***Monday, July 20, 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.
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. Mr. Morris submitted a written report.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the updated Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Designation of Applicant’s Agent and Request for Public Assistance Forms. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to approve the bid documents for Deep Creek Bridge #3 repairs pending approval of the county civil attorney. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Ms. Nelson informed Commissioners that the idea to remedy a computer problem by sharing information on a thumb drive won’t work as Matt Hodges with Computer Arts spoke to her and County Mapper Olivia Drake and he is not quite sure how to proceed. Ms. Drake said Mr. Hodges is still looking for the uncorrupted backup, but he can’t get to that until tomorrow. Ms. Drake’s computer was working Friday and she found how to manually move data to the Addressing Coordinator’s computer so she feels that will work. Ms. Nelson said she doesn’t know what else to do. Chairman Dinning said the next fix is to get more power to the Courthouse so Commissioner Cossairt will contact Mike’s Electric to inquire about getting more power.
Ms. Nelson said County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull provided a draft variance so they’re looking into the process for a public hearing. Ms. Nelson discussed the Mountain View Heights 3rd Addition and said that Ms. Drake found an example when a name change had occurred within a subdivision so she forwarded that information to County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull. One issue to address is a variance and the other matter is to change a road name within a subdivision.
It was said that Attorney Hull is working on a letter regarding the Riverside Road Improvement Project for Road and Bridge and it should be ready on Thursday. There are other things that have come up that the county needs to do so Attorney Hull will talk to Commissioners about that. Ms. Nelson briefly discussed information on budget she had sent Commissioners. Ms. Nelson informed Commissioners of the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council’s (LHTAC) 2020 photo contest and Road and Bridge placed 3rd so the picture they took will be included in LHTAC’s calendar.
Chairman Dinning said due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, Road and Bridge needs to watch what they do and to be careful. Readdressing COVID-19 hours was mentioned.
9:24 a.m., Clerk Glenda Poston joined the meeting.
Those present reviewed Road and Bridge Department budget matters with Clerk Poston.
The meeting with Ms. Nelson and Mr. Morris ended at 9:29 a.m.
Kevin Lederhos joined the meeting via conference call.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign Certificates of Residency for Claire O’Griffin and Sarah Binnall. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
9:30 a.m., County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull contacted Commissioners via telephone. Attorney Hull said Mr. Williams’s attorney sent him an email stating that Mr. Williams is going to apply for a variance as it pertains to a concrete pad that is too close to the county road.
Attorney Hull said he’s reviewing comments from Road and Bridge regarding a variance and he asked once a variance is made by Commissioners, do they want to include appeal rights or have their decision be the last decision. The decision would be appealed to the district court and Attorney Hull said he would include that information and get a draft to Road and Bridge.
Attorney Hull worked through the final research and worked with County Mapper Olivia Drake on rights-of-way and he looked up Idaho Code with regard to that. After speaking with a federal representative, he’s in the process of getting a draft to Road and Bridge and the federal agency. Attorney Hull informed Commissioners that he has started reviewing the Union Pacific Railroad documents as far as determining missing signatures. Ms. Nelson had commented that Road and Bridge had located information about a platted road within a subdivision needing a name change. Attorney Hull said he will set up a meeting with Ms. Nelson about that.
Commissioners commented that they did send a letter of intent regarding the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act for health care workers. Attorney Hull said Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and 16 other prosecutors have signed a letter so he’s looking into the issues.
Mr. Lederhos said he heard there were questions regarding the CARES Act and Commissioners clarified that this was regarding potential reimbursement for emergency services personnel. Mr. Lederhos said he misunderstood and thought it pertained to the broadband grant.
Mr. Lederhos ended his conference call.
The call to Attorney Hull ended at 9:45 a.m.
Commissioners briefly discussed the ranked projects for the submission packet for the broadband grant.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign letter of intent for the Boundary County Soil Conservation District for an amount of $9,000.00. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to reappoint Mike Fitzgerald as District 1 of the Idaho Capital Crimes Defense Board. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
9:54 a.m., Boundary Ambulance Service Board Chairperson Nancy Russell and Board member Jess Litterell joined the meeting. Boundary Ambulance Service Chief Jeff Lindsey participated in the meeting via conference call.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to recess as the Boundary County Board of Commissioners and to convene as the Boundary County Ambulance Service District Governing Board. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to approve the Boundary County Ambulance Service District meeting minutes from June 15, 2020. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chief Lindsey said Boundary Ambulance Service is recruiting for a paramedic position as he has a personnel member who is moving on, but they are working part-time at the moment. The other matter for Boundary Ambulance is working with the current outbreak of COVID-19. Hospitals are starting to get full in the Spokane area so they are monitoring that. The call volume has increased considerably, more than a 10% increase from the prior month. Chairman Dinning asked Chief Lindsey if Boundary Ambulance Service is still able to access personal protective equipment. Chief Lindsey said yes, and they’re doing a good job of keeping stocked up, mentioning that they just received another order of N95 masks. Boundary Ambulance Service is looking at this issue long term and keeping as stocked up as they can. Chief Lindsey commented on dealing with three Bonners County EMS members with COVID-19 so they need to watch for that in Boundary County. Chief Lindsey discussed measures EMS personnel are to take while responding to calls, etc., and he mentioned they try to do any kind of training and meetings via Zoom.
