Twin Lakes mulls mosquito spraying

By Jason Arndt
Editor

When Western Kenosha County sustained major flooding last summer, area municipalities saw the mosquito population explode, including the Village of Twin Lakes.

With the increased population, Twin Lakes received a series of complaints, which led the Village Board to mull whether to reinstate the mosquito abatement program.

Village Administrator Jennifer Frederick said the program was discontinued in 2016.

“We have had a pack of residents come in saying they were against it, so we discontinued it after awhile,” she told the board.

With the new complaints, the board asked public works foreman Randy Kaskin to explore options, like bringing back pellets.

Kaskin, however, said the pellets have been ineffective in the past.

“We tried the pellets before and I just don’t think they work well,” he said.

Additionally, in the past, Twin Lakes shared the same spraying equipment as the villages of Paddock Lake and Bristol.

Rene Ratchek, a resident opposed to the spraying, believes the chemical affects more than mosquitoes.

“It kills bees and it also goes into the lake,” she said. “Nobody knows what is coming out of that (sprayer).”

Kaskin, who showed the board a list of residents who did not want spraying near their property, did state the abatement program could reduce nuisances in advance of community events, like Libertyfest.

Frederick said the options include spraying select areas as needed, instead of on a set schedule, switching to pellets or not moving forward with the program.

Trustee Thomas Connolly requested further review, including a chemical assessment.

Police sees restructuring
In other business, as discussed at the April 2 Committee of the Whole meeting, the board approved eliminating the Lieutenant position in favor of creating two Sergeant positions.

The decision comes after the department operated with a Lieutenant who stepped down last fall.

The two positions, which the department will look for internally, could save the village about $3,000 annually.


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