***Monday, April 24, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Tim Bertling, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Ben Robertson, Clerk Glenda Poston, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.
9:00 a.m., Sheriff Dave Kramer, Undersheriff Rich Stephens and Emergency Manager Andrew O’Neel met with Commissioners to discuss the emergency services simulcast system in Boundary County, future upgrades to the system and associated costs. Mr. O’Neel said all of the fire districts have paid their share of costs based on the percentage of their usage of the simulcast system. At the last meeting with Commissioners it was agreed to use ARPA funds to help offset that cost. All of the fire agencies have paid their portion, with the exception of Boundary County Ambulance’s share. The total request for ARPA funds is $12,539.23. Chairman Bertling said Commissioners did talk about using ARPA funds for the fire districts, but wondered where remaining funds would come from. Chairman Bertling asked about funding for future years. Mr. O’Neel said the simulcast system will be taken under Emergency Management in future years and he will put that cost into his budget. It was said the county will fund the amount of $12,539.23.
9:05 a.m., Marty Martinez joined the meeting.
Mr. O’Neel informed Commissioners that he reviewed a quote from Raycom for future improvements to the simulcast system and those present reviewed the information and spoke of adding the Sheriff’s Office channel to the system and improving the Fire 1 channel. Mr. O’Neel also spoke of maintenance at the Dawson Ridge repeater site. Sheriff Kramer and Mr. O’Neel discussed looking to see what grants may be available. Those present discussed priorities for items to address.
The meeting to discuss the simulcast system ended at 9:31 a.m.
9:31 a.m., County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull joined the meeting.
Attorney Hull said the trade mark for the county seal is pending and other topics he has been working on are still ongoing. Attorney Hull briefly discussed funding received for drug court purposes and what allowed costs are.
Mr. Martinez left the meeting.
9:40 a.m., Commissioner Robertson 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 Bertling “aye”, Commissioner Cossairt “aye” and Commissioner Robertson “aye”. Motion passed unanimously. The executive session ended at 10:15 a.m. No action was taken.
Attorney Hull left the meeting.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign Idaho Department of Lands Request for Reimbursement for South Boundary Hazardous Fuels Reduction II (Community Fuel Breaks) project. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign Certificates of Residency for Kaila Banks and Chloe Fleck. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the Property Tax Cancellation form for parcel #RPB0600006003AA for tax year 2022 and to cancel taxes in the amount of $732.02 due to a Board of Equalization final decision. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the Property Tax Cancellation form for parcel #RP00600006003AA for tax year 2022 and to cancel taxes in the amount of $201.62 due to a Board of Equalization final decision. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to approve the minutes for the week of April 17, 2023. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Robertson moved to sign the Hangar-Ground Lease Agreement with Real Estate Group of Idaho, LLC for Hangar D-5. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Robertson moved to sign the Hangar-Ground Lease Agreement with Feist Creek Lodge, LLC for Hangar A7. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Robertson moved to implement an employee of the quarter with nominations from department heads and elected officials be provided to Commissioners in order to be chosen. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to approve and sign the Selkirk Mountain Technologies for the Clerk’s Office totaling $3,250.49. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the Transportation Addendum with Boundary Security for the Sheriff’s Office. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
10:30 a.m., Treasurer Jenny Economu joined the meeting.
Commissioners held a tax deed property hearing for delinquent year 2019 taxes. Present were: Chairman Tim Bertling, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Ben Robertson, Clerk Glenda Poston, Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser, and Treasurer Jenny Economu. The hearing was recorded.