Chairman Dinning said Commissioners forwarded the cost information in a letter of intent to the state. As represented today, Boundary Ambulance Service would still receive the funds that were received this year, but they had to say they won’t take the 3% as part of the criteria. Those funds will come in and the taxpayer will receive that amount in a reduction on their tax bill.
10:05 a.m., Commissioner Cossairt moved to adjourn as the Boundary County Ambulance Service District Governing Board and to reconvene as the Boundary County Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Ms. Russell and Ms. Litterell left the meeting. Chief Lindsey ended his call.
Commissioners recessed until their next meeting at 10:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m., Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Administrative Director Rhonda Vogl and Bonners Ferry District Forest Ranger Kevin Knauth contacted Commissioners via telephone to provide an update on Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative (KVRI) and Forest Service projects.
Ms. Vogl said tonight’s KVRI meeting will be held via Zoom. Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Fish and Wildlife Department Director Sue Ireland will present with members of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Confederated Kootenai and Salish Tribes on the impacts of the Elk River mining operation to the Kootenai River for water quality and fish. This is an important subject to introduce to the county and city, according to Ms. Vogl. Mr. Knauth will provide updates on forestry projects and Ms. Vogl said she will provide an update on the Community Forest Landscape Restoration Project (CFLRP). The KVRI fair booth will be discussed at tonight’s meeting. Chairman Dinning asked if there was any information on the CFLRP proposal and Ms. Vogl said not at this point; it’s just kind of waiting to hear.
Mr. Knauth provided Commissioners with an update on Forest Service projects. Chairman Dinning informed Mr. Knauth that Verizon was getting ready to put their new equipment on the Black Mountain tower and they have been in touch with the Translator Board. Mr. Knauth said he had not heard anything about any sort of schedule, but if he could get Verizon’s hoped for schedule, he can check with Idaho Department of Lands about their schedule for culverts as they will be on Black Mountain Road as well. Mr. Knauth spoke of the Westside Road Restoration project and said things have not really changed as far as a timeline. The Buckskin Saddle project did change a timeline for having personnel available for the Westside project. The environmental analysis will go out the second or third week in August for that schedule. The Forest Service will be on track for the first timber sale offering for next year at this time. The Forest Service Office is still closed, but phone numbers are listed on the front door. Firewood permits are also being handled via telephone, but they need to be in hand when people are cutting firewood. People can come in to pick up their permit or the Forest Service can mail it to them and he doesn’t see that process changing any time soon. Mr. Knauth said fire season is still fairly quiet. Normally this week is when fires start taking more effort to control, but the Forest Service is hardly finding any fires right now so it’s not a bad situation. Chairman Dinning said there is no activity on timber sales and he asked if that is due to market. Mr. Knauth said yes. There are millions and millions of board feet under contract. The mill yards were full coming out of winter. Mr. Knauth said he thinks sales will pick up, but not yet. Mr. Knauth said he would guess there is approximately 30 million board feet under contract just in Bonners Ferry. Mr. Knauth said most sales allow up to five years, but due to certain conditions there is the ability to ask for an extension of time. There is time to allow the market to improve now and prices should improve.
The call with Ms. Vogl and Mr. Knauth ended at 10:45 a.m.
Commissioners recessed until their meeting at 11:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m., Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Aquatic Biologist Genny Hoyle, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Fisheries and Wildlife Department Director Sue Ireland joined the meeting to discuss the effects of selenium in the Kootenai River from open pit mining in Elk River, British Columbia. Participating via conference call was Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Attorney Billy Barquin, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Administrative Director Rhonda Vogl, Stu Levitt with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Erin Sexton with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and University of Montana, Matt Nykiel with the Idaho Conservation League, and Jason Gildea with the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8.
Ms. Ireland informed Commissioners that she put together a presentation that included representatives of different entities. Ms. Ireland described the Kootenai Sub-basin, what it includes and the important cultural significance to the Kootenai Tribe. The Tribe has been responding to 100 years of ecosystem and has conducted a lot of activities to bring back habitat and water quality, etc. The Tribe likes to conduct their restoration under these guiding principles and they have a holistic approach and are very collaborative and consistent. They use science for decision making and include social and economic values. Ms. Ireland said it’s important to share what the Tribe is seeing as a result of the Elk River mining operation.
A map in the presentation shows British Columbia and the sedimentary basins there with the focus being on the far southeast corner showing coal fields and beds. It’s a tiny corner of British Columbia, but this area is the largest exporter still making coal for this province.
Allison Squire joined the call at 11:05 a.m.
