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Bannock County public works reports increased mosquito control, chip-seal progress and discusses trail paving options
Summary
Public works and mosquito abatement officials told the commissioners they have treated thousands of acres with drones and truck fogging, described late-season challenges, and briefed the board on road chip-seal, weed spraying and options for trail sealing and paving.
Kyle Burmister, Bannock County Public Works, and Dana Evans, Bannock County Mosquito Abatement, gave the board an operations update covering mosquito control, road work and maintenance equipment.
Evans said mosquito crews have treated about 235 acres so far; roughly 75% of that acreage was treated using a drone. Nighttime fogging covered about 15,862 acres, Evans told the board, and she showed county officials mosquito larvae samples collected near Highland Golf Course in Pocatello. Evans said crews found large numbers of larvae in small standing-water pockets fed by golf-course runoff; she described using larvicides (named in the meeting transcript) and nocturnal fogging around affected areas.
Evans said the program had a late start because of cold weather but is now "in full swing" and that county staff are receiving calls from residential and outlying areas. Commissioners discussed issuing a public-information reminder asking residents to remove stagnant water from yards, bird baths and other containers to reduce mosquito habitat.
On equipment and road maintenance, Burmister reported weed spraying is mostly complete on main roads and crews have started broadleaf spraying and chip seals. He said the county’s new chipper is performing well and that recent work included large stretches around Ski Hill, Pink Creek, Indian Creek, Rio Vista and Filbon. He noted a distributor truck required an overnight part but crews expect to resume full production.
Board members and staff discussed whether the county should rent or buy a trail paver (an "8-footer") for upcoming trail and parking-lot sealing around the Wellness Complex and arena. Burmister recommended renting for short-term needs, noting the county’s distributor truck can widen or narrow spray bars and can use a wand for tight areas; he said sealing parking lots without lots of curbing or tight turns could be feasible with county equipment and some extra labor.
Commissioners also asked whether the mosquito program follows Federal Aviation Administration rules and whether the county has policies for drone operations; staff said they follow FAA rules and will coordinate with the sheriff’s office to align local policies. Burmister noted cost-share paperwork for weed spraying had been slow to arrive and that the timing late in the season reduces the usefulness of some cost-share programs.
The presentation was informational; no formal board vote was recorded on the operational items reported.
