manager for approximately what the previous director was earning (plus moving expenses). See irmosquito.com for details.

Fast forward to July 1 and the district is back on track to achieve the kind of performance that existed when Doug Carlson and John Biedler were directors. (More than 90 years elapsed since the district was founded without needing a contract until the 2019 board handed the newly appointed director the first contract (that was self written by this newly appointed director) in December 2019..

Most news reports over this last year have been inaccurate, poorly researched and contained many many false narratives from hearsay, not facts and not from actual meeting videos which were always and still are available. 

Now all these issues and conditions no longer matter because the new Executive Directer is educated, smart, qualified and actionable. Significant actions have already been taken and more will be coming.

Stay tuned and follow the districts web site.

 at https://www.irmosquito.com/

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