Treasurer Economu presented information on the parcels to be tax deeded.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to tax deed the following parcels for delinquent year 2019 taxes: RP61N01W240157A in the name of Enlightened Living LLC/ c/o Jeffrey J. Crandall, Atty., Crandall Law Firm, for the amount of $550.79, RP61N01W240600A in the name of Enlightened Living LLC/ c/o Jeffrey J. Crandall, Atty., Crandall Law Firm, for the amount of $409.95, RP61N01W241050A in the name of Enlightened Living LLC/ c/o Jeffrey J. Crandall, Atty., Crandall Law Firm, for the amount of $486.25, RP65N01W117811A in the name of Golden Sceptre Mining Co., c/o Steve Nelson in the amount of $387.75, and RP65N01W140610A in the name of Golden Sceptre Mining Co., c/o Steve Nelson in the amount of $347.85. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
The tax deed hearing ended at 10:37 a.m.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
11:00 a.m., Courthouse Maintenance Squire Fields contacted Commissioners via telephone to update them on various projects. Mr. Fields said Bogie and Sons can upgrade the roof of the Sheriff’s Office similar to the Courthouse, but he doesn’t want to take that project on until he is able to take a core sample. Mr. Squire discussed improvements to the sidewalks and said for installing the street lights, the electrical work would not be included in his scope of work.
Road and Bridge has a couple surplus pickup trucks and Mr. Fields will acquire one of them for the Maintenance Department. Commissioners and Mr. Fields reviewed quotes from Selkirk Seal Coat to reseal the parking lots.
Commissioner Robertson moved to sign an Independent Contractor Agreement with Selkirk Sealcoat. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.
11:26 a.m., Parks and Recreation Board Vice-Chair Brandon Glaza joined the meeting.
Mr. Glaza provided Commissioners with a quote from Universal Well Drilling and asked if Commissioners would be willing to move forward with drilling a well at Memorial Park. Mr. Glaza said he expects not having to drill as far down. Those present discussed the base rate for water and Mr. Glaza mentioned it is $1,800.00 per month for approximately three months when watering. A well would be paid off in about 6.5 years based on that information. The cost that is not listed in the invoice is plumbing the well into the irrigation pit so the county would want to budget an additional $5,000.00. Commissioner Robertson said the county may need to go out to bid or seek more quotes and the contractor will need to have a public works license.
Those present discussed options for restrooms with potential costs and Mr. Glaza updated Commissioners on matters pertaining to tennis court improvements to include pickleball.
The meeting with Mr. Glaza ended at 12:00 p.m.
Commissioners recessed for lunch at noon.
1:30 p.m., Commissioners reconvened for the afternoon session with Chairman Tim Bertling, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Ben Robertson, Clerk Glenda Poston, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.
1:30 pm., Shane Robinson with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services and George Hays joined the meeting.
Mr. Robinson explained that this is his annual meeting with Commissioners and he spoke of a couple mountain lion kills because they were killing sheep and goats. There were no problems with black bears this last year, but the big thing are grizzly bears. Mr. Robinson said there were 16 confirmed kills by grizzly bears last summer and now he’s wondering if that was a fluke or if they will have problems this year. Mr. Robinson spoke of specific bears that were causing problems.
The meeting with Mr. Robinson and Mr. Hayes ended at 2:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m., Road and Bridge Department Co-Superintendents Renee Nelson and Randy Morris joined the meeting. A written report was provided and Mr. Morris reviewed work listed. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) refresher training is tomorrow.
Ms. Nelson referenced the acceptance letter for the guardrail project.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the acceptance letter for the guardrail project. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Ms. Nelson discussed the Independent Contractor Agreement with Envirotech Services for mag chloride. The price for mag chloride has increased from $146.00 per ton to $198.00 per ton and the cost does include freight. Ms. Nelson said the cost for both road and rail freight is increasing so that may be a part of the reason for the increase.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to accept Envirotech Services’ quote of $198.00 per ton for RoadSaver Magnesium Chloride (MgC12), including delivery freight charge for product delivered to the Road and Bridge shop yard. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the Independent Contractor Agreement with Envirotech Services, Inc. for Magnesium Chloride. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Ms. Nelson spoke of having conference calls with Innovate and discussion was held about the existing addressing contact that is ending in June. Dan Spinosa with Innovate is inquiring about drafting a new work order and asked about the length of the agreement for budget purposes.
Ms. Nelson said she, along with Addressing Coordinator Debra Drager and Assessor Olivia Drake are trying to set up a meeting with the Sheriff’s Dispatch about renewing the Intrado program for 911 information. This is a mapping system to get addressing information to the Sheriff’s Office and it’s not being used, but there are still some shape files that need to get to Dispatch.
