Mosquito Abatement Unit Tries to Brush Off Criticism

MOORPARK — Stung by criticism that their organization has outlived its usefulness, trustees of the Moorpark Mosquito Abatement District said Tuesday that residents still need protection from pests.

The district, which monitors and controls insect populations around Moorpark, has come under fire recently from critics who consider it an expensive anachronism, a holdover from a time decades ago when immense local chicken ranches accidentally bred swarms of flies and mosquitoes.

But trustees said Tuesday that semirural Moorpark--with its remaining chicken ranches, equestrian facilities and stagnant pools along the Arroyo Simi--still contains insect breeding grounds that need policing.

“We’re preventive maintenance,” Trustee Bill La Perch said.

La Perch runs a horse ranch along Walnut Canyon Road and said that if no one monitored local ranchers, some would allow manure to pile up on their property, breeding insects that could affect public health.

“Unpoliced, there would be those who would be happy to stockpile manure until it became a serious threat,” he said.

Critics, however, say the district’s work could be performed by the same county office that handles pest abatement in every other part of Ventura County. Supervisor Judy Mikels, who represents Moorpark, said Tuesday she wants to see the district shut down.

“Unless someone can prove to me in black and white that there’s a benefit from this district, which they haven’t done so far, then I believe it’s time for its demise,” she said.

The district was created in 1960. Its two full-time employees monitor pest breeding grounds in the area, maintain insect traps around Moorpark and visit local businesses, such as ranches, that could accidentally increase the local bug population.

Mikels pointed out that the small district has amassed $1.4 million in reserves, money, she said, that could be better spent elsewhere.

“When you have $1.4 million in reserve for 21 square miles, something needs immediate attention,” she said.

Trustees said the large reserve fund, culled from property taxes and interest on earlier reserves, shows the district’s sound financial management. And they said the money would be needed should Moorpark ever face a serious infestation problem.

“We would use up a great deal of it if we had an epidemic,” Trustee Dean Newman said. “We’d use it up fast.”

However, trustees said Tuesday that they would discuss at their next meeting the appropriate size of their reserve fund and ways to return any surplus to taxpayers. The trustees also voted Tuesday to seek the advice of an attorney on how best to respond to recent criticisms.

Mikels said she hopes to meet with trustees again soon.