***Monday, July 13, 2020, at 9:00 a.m., Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Dan Dinning, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Walt Kirby, Clerk Glenda Poston, and Deputy Clerk
Michelle Rohrwasser.
Commissioners gave the opening invocation and said the Pledge of Allegiance.
9:00 a.m., Road and Bridge Department Co-Superintendents Renee Nelson and Randy Morris joined the meeting to give the department report. County Mapper Olivia Drake and Dayton Skrivseth also joined the meeting. Mr. Morris submitted a written Road and Bridge Department report.
Ms. Nelson spoke of computer issues Road and Bridge is experiencing when determining a new road or address. Ms. Nelson discussed the server backup process and issues experienced in losing data. Ms. Drake said the information backed up should be stacked as opposed to just the current day’s data being backed up. Ms. Nelson discussed hoping to be able to know when and who to call when something happens. Ms. Nelson said she understands that Computer Arts is under contract for the Courthouse and that Road and Bridge needs to work within that. Ms. Drake explained that her computer is down and Trevor Kempton, the Addressing Coordinator, has information that is now corrupt. Commissioner Kirby said it’s time to take a look at this. Chairman Dinning questioned what has changed as the system used to work fine and Ms. Drake spoke of multiple power outages being an issue. Commissioners continued the discussion on this matter to tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.
Ms. Drake left the meeting at 9:17 a.m.
Ms. Nelson informed Commissioners of a matter involving a parcel division for Mr. Skrivseth. Mr. Skrivseth had brought in a preliminary parcel division on Roosevelt Road that he’s been working on with Planning and Zoning Administrator John Moss and JRS Surveying. According to Boundary County Road Standards, this division is too close to existing approaches. A question was raised as to how the county was going to address Mr. Skrivseth in planning for the approach. It was said that this is a short plat so Commissioners won’t need to address it in a hearing at a future date. Commissioners reviewed the map with Ms. Nelson and Mr. Skrivseth. This road is a major collector so 300 feet is needed. Mr. Skrivseth said it’s 60 feet for the proposed easement. Mr. Skrivseth said the reason he wants the division in this location is to protect the neighbor next to them so no one can build as it’s right there on the line. The other approaches are less than 300 feet, but they were already in existence, according to Ms. Nelson. Chairman Dinning said it was felt that 300 feet between approaches on a 25 mile per hour road was too much of a restriction and Commissioners have talked about that issue before. Chairman Dinning questioned what the downside is to the division and approaches on a 35 mile per hour road. Ms. Nelson spoke of visibility for turning out of the driveway as not everyone drives the speed limit. Mr. Skrivseth said the easement for utilities will still be in there, but he doesn’t think there is any concern over that. The main thing that would change is rerouting the road from the residence at house number 1014.
Mr. Skrivseth left the meeting at 9:31 a.m.
Ms. Nelson asked if Commissioners have any new information pertaining to Muley Drive and Nuthatch Lane. Chairman Dinning said he thought that matter might be in JRS Surveying’s court in that they will provide information where the road names within a subdivision have changed.
County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull is supposed to be working on a letter for the Riverside Road Improvement Project.
9:34 a.m. Commissioners contacted County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull via telephone.
Commissioners asked Attorney Hull about matters pertaining to the Road Standards Ordinance in relation to a request for a variance. Commissioners asked if they would need to hold a hearing to consider any type of change and if Commissioners have the ability to address a variance to a road approach. Attorney Hull said he doesn’t think so as the variance language is not currently in the Road Standards Ordinance. Attorney Hull commented that he will get that information to Ms. Nelson for her review by the end of Wednesday prior to Commissioners’ addressing it. As it pertains to the road name changes within the Mountain View Heights Subdivision 3rd Addition, the surveyor has said that road name changes within subdivisions occurs often and Attorney Hull was to receive information on how that was rectified. Chairman Dinning questioned if there is the ability for the Road Naming Committee to have a hearing to address a change.
Attorney Hull said he would have the claim letter for the Riverside Road Improvement Project to Ms. Nelson on Thursday.
Chairman Dinning informed Attorney Hull that the county is submitting the grant applications for the CARES Act broadband improvements this week and once they get final documents, does Attorney Hull want to see them. Attorney Hull said yes, to see that there is compliance. Attorney Hull listed the process as to how he understands it. Chairman Dinning explained that Fat Beam is more of a corporate provider and that EL Internet and Intermax were residential providers and he explained the process to take. The vendors were ranked by project area and each area had a proposal. Attorney Hull said he will have to take a look at that as to whether or not it’s piecing out projects or if it’s under the same umbrella.