Ms. Sexton said the next page of the presentation zooms in on that southeast corner and the Elk River by Cranbrook feeds both into the Kootenai River and the Koocanusa Reservoir. The map points out the existing open mines and shows where mines are in relation to the international boundary. The type of mining is mountain top mining and it’s been done since the late 1800s and early 1900s. Ms. Sexton provided a data snapshot of contaminates as a result of mining and she said these contaminates were collected from a biological station around year 2010. Selenium is the main contaminate leaching from the mines. Ms. Sexton spoke of the now higher level of micrograms at 110 micrograms when it used to 10 micrograms. The Elk River operation now collects that data and they report this information. Nitrates are another contaminate that comes from blasting and there have been many decades of blasting. The levels of nitrates have gone from zero to now thousands higher in concentration. There are more impacts to caddisflies and stoneflies being seen. Ms. Sexton said this is just a summary of what was observed when they looked at water quality.
Those present reviewed the Power Point documents showing where the Elk River comes into the Kootenay River, which is a provincial water site. Guidelines for aquatic life and water quality trends regarding total selenium in the Elk River downstream of all open pit mines were discussed and it was said these are trends you didn’t see in the water quality in 1984. Over time selenium has been gradually increasing from the 1980s to 2020. It was said that the Fenwick Station shows selenium levels to be well below all standards. Ms. Sexton said yes and explained that is above where the Elk River dumps in so it’s the Kootenay River minus the Elk River. Ms. Hoyle said in year 2003 it shows a jump in selenium, but it’s not that the selenium is increasing, it’s that they can just better pick it up so it’s a lab artifact.
The next slide shows the Elk River before it flows into the Kootenai River and the Koocanusa Reservoir and it shows an increasing trend since 1984. A graph pointed out that around approximately year 1992 the selenium concentration in the Elk River was beginning to increase beyond the provincial guidelines for aquatic life. From early 1990s and 2014 you see an upward trend well above protection for life. In 2014, after a couple years of process and through mine applications, British Columbia granted permission to expand the Elk River mines. These are important decision points for British Columbia. They track concentrations going above guidelines, then they granted permission for expansion.
The next pages speaks to nitrate trends. At the same water quality station there is an increased trend, which is not what you want to see as there are contaminates and the State of Montana has done some work to look at limitations of nitrates.
When the mine was granted expansion based on the Elk Water Quality Plan, mitigations built into this plan included waste water plants, which are active plants designed to reduce selenium. It was said these concentrations should also be able to be detected in fish and aquatic life. Unfortunately the water quality plant had problems with this mitigation and fish suffocated due to water de-oxygenation. In 2018 the monitoring plant had an issue in that they discovered they were converting not less toxic material, but more toxic material and technicians found that fish and aquatic life had much higher levels. Ms. Sexton said for those who have participated in this process for many years, mitigation at these sites has not been demonstrated. A longer term solution is need for active water treatment.
Mr. Gildea said hydrologists with the EPA are tracking projects. Teck Resources, the mining company, received a ministerial order to stabilize and reverse the increasing trends in water contaminates and this resulted in a Teck advisory committee and Elk water quality plan. It’s British Columbia’s answer to figure out what to do with pollution. It sets water quality stations in the Elk River Valley and sets a timeline for Teck to meet those objectives. The plan is to include water treatment plants and this is a plan that is reviewed every five years. Despite best efforts and comments from the United States, Teck Resources was not required to study the Koocanusa Reservoir or the Kootenai River and it’s felt that was a huge gap in their plan.
Those present discussed Lake Koocanusa monitoring and research between Montana and British Columbia in looking at this reservoir. It was said the group doesn’t cover the Kootenai River downstream of the dam. A lot of data has been collected so a link to a website has been provided and it will set site specific water quality criteria. This is meant to protect fish and aquatic life, to include birds; as birds are the most sensitive species to selenium. Chairman Dinning spoke of the United States (U.S.) having the same information so there aren’t differing numbers and he asked why there is the ability to have a different criteria in a lake than in a river. Mr. Gildea said lakes are fundamentally different in that they collect pollutants differently as opposed to a fast moving river. When selenium is in a lake or reservoir it moves up through the food chain faster so levels need to be much lower in a lake than a river and EPA felt there should be two different numbers for that reason. Chairman Dinning commented about public perception when having two different levels as river levels can be higher, but lake levels need to be lower. It may raise questions. Ms. Ireland said having a good explanation the public will understand is very important.
Differences between British Columbia and U.S. water quality regulations were discussed. It was said when the U.S. adopt criteria for water quality regulations, it was expected that discharges everywhere in rivers and lakes were to meet that, but British Columbia only set guidelines as recommendations whereas the U.S. set guidelines that are enforceable. In the Elk River Valley, British Columbia set these site performance objections at seven sites, so if water quality is met at these sites, British Columbia sees that as meeting compliance. It’s very different from the U.S. In the Elk River Valley they have set up sacrifice areas that are void of life and it’s in stark contrast to what the U.S. would allow. The levels the U.S. is setting is protective of the river and reservoir at all times.
