Mosquitoes will continue to be kept under control in Sicamous this season.
BWP Consulting has done the mosquito control work for the last 14 years, said district operations manager Darrell Symbaluk. The contract expired this year so the district put out a call for bids and BWP Consulting was the only company that responded.
Symbaluk said BWP opened with a higher price than the district had budgeted for and, after negotiation, BWP will provide mosquito control services for an annual contract price of $121,110 plus GST.
BWP will monitor and treat 144 locations, Symbaluk said, adding that is a fluid number so the company can add any locations they find concerning to the list.
Coun. Bob Evans noted the 2022 season was worse than normal and Symbaluk confirmed the company faced staffing challenges last year that they expect to be resolved for this season.
When asked why councillors noticed helicopter use had gone down but the budget for costs from the company had gone up, Symbaluk said that was also labour-related, as labour coststo cover necessary hours in the field went up.
“They’re doing a great job,” said Coun. Gord Bushell. “I remember the one year we didn’t do mosquito control and it was pretty unbearable.”
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