Ms. Nelson provided a brief update on the Riverside Road Improvement project. Construction could start next spring and it’s to be a one-year project.
The meeting with Ms. Nelson and Mr. Morris ended at 2:45 p.m.
Commissioners recessed until their 6:00 p.m., special meeting with the City of Bonners Ferry and City of Moyie Springs city council members and mayors.
6:00 p.m., Commissioners held a special meeting at the County Annex with the mayors and city council members from the City of Bonners Ferry and City of Moyie Springs. Present were: Commissioner Chairman Tim Bertling, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Ben Robertson, Clerk Glenda Poston, Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser, City of Bonners Ferry Mayor Dick Staples and Council members Valerie Thompson, Ron Smith, Rick Alonzo, and Brion Poston; City of Bonners Ferry Clerk Deby Garcia, City of Bonners Ferry Engineer Mike Klaus, and City of Bonners Ferry Administrator Lisa Ailport; City of Moyie Springs Mayor Steve Economu, City of Moyie Springs Council members Terry Johnson, Les Love, Deborah Rauth, and Geoff Hollenbeck; John Nelson and Chris Jensen with the City of Moyie Springs Public Works Department, and City of Moyie Springs Clerk Donna Wilson-Funkhouser; Douglas Reoch, Eugene Hodges, Gerald Higgs, Meredith Keller, Elsie Hollenbeck, Bonners Ferry Herald Staff Writer Emily Bonsant, Jess Walker, Michelle Walker, Earl Irving, Sandy Steinhagen, Marty Steinhagen, Caleb Davis with Representative Russ Fulcher’s Office, Boundary Economic Development Council Director David Sims, Fay Almond, Adrienne Norris, Daniel Norris, and Cal Russell.
Chairman Bertling explained that the meeting was a public meeting, but is for the City Council members and Commissioners to discuss various topics as follow:
Boundary Area Transportation Team (BATT) and regional transportation. Commissioner Cossairt said he chairs this meeting and he explained who the BATT meeting participants are. This month’s BATT meeting takes place on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Panhandle Health District Office, but it’s usually at the Annex.
Comprehensive long-range planning. Mayor Staples said the City of Bonners Ferry just completed revamping their comprehensive plan and it was approved at their last meeting. The process involved a lot of people in the community and receiving input. Mayor Staples commented on community growth and determining the way they want the city to grow. City of Moyie Springs Mayor Economu said their comprehensive plan is due, but they haven’t had time to address it with other projects consuming their time. Chairman Bertling said he has not gone over the county’s comprehensive plan. It was said the plan is supposed to be reviewed every five or 10 years. The last time the City of Bonners Ferry reviewed their plan was in 2006. Council member Thompson said the city received a grant to help fund the lion’s share of costs for the comprehensive plan, which she thought was approximately $100,000.00 and the City of Bonners Ferry paid approximately $10,000.00. Ms. Ailport clarified that the amount of the grant to cover costs associated with the comprehensive plan was $50,000.00. For the City of Moyie Springs, it would be a great opportunity to seek out grants with health as the core value. Commissioner Bertling said if we want cohesiveness between the county and cities, that’s a whole other meeting.
Area of city impact. Mayor Staples said the map has not changed with the comprehensive plan. There has been discussion about shrinking the area of impact a bit on the north end. When you get on top of the north hill, the city will probably not provide city services, but that hasn’t been brought to discussion. Chairman Bertling asked about the area south of town. The area of impact is shown in green on a map that Commissioners reviewed and it takes in a substantial area south of town. Chairman Bertling talked about city services and Mayor Staples said many of the services are already there. It was said that services go to Funkhouser Street. Mayor Economu said for the Moyie Springs area of impact, they have had requests from people to annex and they’re not against it by any means, but the City of Moyie Springs wants the developer to bring infrastructure up to current needs. In the past, Moyie Springs had tried to hold that burden, but it’s just gotten to the point where the city cannot afford to do that since they don’t have the base. There has been talk about expanding the sewer system to the City of Moyie Springs and they would like to expand it further, but they can’t until they have revenue. The sewer project is funded by a grant from the Department of Environmental Quality. Chairman Bertling said in city limits of Moyie Springs, there is a lot that can be done without annexing anything.