The call to Attorney Hull ended at 9:48 a.m.
Mr. Morris, Ms. Nelson, Commissioners and Clerk Poston reviewed budget information for Road and Bridge to include proposed budget information for fiscal year 2021, such as Secure Rural Schools funding, budget for a truck, revenue, cash, project matches, staffing, etc. Clerk Poston said if Road and Bridge looked at budgeting for a vehicle with the five year term of $44,000.00 annually, they should also work on a proposed budget for fiscal year 2021-2022 to see how that flows. If we’re $1,000,000.00 short in year 2021-2022, we need to be proactive now. The Riverside Road Improvement Project will start in year 2021, but that is in-kind work, according to Ms. Nelson.
Mr. Morris informed Commissioners the Ruby Creek project started today. Chairman Dinning asked about maintenance and how far behind we might be.
The meeting with Mr. Morris and Ms. Nelson ended at 10:03 a.m.
10:04 a.m., Assessor Dave Ryals joined the meeting.
10:05 a.m., Commissioner Cossairt moved to recess as the Boundary County Board of Commissioners and to convene as the Board of Equalization. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Present were: Chairman Dan Dinning, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Walt Kirby, Clerk Glenda Poston, Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser, and Assessor Dave Ryals. The Board of Equalization minutes were recorded.
Assessor Ryals provide Commissioners with a list of various values for parcels that need adjusted and this action needs Commissioners review and approval.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to approve and make the adjustments to value on various parcels, which were presented as follows: reduce value on parcel #RP65N01W357200A from $79,720 to $68,320; reduce value on parcel RP62N2E250610A from $47,020 to $28,930; reduce value on parcel RP62N02E249460A from $30,240 to $7,230; reduce value on parcel RP008250000180A from $303,690 to $286,015; reduce value on parcel RP008250000170A from $30,180 to $14,213; reduce value on parcel RP008250000190A from $38,500 to $17,262; reduce value on parcel RP61N01E041101A from $223,980 to $193,020; and reduce value on parcel RP62N02E244211A from $161,660 to $96,310. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
10:06 a.m., Commissioner Cossairt moved to adjourn as the Board of Equalization and to reconvene as the Boundary County Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Assessor Ryals said he wanted to thank the public for their understanding of this situation. There were a few appeals, but the county worked well with them. This is a great community, according to Assessor Ryals.
10:08 a.m., Assessor Ryals left the meeting.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to approve minutes for the weeks of June 1, 2020 and June 8, 2020. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign Certificates of Residency for Kirsten Steinhart and Leilani Ram. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners briefly reviewed quotes for a furnace for the armory. The quote from Cool It for a REEM brand furnace with 95% efficiency, 100,000 BTUs and installation totaled $3,775.00. The quote from Trademark Mechanical for a Carrier brand furnace with 96.7% efficiency, 100,000 BTUs and installation totaled $4,845.00. Clerk Poston asked if Pend Oreille Mechanical submitted a quote and she mentioned that Commissioners may want to talk to Denny Wedel about his thoughts on this as BF Builders is doing the remodel project at the armory. Commissioners continued their discussion on the furnace to tomorrow at 1:50 p.m., and Commissioner Cossairt will reach out to Mr. Wedel.
Chairman Dinning informed Commissioners that he had asked Assessor Ryals to determine taxes for the parcel formerly leased by Mike and Trevelynn Sheppard for the Porthill Mercantile. The prior lease was $100.00 per year and according to the current tax value, the lease price would now be $211.00 and the new owner of the business had questioned that figure. Chairman Dinning said the road dissects this leased area and for half of that piece of land the lease would total approximately $100.00 so would Commissioners want to consider reducing the lease for the entire area. Commissioners agreed upon an annual lease price of $150.00.