Those present discussed the Teck Castle project, which is a large mine expansion in the initial phase at Fording River mine. The Canadian federal government was asked to conduct their own environmental assessment. This is an exceptionally large expansion as there are three proposed mines in the Elk River Valley and the Teck Castle expansion is larger than all three of those Elk River Valley mines combined. There is a decline is fish being seen. More review of this project is wanted, but it’s not saying stop the project. The federal agencies working on this project were mentioned. This is a serious issue and we have yet to see British Columbia reverse trends.
Ms. Hoyle provided information listing selenium and nitrate issues. Ms. Hoyle said there is a five to eight year lag time before changes would be seen in the Kootenai River and we’re starting to see changes. The increase is nitrate is not normal for the Kootenai River in this area. Ms. Hoyle spoke of reviewing water chemistry sampling and seeing an upward trend in selenium as well, which is monitored in micrograms and it has a potential food web affect to fish. Ms. Hoyle discussed seeing an increase in phosphorus. Chairman Dinning said we’re seeing an increase, but it’s well below the standards of the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Quality. It’s just seeing a trend, per Ms. Hoyle. The detection limit is one microgram per litre. The Kootenai River is at steady state of .8 micrograms. At certain sites and certain times selenium is detectable. Ms. Hoyle said she didn’t get detections when she started 15 years ago and she is now seeing it more often. It was said the Wardner, British Columbia site is just above the Elk River area. Ms. Hoyle said she hasn’t seen anything at 1.5 or higher micrograms. Selenium is moving through the river system from Elk River and not from the tributaries. Ms. Hoyle commented on testing fish eggs and the effects on white sturgeon egg tissue, referring to information listed in her presentation, such as egg data between years 2015 and 2019, etc. Moyie Lake has mining also, but you can see eggs in Moyie Lake have a lower level of selenium than in the Kootenai River. Ms. Hoyle said in February, the Kootenai Tribe took 15 male and female burbot for testing and that is pending, but it should paint a better picture for this fish in the Kootenai River.
Those present discussed graphs provided and selenium caused larvae deformity, etc. Larger and most likely older mussels had higher concentrations of selenium in their tissues and these are high numbers. These are food sources for terrestrials and also fish so it’s in the food chain.
Mr. Barquin said the Tribe wanted Commissioners and the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative (KVRI) to have this information sharing and they’ve been writing letters to provincial agencies. The problem they’re seeing that needs to be addressed, is that British Columbia is making decisions and at times they’re sharing information and other times they’re not and sometimes they’re asking for input and other times not and this is not the right way to address these issues. There needs to be a more robust approach to dealing with this issue and to hold British Columbia’s feet to the fire. The Tribe would like the county to pay attention to this without telling them what to do, according to Mr. Barquin.
Chairman Dinning said we always appreciate these opportunities. A lot of communities don’t have this relationship so it’s good to have this information at the same time and to see a potential problem and how to address it. Chairman Dinning asked if there has been any contact with Lincoln County Commissioners and Mr. Barquin said yes and their community has been weighing in on this issue. Ms. Sexton said over the years letters have been written by Lincoln County Commissioners about concerns over fish and the Koocanusa Reservoir.
Commissioners thanked everyone for the conference call and for the information. Chairman Dinning mentioned wanting to contact Lincoln County Commissioners so everyone is on the same page. Ms. Vogl commented that she did receive a call from Senator Crapo who stated he made a call to the Ministry in Canada, expressing his agreement in this at a federal assessment level so his office is involved to a degree already.
The meeting to discuss the impacts of selenium in the Kootenai River ended at 12:10 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting recessed until tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
***Tuesday, July 21, 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.
9:00 a.m., Commissioners held an elected officials/department heads meeting. Present were: Chairman Dan Dinning, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Walt Kirby, Clerk Glenda Poston, Assessor Dave Ryals, University of Idaho Extension Educator Amy Robertson, Chief Probation Officer Stacy Brown, Solid Waste Department Superintendent Claine Skeen, Courthouse Maintenance John Buckley, Planning and Zoning Administrator John Moss, Prosecutor’s Office Administrative Assistant Melissa Krejci, Restorium Administrator Karlene Magee, Road and Bridge Department Co-Superintendent Randy Morris, and Sheriff Dave Kramer.
Chairman Dinning commented that we’re seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases so if employees feel ill, have them go and see a doctor. The county is getting to the end of having its proposed budget prepared and he asked that departments don’t go out and spend a lot of money and to be conservative.
Commissioners went around the room for department updates.
Assessor Ryals said his office has finished the assessment drive for the 2020 tax year. It was a rough year as everyone knows there was a huge increase in values due to the market. The State Tax Commission has completed their follow up examination and Assessor Ryals said preliminarily he knows that he passed. The Assessor’s Office is now working on the next year.
Ms. Robertson, Mr. Skeen, Ms. Krejci, and Mr. Self said they had nothing to report.
Ms. Brown said she also didn’t have much to report on. The Probation Office is noticing there have been more tests with positive results for marijuana.
Mr. Buckley said he’s just busy and working on changing out the splatter screens to more permanent screens.
