HEATH —
Though Heath is separated from Dallas by Lake Ray Hubbard, fear of the West Nile virus currently threatening Dallas County caused the council to act at the Aug. 21, Heath City Council meeting.
Chief Terry Garrett of the Heath Department of Public Safety brought Operation Dragonfly, a four part mosquito control initiative before the council. They decided unanimously to start the first two facets of the approach that include public education and testing to see if the virus is prevalent in Heath.
“What was important to me as a mayor was that we addressed the issue and made a wise decision on how to proceed,” Mayor Lorne Liechty said. “When you see the small number of cases in Rockwall County and the fact that most people in Heath go back and forth so it easily could be that they picked up the virus in Dallas and brought it back. So rather than just run out and start spraying, I think we made a prudent decision to see if we have a problem. Let’s educate the public and let’s deal with things that we as a city can do.”
The initial vector testing will utilize five to six traps around Heath and cost the city $1,800. Analysis of the traps will take 10-14 days before the city finds out if there is a West Nile problem in Heath.
“Not only are we doing the vector testing but we are going to go around the city parks and city hall areas that we control to make sure that we are not creating those hazards ourselves or allowing them to exist,” Liechty said.
As well as a CDC brochure detailing ways to prevent mosquito bites and habitats being mailed with the next newsletter, the city is also looking at its own properties and a potential program to get residents to remove old tires from their properties because they are prime habitats for mosquitos.
If testing reveals a threat, steps three and four of Operation Dragonfly are larvacide and a ground-based spray program. The B.T.I. briquettes that kill mosquito larvae in pools of stagnant water cost $101.98 per box of 100 while the spray program could cost the city $9750. The spraying would be three applications over 12 days to work on more of the mosquito population.
The council also approved a resolution recommending two road projects to the Rockwall County Planning Consortium.
“The way that consortium works is that we have been really successful as a county getting TxDot funds over other counties because we work together,” council member Barry Brooks said. “A lot of other counties you have cities individually going to TxDot saying ‘Hey we need 550 fixed’ and then you have Rockwall saying ‘We need Horizon fixed’ and all the other cities, so as a county the consortium was put together so that we could come together and say as a county here is what we want TxDot, and we have been very successful in getting a lot of funding. It is one reason 740 will be finished here in November, its why the 740 south part is going to be under construction soon because we are asking as a whole and we have a consultant who works for the county.”
The two projects recommended by staff were FM 550 from FM 549 to the east city limit and FM 740 from 1140 south to the county line.
The council also took a step forward on the Safe Routes to School program by authorizing the city manager to execute a professional agreement with Freese and Nichols, Inc. to survey, design, and provide environmental services for the four-part project.
“This is something that we need to focus on as a council over the next eight months so when we get there we even know we are ready to spend the money and have it lined up or we just have to cut back on it,” Liechty said.
The city received the grant in April of 2011 in the total of $1,271,506. The total projected cost for all four parts could cost $2,203,892.
Improved reception for residents using Verizon Wireless in Heath was also approved by the council in an amendment to the city’s current agreement with Verizon for antennas on Heath water tower. The city will receive an additional $9,000 per year for three new antennas, adding $39,120 total to the city’s general fund from the joint venture.
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