Commissioner Kirby moved to set the Porthill property lease at $150.00 per year for a one year period. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the online grant agreement for Airport Improvement Project #65S-NMG-3-16-0004-018-2020. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the Ground/Hangar Lease with Jim & Brenda Woodward for Hangar C-4. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to terminate the Hangar/Ground Lease with Richard Peterson for Hangar C-4. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Kirby moved to appoint Panhandle Area Council (PAC) as the grant administrator for Idaho CARES Act Broadband Grant. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
11:00 a.m., Restorium Administrator Karlene Magee joined the meeting to give the department report. The Restorium resident count is down to 32. Ms. Magee reviewed statistics to include staff hours, billed amounts, Medicaid resident percentages, Medicaid averages, room and board received, amounts receivable over 30 days, expenses including and excluding payroll, food per person per day costs. Chairman Dinning asked how comfortable Ms. Magee is in taking new residents. Ms. Magee spoke of putting a plan in place and she almost has it finalized. The plan includes having a room set aside in order to isolate a new resident and to conduct COVID-19 tests upon admission and then again two weeks later. Chairman Dinning wondered if the state had suggested conducting a test at one week as well as the county does want to comply with these recommendations so we know we have done everything we can do and do what is recommended. Ms. Magee questioned who will pay for staff testing and how she can receive the results. Chairman Dinning suggested Ms. Magee obtain a consent form from her staff. Ms. Magee spoke of standing orders to test and she added that she would need a standing order from the staff member’s doctor to be able to have the employee tested when needed. Chairman Dinning questioned if Panhandle Health District would conduct the test. Ms. Magee said if there was a case of COVID-19, yes, and the plan is to test all employees if that occurs. It’s best to have a standing order for the residents and she does have some signed forms that have been returned. Ms. Magee said she needs to have a plan for when a staff member refuses to have a test done. Commissioners said some form of action would need to be taken in that case. Commissioner Cossairt said under the current situation, it should be a condition of employment. Commissioners suggested that in this case the employee be sent home until a test is taken with a negative result. Ms. Magee informed Commissioners that she contacted Solid Waste Department Superintendent Claine Skeen about how to bag up garbage for the safety of landfill employees so she’s just waiting for his return call.
Ms. Magee said she’s thinking of an 8% room rate increase for new residents and a 3.5% room rate increase for existing residents. Ms. Magee commented that the new rule is that before a new resident can be admitted the facility has to be virus free and when admitting a new resident it’s best to only accept one new resident every two weeks to allow for the isolation period.
Those present discussed budget matters for the Restorium and they questioned being able to recapture lost revenue due to COVID-19. If employee hours keep increasing, we need to charge more to make up for those costs. Chairman Dinning said his thinking is an 8% room rate increase for new residents and a 4.9% room rate increase for existing residences. Commissioner Kirby agreed. Clerk Poston said other facilities most likely have also increased their rates so it may be informative to see what their rates are. Chairman Dinning said the Restorium has to operate and it’s $12,000.00 that the county taxpayers are subsidizing for each resident. Clerk Poston encouraged expediting the plan related to COVID-19 precautions so the Restorium can start accepting new residents. Those present discussed the budget for overtime. Ms. Magee said the Restorium has eight half rooms available right now and the one private room with a private bath is going to be used for the isolation of new residents. Chairman Dinning said to go ahead and accept the first resident and let the second potential resident know of the plan for their admittance in the near future. Commissioners discussed having a hard time with increasing the rates. Commissioner Kirby spoke of the need to keep up with inflation, etc., and how the homeowners are picking up the difference and it’s just tough. Commissioner Cossairt agreed that an increase is needed.
Ms. Magee left the meeting at 11:43 a.m.
Commissioners and Clerk Poston briefly discussed the letter of intent pertaining to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding for public safety and public health personnel and the Coronavirus Finance Advisory Committee (CFAC).
Commissioner Cossairt moved to authorize the Chairman to sign a letter of intent regarding Governor Brad Little’s proposed CFAC property tax relief program totaling $3,084,200.00. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to approve the minutes for the week of June 15, 2020. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners reviewed claims for payment. Fund totals are as follows:
Current Expense $ 149,622.80
Road & Bridge 63,182.63
Airport 3,317.55
District Court 3,840.44
Justice Fund 29,615.50
911 Funds 4,108.60
Indigent & Charity 12,096.57
Junior College Tuition 500.00
Parks and Recreation 3,757.71
Revaluation 561.98
Solid Waste 13,956.87
Tort 116,922.71
Veterans Memorial 544.47
Weeds 5,571.58
Restorium 14,127.10
Snowmobile 26.94
Waterways 838.76
Grant, Airport 50,945.70
Grant, Selkirk Coop Weed Mgmt 1,432.50
Grant, Boat Safety 218.90
Grant, Fire Mitigation 1,285.68
TOTAL $476,474.99
Trusts
Auditor’s Trust 3,359.83
Boundary Co. Drug Court Trust 130.96
Driver’s License Trust 9,771.50
Motor Vehicle Trust 221,443.33
Sheriff’s Trust Fund 303.50
Odyssey Court Trust Account 24,508.49
Odyssey Bond Trust Account 300.00
Odyssey Restitution Trust Acct 2,320.15
TOTAL $262,137.76
GRAND TOTAL $738,612.75
Citizens are invited to inspect detailed records on file in the Courthouse (individual claims & Commissioners’ allowance & warrant register record 2019-2020).