Ms. Magee said she had no new information other than her staff is all working very hard.
Mr. Morris said Road and Bridge is working on Ruby Creek Bridge and chip sealing.
Sheriff Kramer said Caleb Watts was recognized as the year 2020 marine deputy for the State of Idaho. The Sheriff’s Office now has a drug canine with Corporal Mike Valenzuela named Buddy. Buddy already has over 50 deployments and he will be valuable to the community. Sheriff Kramer spoke of a Sheriff’s Office employee having graduated from POST as 3rd highest out of the class and 100% on shooting. The armory is getting closer to completion. Sheriff Kramer commented on submitting information on items that may be eligible for potential funding that he hadn’t been aware of and these are items that could help in the jail and the Sheriff’s Office.
Treasurer Larson said things are slowing down in her office and she recommended making sure checks received by the county are filled out correctly as her office has been experiencing errors where the amount of the check is written out and that is the information banks look at.
Mr. Moss said he’s been experiencing issues with his computer and has been working with Computer Arts. He’s ordered a replacement computer and it’s within his budget.
Mr. O’Neel said Idaho has seen a tremendous uptick in COVID-19 cases since mid-June and there were over 15,000 cases in Idaho as of yesterday. There are approximately 400 new cases per day, but that is an improvement over the prior week, which saw approximately 600 new cases per day. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is predicting that the number of deaths, specifically over next four weeks, will exceed last month in which 32 people died so expect that number to be higher. We’re still seeing positive tests and the positivity rate is approximately 15%. Around six weeks ago the positivity rate was 3%. People are going to think that the uptick is due to more testing being done, but the rate in which people are testing positive is also increasing. There were 110 new cases yesterday. There are 1,240 cases in District 1 so that was an increase of 10% in one day and 733 of those cases are currently active so a lot of people are getting better. Mr. O’Neel listed how many of the 733 cases are in Kootenai County and Bonner County. Mr. O’Neel stated that there are 11 total cases in Boundary County and nine of them are active. These cases have not yet been verified by Panhandle Health District as far as checking addresses to verify if these are local residents. Panhandle Health District will do case investigations and contact tracing and the website will be updated at noon. Mr. O’Neel said to keep wearing masks and maintain social distancing of six feet from those who are not in your household. Currently, wearing masks is not mandatory, but some businesses are starting to require it, such as Costco, Safeway, Walmart, etc. We can try to slow the virus, but we can’t stop it. It’s like a flu and we want to slow the spread so we can keep hospital beds available and not overwhelm the health care system. COVID-19 symptoms have been similar to allergies in one person, but when this person lost their sense of smell that is what tipped them off to contact Panhandle Health District. People may want to stay home if they even have allergy symptoms.
Mr. Moss asked what the percentage is for available beds at the local hospital. Mr. O’Neel said he didn’t have that information, but 46% of hospital beds in Idaho are full. Chairman Dinning said he thought he saw on the news or read in the newspaper this morning that the beds in the intensive care unit at Kootenai Medical Center are almost at capacity. Ms. Krejci said from her understanding there are no travel restrictions. Mr. O’Neel said that is correct and we’re still in stage 4 of reopening. We really need to protect people who are most vulnerable in our community. If COVID-19 gets into the elderly population and starts spreading into the elder care facilities, it’s really a concern so please wear a mask as it does work. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that fabric masks do work.
The elected officials/department heads meeting ended at 9:20 a.m.
Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the minutes of June 22 & 23, 2020. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
The County Noxious Weeds Department report was cancelled.
9:50 a.m., Commissioners resumed their meetings.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Federal Aviation Administration Request for Reimbursement #2 and Invoice Summary for Airport Improvement Project 3-16-0004-017-2020. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
10:00 a.m., Boundary County Veterans Service Officer Ron Self contacted Commissioners to give his department report. Mr. Self said it’s been quiet due to COVID-19 and he’s just waiting to move his office into the armory. Chairman Dinning explained that they’re just waiting for final details to fall into place. Mr. Self will coordinate with Clerk Poston on this move.
The call with Mr. Self ended at 10:01 a.m.
10:02 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 Dan Dinning “aye”, Commissioner Cossairt “aye” and Commissioner Kirby “aye”. Motion passed unanimously. The executive session ended at 10:25 a.m. No action was taken.
Restorium Administrator Karlene Magee joined the meeting to give the Restorium report. Ms. Magee questioned locations in which to hold Restorium Board meetings. Those present discussed reimbursement as a result of COVID-19 hours. Ms. Magee discussed estimating Restorium room rate increases of 4.9% for existing residents and 8% for new residents coming to the Restorium. Those present discussed the alarm system to be ordered through Bee Safe. Commissioners asked Ms. Magee to ask Bee Safe for an insurance certificate, information on what the work entails and completion date of the project.
Those present discussed the Restorium budget for labor. Clerk Poston mentioned increasing staff hours by another 5,000 for the next year. Clerk Poston informed Ms. Magee that she increased hours by half as opposed to the full request. Clerk Poston spoke of running into levy limits for the Restorium and hospital so that is her reasoning. The budget for hours is $57,624.00 and the Restorium is carrying almost $180,000.00 forward in labor. Ms. Magee said the Restorium has 31 residents currently.