SPOT Bus. Council member Smith said the SPOT bus program has a board that meets in Ponderay each month and there is also a Service Development Committee that meets in Bonners Ferry. Council member Smith listed the board members of the SPOT bus, to include himself, Commissioner Cossairt and David Sims who brings a lot of knowledge. Council member Smith said the SPOT Board plans to visit with the City of Moyie Springs about joining Bonners Ferry and the county. Council member Smith listed the routes of the bus and how COVID-19 affected the program, but it’s now coming back. Council member Smith listed the number of riders for the first quarter of this year for Bonner County, Schweitzer Mountain and Bonners Ferry. Every time someone board the bus it is considered a ride and counted toward the total. Funding for SPOT is through federal grants with matching funds. Mr. Sims said Bonners Ferry is a smaller area so funds go to the State of Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), then the smaller areas can apply for funding through ITD, followed by local requirements. Other agencies participate in this program to include the City of Dover, the City of Sandpoint and the Area Agency on Aging. Mr. Sims reported that the annual operating budget is $900,000.00 without bus purchases and that is just Bonner County and Boundary County. Program match is approximately 30% overall. Mr. Sims informed those present that the SPOT program reached 1,000,000 rides in February. Mr. Sims listed the number of buses for each area and said there are 16 buses overall.
Chairman Bertling said the county is making headway on the Riverside Road Improvement project, and he explained the concurrence phase with compensation for property owners involved. The project can hopefully go out to bid the end of this summer with the start of the project in spring of 2024. The county is so far into this project now that it cannot renege on it as it will cost a tremendous amount of money, but they’re making head way. Council member Alonzo said this is in conjunction with the Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP), which has been spinning its wheels for seven or eight years now. Council member Smith asked about McArthur Lake. It was said that this project went out to bid this spring. The engineer estimated the cost at $14,000,000.00, but it came in closer to $12,000,000.00. The project will begin at the south approach with a 150-foot span, metal bridge for the area between the highway and the dam.
Ms. Ailport pointed out that the agenda topic of alcohol sales at the fair was resolved and didn’t need to be on the agenda.
Speed limit reduction in Moyie Springs to 45 miles per hour. Mayor Economu asked how the county was able to get ITD to reduce the speed by the golf course. Mayor Economu said for years Moyie Springs has tried talking to ITD about lowering the speed limit to 45, but they’ve not had any luck. Chairman Bertling said it’s a collaborative effort that could involve the county and Moyie Springs to present something to ITD. ITD will say that not enough accidents have occurred to warrant lowering the speed. Mayor Economu said that is what they’ve been told, but they would like to change the speed before accidents happen. Chairman Bertling said ITD changed the transition zone south of town and they could have done it easily, but they wanted to do a speed study. Mayor Economu said the City of Moyie Springs have had ITD at their table with no results and he commented about getting a petition going. Council member Johnson said the City of Moyie Springs even looked into reducing the speeds when addressing the 129,000-pound truck matter and ITD wouldn’t do anything. Chairman Bertling said there were sight issues south of town due to the guardrails. Council member Alonzo said they were only able to get the speed limit reduced because it’s a transition zone. Commissioner Cossairt said ITD doesn’t want to lower the speed, but they will extend transition zones and he commented about the county being willing to help the City of Moyie Springs. Chairman Bertling suggested meetings and trying to get signatures. Commissioner Robertson mentioned getting the mill on board.
Mayor Economu said a few years ago Moyie Springs asked the county for a closer dump site and also talked with Frederickson’s about home garbage pick-up, but they left it alone as they thought they were getting a dump station that was closer. There are dumpster stations in Naples, Paradise Valley and in Copeland. The east area has grown a lot and residents would appreciate having a collection site close, even if it is only open one to two days per week. Chairman Bertling said Solid Waste Department Superintendent Claine Skeen had a permit pulled for power and it was almost done. Chairman Bertling added that he’s spoken with Mr. Skeen and ITD Road Foreman George Shutes about it. Mr. Shutes has no problem in asking the ITD regional office about reopening the matter. Leasing state ground would be preferred. Mayor Economu said in being elected officials, it’s our responsibility to do what residents ask them to do if they can. Chairman Bertling said the new site would require one or two days per week. Mr. Nelson said he’s talked to the state about the north side of the Moyie Springs for a dumpster site and they will offer the site for that use, but the property needs to be given back when the entities are done with it.
