GILL — The mosquito control program provided through the state Department of Agricultural Resources will not cover Gill, as the Selectboard has opted out, citing concerns related to health and the environment.
An alternative plan, which the town is obligated to provide if it is to opt out of the state’s program, has not been finalized yet. The deadline to provide an alternate plan is May 28, which was extended from May 15.
The key issue for Gill is that the state’s program includes an option for aerial spraying of insecticides if certain viruses are found in local mosquito populations. Several other towns in the area have also objected to this element of the state’s program and have chosen to opt out, including Greenfield, Wendell, Erving and Montague.
Discussing the issue on Monday before voting to opt out, the Selectboard noted the chemicals would likely affect insects other than just mosquitoes, and might have unexpected consequences for animals that eat insects.
The major option the board considered as an alternative on Monday was joining the Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District, which provides services to towns for routine monitoring and testing of mosquitoes.
The fee to join the district is $5,000 a year. The price is the same regardless of the size of the town or city, which Selectboard Chair Randy Crochier said was notable in the case of a small town like Gill.
“I think $5,000 is a bigger share of our budget than of West Springfield’s budget,” Crochier said.
The other issue with joining the Pioneer Valley Mosquito Control District is whether doing so requires a vote from Annual Town Meeting, specifically. Selectboard members said the documents are unclear on whether the decision must come from the Annual Town Meeting, or if it could be from a Special Town Meeting at any point in the year.
If a Special Town Meeting vote is acceptable, it would give the town greater flexibility in deciding if and when it might start using the district.
“If there were an emergency coming our way, $5,000 would probably be pretty easy to get a two-thirds vote at a Special Town Meeting,” commented Selectboard member John Ward.
Reach Max Marcus at
mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.