10:50 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. Motion passed unanimously. The executive session ended at 11:01 a.m. No action was taken.
Ms. Magee left the meeting.
11:01 a.m., Planning and Zoning Administrator John Moss joined the meeting.
Commissioner Kirby moved to hire an employee at a grade 11 on a full time basis for administrative work for the Clerk’s Office and Commissioners, which includes greeting people at the entrance of the Courthouse and other duties as assigned, effective July 20, 2020. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Dinning informed Mr. Moss that said they met last week with Road and Bridge, Mapper Olivia Drake and Matt Hodges with Computer Arts. Mr. Moss mentioned having ordered a new computer and needing more power to resolve some other computer issues. Chairman Dinning said Commissioners had talked about helping Mr. Moss administratively. Mr. Moss said nothing has really happened in the approach to what he does. Commissioners said that Clare Marley, Planner with Yuen-Yeager, came to talk to Mr. Moss as she was to be assisting him with applications and she was concerned because Mr. Moss was not asking her to do very much. Mr. Moss said the reality is that he doesn’t have an issue doing what the Planning and Zoning Office has to do and he explained what the processes are. Mr. Moss added that Ms. Marley said it sounds like he needs a secretary, but that is not her role. There are some things Ms. Marley could help with in Savvy Data for the File Maker Pro system and there are files he does not have access to because the product system changes and the old format doesn’t fit the new format. Savvy Data has now converted the data so he has one file with all the information. Mr. Moss said he has a smoothly running system in terms of File Maker Pro. Savvy Data has a system that would allow Mr. Moss to present a status report to Commissioners on Planning and Zoning matters. Mr. Moss said as he tries to work on the applications and submit them to Road and Bridge, the Addressing Coordinator and the mapper, he’s not getting responses back and it may be due to the computer issues. Chairman Dinning said there is not enough power currently so when there is an issue caused by that lack of power, the batteries are not working and the computer shuts down and data gets lost. There is a work around that issue for now, but it’s not ideal. Chairman Dinning said when talking about the cloud system, within that is having applicants fill out an online form and then it can be shared with Ms. Marley to help with Mr. Moss’s work load. There needs to be the ability for all involved with the application to share information without going through what we’re going through now. Mr. Moss said we all need to sit down and design it so we’re talking about the same thing. Mr. Moss added that his first suggestion would be, rather than investigate other approaches, instead take File Maker Pro and make it available to everyone and then add a new field notifying others as to what the county is waiting on or what is pending so it would be known. Chairman Dinning said that is our next step, but we need to find out if the power is really the issue before taking that step. Mr. Moss said it’s not just addressing as it’s ingress and egress access across roads or private property and that involves mapping, etc.
Mr. Moss said he has a meeting scheduled for August 20th and it’s for three public hearings and he thinks the Extension Office is large enough for spacing. Chairman Dinning said those who show up for specific hearings should wait outside until it’s time for the hearing they came to attend. Commissioners can’t mandate the public to wear masks, except for within the Courthouse. If someone wants to sit there without a mask and it becomes uncomfortable for others, the Planning and Zoning Board can choose to continue the hearing to another time. A hearing can also be held via conference call, but the Planning and Zoning chairman doesn’t feel comfortable with that, according to Mr. Moss.
Mr. Moss discussed the Commissioners’ public hearing to consider a fee increase for Planning and Zoning application fees. Mr. Moss spoke of work involved in setting up a public hearing and the work involved after a public hearing is held on an application. Chairman Dinning suggested Mr. Moss turn loose of this work for the Planning and Zoning Commission public hearings and hand it to Ms. Marley to work on. Mr. Moss said Ms. Marley would need to attend these hearings and Chairman Dinning agreed. Mr. Moss explained what steps he takes when he receives an application.
The meeting with Mr. Moss ended at 11:30 a.m.
11:51 a.m., Commissioners recessed for lunch.
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., Jeremy Davy and George Schrems with Cabinet Mountains Water District joined the meeting. Cabinet Mountain Board Chairman Ed Katz joined the meeting via conference call. The purpose of the meeting was for informational purposes pertaining to projects Cabinet Mountains Water District is working on. Mr. Davy explained that Cabinet Mountains Water District is embarking on a fairly serious infrastructure project with $8,200,000.00 worth of improvements to be made to their system and the project is in the engineering stage now. Users of this water system voted to approve the bond for the needed improvements and Cabinet Mountains Water District has secured a funding package with the Department of Environmental Quality and United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development, who have favorable amounts for them so the Water District is looking at $2,500,000.00 worth of grants for this project with a 1.375% interest rate for the life of the loan. The Water District’s board and the engineers have worked hard to get the best terms for the community. As this project moves forward, there are quite a few pieces with one piece being land acquisition, according to Mr. Davy. For the most part it consists of small pieces of land as a spot is needed in the Mountain Meadows area, two pieces of land in the Highland Flats area, and one spot at the end of Kootenai Trail Road near Atkins Canyon. Mr. Davy said the Water District is in the process of securing the piece of property in Parker Canyon currently. Mr. Davy said the Water District has been working to get a lot line adjustment for approximately three months now as they can’t move forward without that. With engineering and the bid process there are tight timelines to make this come together and that was one concern, according to Mr. Davy. Mr. Davy spoke of needing to obtain approvals and clear answers as to what is going to be required for certain things and there being differing opinions as to what can and cannot be done. We need a good line of communication with the county, according to Mr. Davy.