Commissioner Robertson brought up the City of Bonners Ferry’s local option tax and what their contingency plan might be if it doesn’t pass since it seems likely the county will have to be involved at some point if it doesn’t pass. Council member Poston said the City Council hasn’t really discussed a contingency plan. Council member Smith said if the vote fails, he understands the city can put it to property tax or cut services and he added the only service the city has that amounts to that amount of money is law enforcement and he doesn’t want to vote for that. Ms. Ailport said the Council will have to get to work on the next steps. A property tax increase would be 63%. Ms. Ailport added that they don’t expect success with the vote so they will look at other options. Mayor Staples said the city has one year right now where we have to make cuts and they’re still looking at how to balance the budget going through this fiscal year. If the outcome is negative, they will start having to look at what cuts have to be made, such as pool, fire department, police, road maintenance, maybe snow removal, and not being there as frequently as they are now. Ms. Thompson clarified her earlier statement about thinking the grant associated with the comprehensive plan was $100,000.00. The total cost for electric was $70,000.00. Ms. Thompson said she doesn’t want people to think the city is misusing funds in any way.
Council member Poston commented that the landfill is closed on Sundays and he asked if that is permanent. Chairman Bertling said Commissioners don’t plan on looking at changing that yet. There are two to three employees on the weekend and four employees during the weekdays. Council member Poston said it’s just a thought. Commissioner Robertson said everything costs money.
Chairman Bertling discussed the approach to the Riverside Park fields and trail system. 9B Trails gets a call once per month from someone who would like to access the area with his wheelchair. Can the city and county build a trail across the bridge that would tie into that route? The route would be under the bridge. Council member Thompson said the blockage was with Union Pacific Railroad and the older bridge abutment is the issue. Council member Thompson said railroad permissions were needed. Ms. Ailport said the city had to be the applicant and they had to get permission to use the bridge since ITD didn’t keep up with maintenance. It would have been a minimum of $15,000.00 to have an engineer review what needs to be done. There would be a bill for the engineer’s time and replacement. It was really about finding funding. Ms. Ailport spoke of the difficulties involving the bridge since the city has the main under it.
Ms. Norris mentioned that she had seen information about a 10-year comprehensive plan and she asked if that is law. Ms. Ailport said no, and referenced Idaho Code 67-6519, saying it’s not required, just suggested. It’s an unfunded mandate. It is suggested having a 20-year horizon. It’s not a mandate, according to Ms. Ailport.
Commissioner Robertson said Commissioners have been asked to explore digging a well at the fairgrounds, but it was mentioned that it might make sense to bring water to the filling station, and unless they have water, it might be joint venture. Commissioner Cossairt said this is for irrigation. Ms. Ailport said there are two different filling stations for potable and non-potable water. Testing has to take place for potable water.
Ms. Norris Adrienne said she has voiced it to the county, but to the city, as long as the economy continues to grow, developers and corporations will be watching our area. During COVID, we were a little better off than other areas as we were still going out to eat, shopping and hanging out. Ms. Norris said for her, she’s seeing that this town is continuing to grow if the economy doesn’t decline. The comprehensive plan, ordinances and fee schedule should accommodate when these developers come in. Ms. Norris listed concerns about imminent domain and she said she’s hoping that we’re all thinking about that and will discuss it more as far as the whole county working toward this. Chairman Bertling said Commissioners are looking at the fee schedule, how development impacts and closing certain loop holes.
Council member Smith said the last time the cities and county had this meeting they talked about establishing a schedule to meet every so often. Chairman Bertling suggested quarterly meetings. The next meeting was set for July 24, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.
The city/county meeting ended at 7:03 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m.
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TIM BERTLING, Chairman
ATTEST:
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GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy Clerk