***Monday, April 30, 2018, at 9:00 a.m., Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Dan Dinning, Commissioner LeAlan Pinkerton, Commissioner Walt Kirby, Clerk Glenda Poston, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.
County residents Marty Martinez, Terry Spence and Blue Sky Broadcasting News Reporter Mike Brown were in attendance of the meetings throughout the day.
Road and Bridge Department Superintendent Clint Kimball joined the meeting to give the departmental report. A written report was provided. Mr. Kimball said he has the graders out and is opening some of the roads now. Mr. Kimball explained a process a new homeowner has had to follow in order to have a water meter installed, a fence installed, etc.
The meeting with Mr. Kimball ended at 9:10 a.m.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Release of Liability for Dallas Bell for the removal of tires at the landfill. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to sign the Ground/Hangar Lease with Lindall Baker for Hangar C-7. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to sign Certificates of Residency for Daniel Walker, Samuel Gorton, Kyle Yercheck, Serenity Fahey, Yone Naranjo, and Isaac Wilson. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to cancel taxes for years 1990 through 1993 totaling $531.72, plus late fees and interest on the tax only, for parcel #RP65N01E352420A as Commissioners have decided to keep the parcel. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Dinning said Commissioners had received correspondence from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) requesting to re-establish stream gaging station #12318500 at the Kootenai River near Copeland on property owned by the county. Documentation provided by the USGS states the water level data on the Kootenai River from this location and others will provide critical information needed for continued study of the Kootenai River sturgeon habitat.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Limited Use Permit for Streamflow Measuring Station Structure for gage #12318500 on the Kootenai River near Copeland, Idaho. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the minutes of April 16 & 17, 2018. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners reviewed the final draft of the Public Defense Grant application for fiscal year 2019.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to sign the FY2019 Indigent Defense Grant Application in the amount of $25,000. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Dinning said he attended a seminar on the topic of public defense and Commissioners need to pay attention to when the work load study comes out in order to determine how much more public defense will cost the county. Currently Idaho counties spend $30,000,000 and the state spends $5,000,000 toward public defense, according to Chairman Dinning. Commissioners are urged to comment on the work load study so when the matter goes before the legislature, they will be informed of the costs to the counties. It was interpreted that this should be the state’s responsibility, according to Chairman Dinning.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to sign Contract No. HC985700 with Idaho Department of Health and Welfare for the study of the Culex mosquitos. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Dinning said Judge Julian brought in information on a taxing option for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. If the county is ever forced to upgrade the Courthouse and voters are against it, the Justice Department can force the issue. Bear Lake County went through this process and the cost to upgrade the Courthouse was $500,000,000 for a population of 800 residents. There is a judicial confirmation that if an improvement was requested, but the tax option was voted against, the only way to get it done is to go to court.
Those present discussed the need to have electronically signed the agreement with SiteLock last week as the county’s website had been infected and it is still not working as of yet.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to ratify Chairman Dinning electronically signing the agreement with SiteLock as it pertains to the security of the county’s website. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
9:48 a.m., Commissioners contacted County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull via telephone to discuss various matters Attorney Hull is working on such as an indigent matter and airport hangar/ground leases.
The call with Attorney Hull ended at 9:51 a.m.
Kennon McClintock with The Nature Conservancy joined the meeting.
Mr. McClintock updated Commissioners on a future proposed Forest Legacy Project and informed them he is not yet sure how last year’s application ranked for approval. Mr. McClintock said there are not enough acres in Boundary County and there is not enough material to run the mill in Moyie Springs. The Forest Legacy Program is so important because it does protect private lands. The Stimson and Leclede mills did get some cedar from Canada, but not a lot. Chairman Dinning asked the status of bringing in logs from Canada per an agreement. Mr. McClintock said logs can come across the border as the agreement pertains only to lumber so the soft wood agreement has no bearing on logs.
The meeting with Mr. McClintock ended at 10:11 a.m.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
10:23 a.m., Jonathan Luhnow and Eric Sjoquist with Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) joined the meeting to discuss considering entering into an agreement for snowmobile grooming a route that also crosses IDL lands.
Mr. Sjoquist presented Commissioners with a colored map showing the main and secondary snowmobile routes in relation to Stimson Lumber properties, IDL properties, etc. and he said there is some history to this matter for roads up beyond the snowmobile park. Mr. Sjoquist said some time ago he was approached about grooming the state’s endowment lands and IDL was waiting to get permission from Stimson Lumber Company for the groomers. IDL is proposing signing another permit for grooming with the county and Commissioners were presented with a draft agreement for review so not to contradict Stimson’s agreement. Mr. Sjoquist said IDL wants a longer agreement term and he wondered why Stimson’s agreement is only two years. It was said that IDL meets with Stimson representatives annually over their road cooperative agreement.
Mr. Sjoquist said Priest Lake has snowmobile grooming permits, but there are parking lots and warming huts so more services are offered. It was said that Commissioners have probably heard this before, but IDL needs to determine what is reasonable to fund their endowments. Mr. Sjoquist asked Commissioners if they wanted to set quarterly meetings to discuss timber sales, etc.
It was stated that it would be good for IDL to have routes aligned with John Finney and Stimson Lumber Company.
The meeting with Mr. Luhnow and Mr. Sjoquist ended at 10:42 a.m.