Chairman Dinning asked Mr. Davy how large the biggest piece of property is that they’re looking for and Mr. Davy said 1.2 aces. Chairman Dinning said he’s guessing it’s below minimum lot size for the zone the area is in, but is there anything about utilities that would allow that. Mr. Davy said the Water District has not begun process of separating a piece. The Water District already have a piece of land near the Cowin residence, but they will purchase an extra piece of land from the Cowins to adjoin to the existing piece. Mr. Katz said the engineering firm thought it would be good to alert the county as most of the concern is about progressing with the property and being in negotiations with five different people so this matter needs to get through Planning and Zoning as quickly as possible. Mr. Katz said there is one application with the Planning and Zoning Office since April that they’re still waiting for. Mr. Katz said he’s expecting that the Planning and Zoning Office is very busy now as it’s been almost two months. Mr. Davy said JRS Surveying is doing the work for that lot line adjustment so they filled out that form, it’s been signed by the landowner, it’s been resubmitted to Planning and Zoning, but they have not received any information back yet. If there is any issue that Cabinet Mountains Water District needs to correct, they haven’t been told that at this point. One of the projects is an elevated tank in north Paradise Valley and the engineer has reached out to Mr. Moss to discuss this.
Planning and Zoning Administrator John Moss joined the meeting at 1:40 p.m.
Mr. Davy said he’s not sure if some kind of conditional use permit is needed for this purpose and he knows that some things take time by nature of the process so they don’t want to get behind. The Water District doesn’t want to move forward and then find out they have to do something. They already own a parcel in Paradise Valley and have already done a geological compaction, but they need to know if there are any hiccups in putting up a storage building. Mr. Katz said he doesn’t think the county ordinance addresses that kind of thing. The utility company wants to place something on the property. Mr. Moss said there is an application that he has awareness of that involves power on property, a storage tank and a tower, and the issue is the height of the tower as it’s an antennae that extends above 150 feet. Mr. Moss said it has to do with a maximum amount of height and because it’s considered a moderate use and the tower is less than 500 feet from the nearest residence, it requires a conditional use permit. Chairman Dinning said the Water District has five different sites so we don’t want to go down this road and have the county process mess up this project. Chairman Dinning said the Water District put in for a permit for a lot line adjustment in April and they haven’t heard back. This is regarding a piece of land that adjoins the Water District’s existing piece so it’s not certain where the process is at. Members present from the Water District said their concern is that this is going to take a lot of time for the five sites. Mr. Moss said all applications that have occurred since February are on his desk and he needs complete awareness from the various agencies so there isn’t an issue with the application. Chairman Dinning said to Mr. Moss to please get the information pertaining to Cabinet Mountains Water District’s applications and as we go forward with the remaining four pieces of property, we need to get this handled. Chairman Dinning mentioned there being computer glitches in the last two months and how Commissioners learned that it was due to lack of power. Chairman Dinning stated that this is an $8,000,000.00 project that he doesn’t want the county messing up for the community.
Mr. Schrems said a lot of the money for this project is grant dependent and time is of the essence. Mr. Davy added that the Water District has until the end of the year, but he feels it’s going to be a snowball effect and the other processes will be delayed. The project engineering needs to get finished and put the project out to bid this winter with the building to start in the spring. Mr. Davy said at this point, is there a need for a conditional use or a variance or not? Due to the height of the tower, it’s acceptable where it’s at, but due to being a moderate use and it’s less than 500 feet from the nearest residence, it needs a conditional use permit. If other properties share the same criteria in this zone, if the tower is a certain height and is less than 500 feet from the nearest residence, a conditional use permit can be anticipated for the property. If the nearest residence is more than 500 feet, a conditional use permit would not be required. Mr. Davy said as far as exceptions for utilities, there isn’t any at this point. If the Water District wanted to purchase one-half acre from a 40 acre piece, how does that process work and would it entail a conditional use permit or a variance? Mr. Moss said this is talking about a utility use permit. This is a proposed facility that Commissioners have not addressed. It’s intended that this property will have an address as it currently does not. Mr. Davy spoke of obtaining a request for an address request. This form has very little to complete as it doesn’t apply to what the Water District is doing as a utility looking for an address that is quite possibly in the county right-of-way. It was said this is Road and Bridge’s attempt at assigning an address when there isn’t a residence on the property. Mr. Davy mentioned not having an avenue for doing this at this time, but when he talked to Road and Bridge, they said they could assign an address until the computer issues occurred. The Water District is three months into this project and they want to make sure they’re doing everything correctly and they can only address one piece of land at this point. Mr. Davy said if want to purchase a piece of land that is smaller than the available lot size, how do you get that done. Mr. Moss said if the parcel is less than minimum size for the zone it’s in, if you can put utilities on it, then you can build and go forward. Mr. Moss mentioned the ordinance in relation to land size and he said the ordinance says a parcel is a parcel of record and it may be non-conforming, but it’s a parcel of record that enjoys the privileges of a whole parcel. You can’t make it any smaller. If you can get service to it, you can built on it, according to Mr. Moss.