12:00 p.m., There being no further business, the meeting recessed until tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
***Tuesday, July 14, 2020, at 9:00 a.m., Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Dan Dinning, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Walt Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.
9:00 a.m., Commissioners held a public hearing in the University of Idaho Ag Extension Office to continue their consideration of the Planning and Zoning Commissions’ proposed changes to the county’s Land Use Ordinance. Present were: Chairman Dan Dinning, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Walt Kirby, Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser, Planning and Zoning Administrator John Moss, and County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull. No one from the public was present. The hearing was recorded.
Attorney Hull asked if the members of the public who had attended the prior hearing were contacted about today’s hearing. Deputy Clerk Rohrwasser commented that it was not certain that reaching out was necessary as Attorney Hull had stated at the end of the prior hearing that public notice requirements were met by posting the notice of the hearing on the agenda. Attorney Hull agreed that requirements were met, but that it would be best if Commissioners’ Office also contacted the members of the public who attended the prior hearing to let them know when the next hearing would be taking place. Attorney Hull felt it was better to continue the day’s hearing to a later date and to notify the people who had attended the prior hearing.
The hearing ended at approximately 9:10 a.m., and Commissioners went back to their office.
Clerk Glenda Poston joined the meeting.
Commissioner Kirby moved to continue the public hearing for Planning and Zoning Application 19-177, to consider proposed changes to the county’s Land Use Ordinance to Tuesday, August 18, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. and this hearing is to be held in the Extension Office. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
9:35 a.m., County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull joined the meeting.
Commissioners asked Attorney Hull if they have the ability to sign the CARES Act Broadband Certification as it’s a time sensitive matter pertaining to the application of a grant. Attorney Hull agreed that this qualifies as it meets the criteria and is time sensitive for the grant.
Commissioner Kirby moved to amend the agenda to add a motion authorizing the Chairman to sign the State of Idaho Broadband Grant CARES Act Certification as it’s a time sensitive matter. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the State of Idaho Broadband Grant CARES Act Certification. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
9:54 a.m., Deputy Clerk Pam Barton joined the meeting.
9:56 a.m. Commissioner Cossairt moved to go into executive session pursuant to Idaho Code 74-206(1)b, to consider the evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, or public school student. Commissioner Kirby second. Commissioners voted as follows: Chairman Dinning “aye”, Commissioner Cossairt “aye” and Commissioner Kirby “aye”. Motion passed unanimously. The executive session ended at 10:20 a.m. No action was taken.
Ms. Barton and Attorney Hull left the meeting.
10:20 p.m., There being no further business, the meeting recessed until the afternoon session.
1:30 p.m., Commissioners reconvened for the afternoon session with Chairman Dan Dinning, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Walt Kirby, Clerk Glenda Poston, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.
1:30 p.m., Boundary County Emergency Manager Andrew O’Neel joined the meeting to discuss proposed changes to planned expenditures for the State Homeland Security Program grant funds. Also present were North Bench Fire Department Chief Gus Jackson and Paradise Valley Fire District Chief Mike Glazier.
It was said that there had been the initial request to upgrade radios and pagers for total of $5,612.00, but the plan is to now cancel that order and instead use the 2018 State Homeland Security Program grant funds totaling $3,825.93 to upgrade radios for Fire 1 county-wide radio system. Chairman Dinning said this would leave approximately $1,800.00 in this grant. Mr. O’Neel said the cost of the radios is approximately $1,800.00 so that wouldn’t cover the cost of two radios. Clerk Poston questioned if Search and Rescue also uses the Fire 1 channel. Mr. O’Neel explained that the upgrade in radios for the Sheriff’s Office was to get a better model and that sort of drove the need to upgrade the base station for the Fire 1 channel. Clerk Poston asked if this upgrade is accessible to that channel. Mr. O’Neel said yes. Boundary Ambulance is also included in using the Fire 1 channel. Mr. O’Neel said Idaho Office of Emergency Management Local Area Field Officer Jay Baker approved this expenditure.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to cancel the projects of upgrading radios and pagers totaling $5,612.00 and to instead add a new project to upgrade radio hardware for the county-wide Fire 1 communication system totaling $3,825.93 through the 2018 State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) grant. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Mr. O’Neel informed Commissioners that the funds in the 2019 SHSP grant for interoperable communications have $547.00 left so he can potentially combine those two grant funds together to total approximately $2,000.00.
Commissioners asked Mr. O’Neel about COVID-19 cases and Mr. O’Neel said there are now seven active cases of COVID-19 in the county.
The meeting with Mr. O’Neel, Chief Glazier and Chief Jackson ended at 1:37 p.m.
