TANGIPAHOA MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISTRICT #1
MINUTES, PUBLIC MEETING, MAY 13, 2026
The public meeting of the Board of Commissioners, of the Tangipahoa Mosquito Abatement District #1, was held on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at the District Office, 15483 Club Deluxe Road, Hammond, LA.
Erin Horzelski, Chairwoman, called the meeting to order.
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll call was as follows:
Charlie Ciolino – present Craig Inman – present
Greg Fletcher – present Amy Newsham - present
James Harper – absent May Stilley - absent
Erin Horzelski - present
Also Present: Douglas Curet, Colby Colona, and Cheri Vining
Approval of Minutes
Ms. Newsham made a motion to approve the March 11, 2026, meeting minutes. Mr. Ciolino seconded the motion. Motion passes – all yeas, no nays; Mr. Harper and Ms. Stilley absent.
Old Business
None
New Business
Review financial statement
Ms. Colona reviewed the financial report through April 2026.
Mr. Fletcher made a motion to accept the financial statement into record. Mr. Inman seconded the motion. Motion passes – all yeas, no nays; Mr. Harper and Ms. Stilley absent.
Adopt Official Journal
Ms. Colona reviewed the bids for the official journal. Ms. Colona recommended The Tangi Times as the official journal because they have the largest circulation in Tangipahoa Parish, they publish three times a week, and they are locally owned and operated.
Mr. Ciolino made a motion to accept the Director’s recommendation for The Tangi Times to serve as the district’s official journal. Mr. Fletcher seconded the motion. Motion passes – all yeas, no nays; Mr. Harper and Ms. Stilley absent.
Adopt the millage rate for tax year 2026
Ms. Vining read the Resolution aloud to set the millage for the 2026 tax year at 4.98 mills.
Mr. Fletcher made a motion to adopt the resolution as read and set the millage for the 2026 tax year at 4.98 mills. Mr. Inman seconded the motion. Roll call vote as follows: Mr. Ciolino – yea, Mr. Fletcher – yea, Mr. Horzelski – yea, Mr. Inman – yea, Ms. Newsham - yea, Mr. Harper and Ms. Stilley absent. Motion passes.
Director’s update
Ms. Colona provided her update.
So far, we have submitted about 600 mosquito pool samples for testing. To date, there have been no positive mosquito pools for West Nile Virus.
Trap counts have been high in both CDC and gravid traps. Aerial spraying has been planned.
Drone applications were performed in March and will be performed next week, which includes cemeteries, large fields with ruts and puddles, etc. Over 5,500 storm drains have been treated throughout the district.
With the Board of Commissioners’ approval Ms. Colona has contacted the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Center in Hammond to discuss providing an educational display area regarding mosquitoes and mosquito control. Discussion and planning are in the infancy stages, so she will gather additional information to report back to the Board at our next meeting.
After twenty-two years of service, our senior inspector will be retiring at the end of this month. We are currently interviewing applicants for this position.
Our GIS/IT specialist attended a GIS workshop in Lafayette last month.
Our Public Relations and Outreach Specialist is currently in Washington D.C. along with other American Mosquito Control Association members to meet with congressional representatives and their staff to explain the importance of mosquito control and discuss any current legislation issues regarding mosquito control.
Ms. Colona and two other employees attending the annual American Mosquito Control Association Meeting in March.
Virologist Dr. Karl Klose, who was a guest speaker at SLU, along with a few grad students from the Biology Grad Student Organization came by to tour our District office and lab.
Our annual audit will be conducted in the last two weeks of May.
We will again be advertising to wear repellent and dump out water containers on America First ads that can be seen at local restaurants next month and then again during peak West Nile season which is July/August.
Authorize sharing of mosquito project results with Southeastern Louisiana University
The District’s entomologist, Jourdan McGaughey, is attending grad school in the SLU Biological Sciences program. As part of her graduate school final project, she will be conducting a survey led by our Director, Colby Colona. The survey will be conducted using the District’s data and resources for the project. Ms. Colona requested the approval of the Board to share the data with SLU and allow the District’s entomologist to use it as part of her graduate school project.
Ms. Newsham made a motion to authorize sharing the data with SLU and allow the District’s entomologist to use it as part of her graduate school project. Mr. Inman seconded the motion. Motion passes – all yeas, no nays; Mr. Harper and Ms. Stilley absent.
Authorize card limit increase for the Director’s District credit card with First Guaranty Bank
Ms. Colona’s current District credit card limit is $5000, which is the amount authorized when she was Assistant Director. The previous Director’s card limit was $20,000. When Ms. Colona became Director, the previous Director’s card was cancelled, but Ms. Colona’s card limit was never increased. Ms. Newsham made a motion to authorize the credit limit to be increased to $20,000 for Ms. Colona’s District credit card. Mr. Ciolino seconded the motion. Roll call vote as follows: Mr. Ciolino – yea, Mr. Fletcher – yea, Ms. Horzelski – yea, Mr. Inman – yea, Ms. Newsham - yea, Mr. Harper and Ms. Stilley absent. Motion passes.
Adopt Director’s Performance Appraisal
Ms. Horzelski called the meeting into executive session. Ms. Colona and Ms. Vining left the room. Ms. Horzelski reviewed Ms. Colona’s performance appraisal with the Board during executive session. The meeting came out of executive session and Ms. Colona and Ms. Vining were asked to return to the meeting.
Mr. Fletcher made a motion to adopt the evaluation as presented. Mr. Inman seconded the motion. Roll call vote as follows: Mr. Ciolino – yea, Mr. Fletcher – yea, Ms. Horzelski – yea, Mr. Inman – yea, Ms. Newsham - yea, Mr. Harper and Ms. Stilley absent. Motion passes.
2026 Ethics and Harassment Prevention Training Reminder
Currently we have not received either certificate for the following members: Ciolino, Fletcher, Harper, Inman, and Wolfe. Only need harassment certificate from Edwards.
Ms. Horzelski adjourned the meeting.
ATTEST:
/s/Erin Horzelski, Chairwoman
/s/Craig Inman, Secretary
/s/Cheri Vining, Recording Secretary
Tangipahoa Mosquito Abatement District #1
Cost of notice: $ 108.68