City of Bonners Ferry Prosecutor Andrakay Pluid and City Planner Lisa Ailport stopped by Commissioners’ Office. Chairman Dinning said Ms. Ailport had made a request for the city to use the gym in the armory as a meeting room to go over the transportation plan, but Commissioners were concerned about the traffic for felony probation. Attorney Pluid said Mr. Pell’s office is at the end of the gym. Commissioners had learned there would be no conflict with probation on the night the city wants to use the room so Commissioners said they didn’t have a problem allowing the use.
Attorney Pluid and Ms. Ailport left the meeting at 10:43 a.m.
11:00 a.m., Boundary Economic Development Director Dennis Weed and Road and Bridge Department Superintendent Clint Kimball joined the meeting.
Mr. Weed questioned if it’s possible to enter into an agreement for someone else to fund the paving of Tobe Way and Plato Drive, such as if someone else brings in a restaurant, etc., across from Yoder’s Market, would that business pay for half of the cost? Mr. Kimball said he has never seen that kind of agreement work out in the past and he listed the reasons why. Chairman Dinning said Commissioners entered into a similar agreement for Ridgewood Road and that property owner funded the entire paving project. This could be the same type of arrangement in which the property owner can fund the work, the road can belong to the county, but the property owner cannot put restrictions on an adjoining landowner. Chairman Dinning informed Mr. Weed that the property owner will need to contact Road and Bridge if this plan goes forward. The road would need to meet county road specifications and Mr. Kimball said he would want to know that this road has a good subbase. Mr. Kimball reminded those present that when he submitted the strategic project application for improvements to Tobe Way and Plato Drive, the application rated very high so he will resubmit the application again with the hope of knowing the results sometime in August. If the application is selected, the project then takes approximately two years to get started. No engineering would be needed for this project, according to Mr. Kimball. Mr. Kimball said he needs to find out more information about the grant and both business owners need to decide what they want to do about the road.
Commissioners and Mr. Kimball commented that they have no problem with paving as long as there is an agreement and the road is brought up to county specifications. Mr. Kimball mentioned that the county will continue with the application for the strategic initiative to Tobe Way. Mr. Weed said paving should be put on hold and to just apply calcium chloride for the summer.
Mr. Kimball left the meeting at 11:13 a.m.
Mr. Weed said he’s going to put in tax reimbursement incentives with the State Department of Commerce for two businesses. This program will reduce employer taxes for as long as up to 20 years. Chairman Dinning suggested Mr. Weed find out if this process requires a public hearing and resolution. Mr. Weed clarified that all he is doing at this point is stating that this reimbursement incentive may be happening and putting out the notice. Mr. Weed added that he has to put a public notice stake in the ground as part of the pre-application process.
Commissioners and Mr. Weed discussed the sewer feasibility study project. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has additional money and Mr. Weed said he is going to request more of these funds for the regional sewer feasibility study. At this point the county is to receive $25,000 from the GEM grant and $60,000 from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
Mr. Weed updated Commissioners and Clerk Poston on the Economic Development Committee (EDC) Program. Mr. Weed said the amount listed on this application will be the same, but it indicates it’s estimated as the county and cities have not yet gone through their budget cycles. Chairman Dinning said two years ago the funding was $10,000, last year it was $8,000. Mr. Weed said this year’s amount is still $8,000. Commissioners asked if the increase in the match amount equates to an increase in the amount the state pays. Mr. Weed said no, we have the maximum amount the state provides. Chairman Dinning asked if Mr. Weed had enough in his budget to cover what he needs to get accomplished. Mr. Weed said when he started in the Economic Development Director position, he mentioned that he would not use all of the position’s budget and that he would use some of his own funds at his own doing.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Rural Economic Development Professional Grant Match letter to the Idaho Department of Commerce for a match amount of approximately $8,000. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
The meeting with Mr. Weed ended at 11:21 a.m.
11:21 a.m., County Noxious Weed Department Superintendent Dave Wenk joined the meeting.
Mr. Wenk presented Commissioners with information on a program involving the use of goats to reduce weeds. Mr. Wenk proposed using the goats on airport property and he explained there would be 600 goats, herd dogs, and it would be a 24/7 operation. Once the goats get the weeds under control the normal course of spraying weeds in this area would occur. Commissioners were informed the goats won’t eat trees, except for soft bark such as cottonwoods. Mr. Wenk said he was told the goats would not put out a scent. Commissioners said if goats are put on the first property, there would be a smell, which could cause an issue for the county. Chairman Dinning said once the weeds are eaten down, Road and Bridge has a big piece of equipment that could be used to take the stumps out and level the ground. Mr. Wenk informed Commissioners that the company that has the goats had submitted a bid for the work and has provided insurance certificates and will provide anything that is required. Commissioners said they would do some checking of GIS information on the property involved.
Mr. Wenk said the company would like to know within the next three weeks if they have the job so they can work it into their schedule.
The meeting with Mr. Wenk ended.
Commissioners stated that they had placed a public notice in the newspaper seeking sealed bids for the two parcels that did not sell at the county’s tax deeded property auction in March. There are other surplus parcels Commissioners are considering to offer for sale, but they will handle these other properties in a separate process.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at noon.
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DAN R. DINNING, Chairman
ATTEST:
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GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy Clerk