Chairman Dinning questioned if a quote from a vendor had come in for a furnace for the armory for Commissioners’ discussion at 1:50 p.m.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
1:51 p.m., Commissioners stated for the record that they’re waiting for a quote for a furnace from a vendor before they make a decision so they will continue this discussion.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
2:00 p.m., Road and Bridge Department Superintendents Renee Nelson and Randy Morris, Assessor Dave Ryals and Matt Hodges with Computer Arts joined the meeting to discuss finding solutions to computer problems experienced when trying to determine new addresses and roads.
Chairman Dinning said we’ve got to fix whatever is not working when trying to establish addresses so everything can function as this issue is affecting people’s lives. After talking with Mr. Hodges about this issue yesterday Commissioners learned that we need more power in the server room, which would allow more battery backups. Chairman Dinning said he is hearing that we don’t have enough power so we need a new service, and secondly Commissioners learned that the GIS computer in the server room may have a corrupted data base in it, not a virus, and you can spend forever trying to fix what’s wrong and not have any luck.
Mr. Hodges said he had retrieved the data and put it in a folder. Mr. Hodges said approximately three weeks ago he had heard of the issue of not being able to get the data so he restored it to the same folder. Mr. Hodges commented that last Thursday or Friday the test he thought was functional and fine at that point might not have resolved the issue. Chairman Dinning said where we are at is that we need to fix this and he doesn’t want a bunch of cooks in the kitchen. Mr. Hodges knows the Courthouse’s side of the system very well. Chairman Dinning added that he doesn’t know what it’s going to take to fix this, such as is it a bad system, bad computer, etc.? Ms. Nelson asked about checking to see if we have a network server issue. Esri is the maker of the GIS map program and the issue causing corruption cannot be fixed by Esri. It’s not a map software specific program because other computers are also having problem, such as John Moss’s computer in the Planning and Zoning Department and Assessor’s Office Timber Appraiser Teri Cushman’s computer and they’re not using that program. It was said we need to figure out how to fix the network so we don’t get corrupt errors again and the data errors themselves is what Esri can fix. Once data is fixed, it’s hooked back up to the network and there is an issue there so the corruption happens. Mr. Hodges said this can happen due to the issue with power and he explained that he thinks having adequate power will fix this. Mr. Moss and Ms. Cushman have a different issue so he’s troubleshooting that. Mr. Hodges said on a restart you need to know where the corruption starts. Chairman Dinning said going forward, what is suggested. Mr. Hodges said power will solve a big problem and he explained that servers don’t function well when they have a hard close shut down as opposed to having a system for soft close. The county’s Addressing Coordinator is using the same system as County Mapper Olivia Drake so he remotes in to use it and there is too much load on the circuit. Mr. Hodges said he feels it’s an issue with the power. Chairman Dinning said if he understands correctly, data can be put on the Addressing Coordinator and Mapper’s computers separate from the server. The Addressing Coordinator can amend the maps somehow and instead of sending a file over the internet, he can download it on a thumb drive. Mr. Hodges said yes. Ms. Nelson said without Ms. Drake here, she doesn’t know if that will work for her. Chairman Dinning said he’s just looking to get the public the help they need until this gets fixed.
Chairman Dinning commented that all of Mr. Hodges’ time dealing with GIS is budgeted through the 911 budget so the county will need to look at that budget as these hours are above that and will need to be paid out of GIS. Mr. Morris asked about Planning and Zoning as that department is involved in this issue as well. Chairman Dinning said yes, but for now, Mr. Hodges can spend time to get this problem in order. Chairman Dinning said when the power is fixed, keep a backup. Mr. Hodges said he will get a thumb drive and meet with Ms. Drake to test it. The county will need 200 amp service and it will be Commissioners’ responsibility to get this service.
Assessor Ryals informed Commissioners that it’s not just Ms. Cushman having a computer issue, other staff computers are having issues and more offices will probably start to see issues as Windows 7 will no longer be supported. Computers will need to be upgraded.
Assessor Ryals and Mr. Hodges left the meeting at 2:40 p.m.
2:41 p.m., Commissioner Kirby moved to go into executive session pursuant to Idaho Code 74-206(1)b, to consider the evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, or public school student. Commissioner Cossairt second. Commissioners voted as follows: Chairman Dinning “aye”, Commissioner Cossairt “aye” and Commissioner Kirby “aye”. Motion passed unanimously. The executive session ended at 3:00 p.m. No action was taken.
Ms. Nelson and Mr. Morris left the meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
_____________________________________
DAN R. DINNING, Chairman
ATTEST:
________________________________
GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy Clerk