Chairman Dinning said if someone wants to sell a 100 feet by 100 feet piece of land in a five acre zone, they can do that, but they can’t get a permit to build a house on it. In this case, a piece of land can be sold and it can be addressed. Mr. Katz asked if Cabinet Mountains Water District can build a utility shed on it for a booster. Chairman Dinning and Mr. Moss said yes. Chairman Dinning said they can run utilities to it, but could not build a house on it. Chairman Dinning said they will double-check with their attorney as they don’t want to mess up the process for the Water District. It was asked if a storage tank or tower needs a condition use permit and Mr. Moss said yes. Chairman Dinning said it’s because it’s within 500 feet of a residence. Those present discussed set back distance and it was said if the area is rural residential, the setback is 20 feet from all parcel lines.
The meeting with Cabinet Mountains Water District and Mr. Moss ended at 2:05 p.m.
Kevin Lederhos with EL Internet joined the conference call at 2:08 p.m.
M. Lederhos said as Commissioners know, they will submit an application for the Idaho Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Broadband grant through the City of Moyie Springs with a line item created for a grant administrator consultant. The line item for the consultant is the person or agency with knowledge who can administer the grant and it can’t be a for-profit. This person will track and report information to the Moyie Springs City Council. Mr. Lederhos explained the role of the City of Moyie Springs and Alivia Metts with the Metts Group pertaining to grant administration. This was accepted as a reasonable alternative. Mr. Lederhos said his email stated that EL Internet has a working relationship with the Metz Group and will use them if the City of Moyie Springs is awarded the grant. Mr. Lederhos said the other part is that Panhandle Area Council (PAC) does administrative work for Intermax’s grants so EL Internet wants that separate. It’s known that PAC would do an excellent job for everyone, but as it pertains to working for competitors, the issues aren’t known. Chairman Dinning said to sum it up, would the Metts Group be a line item for the grant and would this fall to the Clerk. Chairman Dinning said things have really gotten busy for the Clerk’s Office over the last three months with the all absentee voting, etc. Clerk Poston said she has no time to do this and she’s been very happy with PAC who works with several different firms and on various projects, such as the Fire Safe Program. Clerk Poston believes she knows PAC Grant Administrator Nancy Mabile long enough to know she treats everyone fair and because of this type of grant and work that needs to be done, Ms. Mabile jumped in. Mr. Lederhos clarified that he’s not trying to be derogatory at all. Clerk Poston said she doesn’t know anything about this other firm he’s referred to. Mr. Lederhos said Boundary Economic Development Director Dennis Weed knows Ms. Metts and Ms. Metts has also worked with Ms. Mabile at PAC so that’ the only connection. Commissioners voiced their preference to work with PAC.
Mr. Lederhos asked if Commissioners had any more information on the purchasing side of the grant and Commissioner said they hadn’t heard anything further.
Mr. Lederhos ended his call at 2:18 p.m.
Chairman Dinning informed Commissioners about correspondence with Yvonne Dingman with the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) as it pertains to the armory’s parking lot along Highway 95. ITD will remove the curb, which is approximately 12 inches to 16 inches, and they didn’t want to go through the process of amending the contract, change order, etc. Chairman Dinning said Ms. Dingman mentioned that Interstate Concrete can provide a quote and Commissioners could approve it by motion if they’re in agreement. Commissioner Cossairt said this is talking about two years out so we need a current cost. Chairman Dinning said it would be at today’s cost. Chairman Dinning commented to get it done.
Clerk Poston informed Commissioners that the Panhandle Health District website is not working for COVID-19 questions and they’ve stated that they don’t issue doctor’s orders any longer so county employees would needs to call their doctor.
Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the minutes of July 13 & 14, 2020. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign Certificates of Residency for Julia Cummings and Emily Sanchez. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners discussed getting additional power to the Courthouse so people can remote in to meetings or court, or with addressing so ample power is needed to run a server that will allow these uses. Sending this expense in for pre-approval through the CARES Act fund was mentioned. Chairman Dinning said that’s why we need estimates. We need to have the ability to use Zoom, but there isn’t any available power upstairs in the Courthouse and extension cords have to be used. Commissioners talked about having to get preapproval before making a purchase and needing quotes.
2:27 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 2:36 p.m. No action was taken.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:36 p.m.
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DAN R. DINNING, Chairman
ATTEST:
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GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy Clerk