WHY DID SCIOTO COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH DEMAND

$3 MILLION IN INSURANCE FOR MOSQUITO CONTROL PROGRAMS WHEN STATE LAW ONLY REQUIRES $600,000?

Does Board of Health employee Mike Trapp have a prior business or personal association with Ohio Pest Control?

By Doug Deepe

The Sentinel has been investigating mosquito control program contracts for "fogging mosquitos" in Scioto County Townships.

We have uncovered in our investigation that the Scioto County Board of Health issued recommendations to Scioto County Townships, guidelines that required private pest control companies be ordered to maintain $3 million dollars in insurance to "fog mosquitos" in the townships.

The Sentinel has information that there is only one company in Scioto County that has been able to obtain $3 million in insurance as set forth in the new guidelines by the Scioto County Board of Health. That company is Ohio Pest Control.

The Sentinel has information that the only reason Ohio Pest Control was able to obtain $3 million dollars in insurance is because of a contract that Ohio Pest Control has with the atomic energy plant.

Local insurance agencies have stated to the Sentinel that they would not authorize a policy for $3 million dollars when the State of Ohio guidelines only require $600,000 in insurance requirements.

The Ohio State Department of Agricultural Guidelines state guidelines are as follows:

"A license will not be issued without a Certificate of Insurance. Contact your insurance company to supply this certificate to the Pesticide Regulation Office

(Regulation 901:5-11-06).

General Liability Required: Bodily injury $100,000 each person/each occurence.

Property Damage: $20,000 each occurance/$100,000 aggregate or $300,000 combined single limit."

The guidelines sent to Scioto County Townships was created by Scioto County Board of Health employee Mike Trapp.

Sources close to our investigation have raised questions about a possible connection with Mike Trapp and Ohio Pest Control. Is Mike Trapp a personal friend of the owner of Ohio Pest Control? Did Mike Trapp work in some capacity for the owner of Ohio Pest Control before beginning work at the Scioto County Board of Health?

The Sentinel has in our possession a letter signed by Michael Trapp, R.S. (Registered Sanitarian, Director of Environmental Health), on District Board of Health stationery, dated January 3, 2003, introducing and recommending Rick Fraley of Ohio Pest Control to potential pest control clients.

The Sentinel has been informed that Mike Trapp did not provide any other local pest control company a reference and recommendation letter, as he did for Rick Fraley, owner of Ohio Pest Control.

Why would the Scioto County Board of Health employee Michael Trapp be providing reference letters for Ohio Pest Control, a company that submits bids to the Scioto County Commissioners and county townships for jobs?

This is one of the most flagrant cases of conflict of interest that the Sentinel has witnessed in the last few months.

Is Mike Trapp being allowed to get business deals for a buddy, while his boss, Dr. Gaspich is on the beach in Florida?

Who is in the Scioto County Board of Health to stop this improper activity? Nobody, because the Scioto County Board of Health is operated by a man that lives in Florida.

Local townships and the County Commissioners should be in an uproar that guidelines were established by Registered Sanitarian Director of Environmental Health Mike Trapp that eliminated all competition in the bid process for pest control.

How much money was wasted because of this unethical set of guidelines?

More on this issue later.

Was Mayor Bauer stupid enough to tell his city employees about the deal?

Dates prove this was a "done deal" before ordinance was passed by council.

by Doug Deepe, posted 12:30 p.m., Friday, September 25, 2003

The Sentinel is investigating the unbid contract awarded by Portsmouth Mayor Greg Bauer to Ohio Pest Control for bird eradication in the downtown Portsmouth area.

Portsmouth City Council ordinance #41-02 Section VII, number 1, authorized the Mayor of Portsmouth to seek bids for eradication services in an amount not to exceed $10,000.

The Sentinel has documentation that proves Ohio Pest Control sent an unsigned bid proposal to the attention of Mayor Greg Bauer dated 1/1/2002.

The bid proposal prepared by Ohio Pest Control was prepared on New Years Day!

Ordinance number 41-02 was not passed by City Council seeking bids for the bird eradication until after Ohio Pest Control had already provided Mayor Bauer with a proposal for the exact dollar amount found on the city ordinance.

The contract proposal states that "Ohio Pest Control Inc., proposes to perform a Starling control program for Downtown Portsmouth, baiting sites as determined by OPC and City of Portsmouth officials. Control program to include baiting period followed by bait/poison to obtain optimum effect of Starling Control. Ohio Pest Control will pick-up and dispose of birds after bait/poison is performed."

The OPC proposal shows the contract date runs from 1/1/2002 through 12/31/2002 for a contract price of $10,000.

On March 29, 2002, Ohio Pest Control billed Mayor Greg Bauer for the full contract price of $10,000.00 for "Bird Control for 2002."

On May 1, 2002, Mayor Greg Bauer sent City of Ohio Requisition/Purchase Order

number 30160 to Portsmouth City Auditor Trent Williams, authorizing full payment to Ohio Pest Control for the bird eradication project.

City Auditor Trent Williams issued City Voucher 040401 to Ohio Pest Control on May 16, 2002 in the amount of $10, 050.00. (The additional $50.00 was for pest control work in addition to the bird eradication work.)

AUDITOR TRENT WILLIAMS PAYMENT FOR THE "HOLIDAY" BIRD ERADICATION CONTRACT IS QUESTIONABLE

How could Mayor Bauer and City Auditor Trent Williams authorize payment in advance for work that had not been completed by Ohio Pest Control?

There is nothing attached to the city voucher that indicates what work Ohio Pest Control actually performed for the City of Portsmouth.

The contract proposal indicates that the $10,000 was to be paid for work that was to be performed from 1/1/2002 to 12/31/2002.

Current and former City of Portsmouth Employees have stated to the Sentinel that NASCAR tickets may have been provided to Mayor Greg Bauer as a reward for the bird eradication project in downtown Portsmouth.

Did the tickets come from someone at Ohio Pest Control or an intermediary?

Mayor Bauer and Wade Rick Fraley have some explaining to do about this project with taxpayers money.

Was this deal cooked up at some type of New Years Party? Surely the Mayor of Portsmouth was in a stupor when he agreed to this deal was he?

How many crooked deals can Mayor Bauer operate at one time?

Mayor Bauer, we told you that when Mike Blackburn was gone, the City employees would feel free to talk.