Commissioners’ – Week of October 5, 2026

Meeting Date: October 5, 2026 9:00 am

Minutes

Meeting Minutes

***Monday, October 5, 2026 at 9:00 a.m., Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Ben Robertson, Commissioner Tim Bertling, Commissioner Lester Pinkerton, Clerk Glenda Poston, and Deputy Clerk Stephanie Sims.

 Commissioners said the Pledge of Allegiance.

Maintenance Supervisor Squire Fields entered the meeting at 8:56 a.m. and said when the boiler was turned on for the season, both the impeller and the pump failed. He has since replaced them and it was now running. A valve will also need to be changed in the future. The water usage for the boiler has decreased significantly.

Mr. Fields removed two limbs from one of the trees at the courthouse that were concerning. The mold testing will be performed on October 20th and they will reach out to the Sheriff to see if they want the jail included. The testing has been reduced to twice per year and now that the boiler leak has been repaired, they may reduce that to once per year.

Election setup was scheduled for the end of the month. Metal has arrived for the Assessor building and that project will be moving forward soon. The roofing was scheduled for early November and the cracks will be addressed by the end of the month. He also said the City of Bonners Ferry Fire Department washed the outside of the Courthouse.

Mr. Fields then asked how to handle the restrooms at Rocky Point and Commissioners asked him to reach out to the Waterways Board. Lastly, Mr. Fields said they will have training on the fire panel for the new Justice Center later this week and he will include the City of Bonners Ferry Fire in that process.

The meeting with Mr. Fields ended at 9:09 a.m. and he left the meeting.

Commissioner Pinkerton moved to sign Commissioner meeting minutes from the week of September 21st and 28th. Commissioner Bertling second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioners reviewed claims for payment. Fund totals are as follows:

Current Expense                                             $    166,543.95

Road & Bridge                                                          91,031.33

Airport                                                                           7,427.68

District Court                                                               5,499.96

Justice Fund                                                               46,105.97

911 Funds                                                                     3,002.92

Health District                                                             8,723.35

Revaluation                                                                  4,550.01

Solid Waste                                                                11,382.72

Veterans Memorial                                                         23.67

Weeds                                                                               218.34

Restorium                                                                  12,969.80

Waterways                                                                       181.95

Grant, Selkirk Coop Weed Mgmt                         4,545.58

Juvenile Probation – Lottery                                     136.23

Grant, Boat Safety                                                         507.62

Grant, Fire Mitigation                                            51,871.50

LATCT Fund                                                             213,671.02

             TOTAL                                                       $628,393.60

Trust

Auditors Trust – Misc                                                     87.96

Boundary Co. Drug Court Trusts                              397.82

Interlock Device Fund                                                    42.10

Indigent Reimbursements                                          785.00

Odyssey Court Trust Account                             32,293.70

Odyssey Bond Trust Account                              40,490.00

Odyssey Restitution Trust Account                     1,794.00

                                TOTAL                                       $75,890.58

                                GRAND TOTAL                    $704,284.18

Citizens are invited to inspect detailed records on file in the Courthouse (individual claims & Commissioners’ allowance & warrant register record 2025-2026).

Commissioner Bertling moved to sign Easement Agreement with the City of Bonners Ferry. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Pinkerton moved to sign letter of recommendation. Commissioner Bertling second. Motion passed unanimously.

Civil Attorney Bill Wilson entered the meeting at 9:30 a.m.

Commissioner Bertling moved to go into executive session 74-206(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 and 74-206(f) to communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated. The mere presence of legal counsel at an executive session does not satisfy this requirement. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Commissioners voted as follows: Chairman Robertson “aye”, Commissioner Bertling “aye”, Commissioner Pinkerton “aye”. The executive session ended at 10:33 a.m. No action was taken.

The meeting with Mr. Wilson ended at 10:34 a.m. and he left the meeting.

Probation Officer Alisa Walker entered the meeting at 10:35 a.m. and said that the Trunk or Treat was moving forward and will be held on Saturday, October 31 to align with other events. Commissioners agreed to contribute candy for the event. Ms. Walker will also be reaching out to the school district to discuss safe trick or treating with elementary schools. Some of her staff will be attending a crime conference at the end of the month in Montana.

The meeting with Ms. Walker ended at 10:39 a.m. and she left the meeting.

P&Z Tech Jenn Maynard entered the meeting at 10:41 a.m. and said that they received 15 applications during the month of September bringing the total for FY26 to 173. Of that, 114 are placement permits (107 residential and 7 commercial/industrial). The residential placement permits are meeting their 8-week goal 71% of the time, which was up 4% from the month of August. At the time that she started there were forty open files and that has now been reduced to twenty-six. Twenty of those are from 2025 that they are working through. They recently received a certificate of compliance which they don’t get very often. It was regarding a garage that was built in the 70’s that was in the county ROW.

As for performance indicators for routing, she stated that departments are doing well with a continued commitment to the timeframe. Addressing had an increase due to the number of contract hours being exhausted. She will look for ways to minimize this for the next fiscal year because those hours will be maxed in July with the current format. Ms. Poston replied that she did not remember anyone reducing their hours. Ms. Maynard replied that the contract stayed the same, but with the increase in pay provided by the vendor, the hours were reduced to match.

Ms. Maynard stated that her biggest point of pride was the decrease in processing from 142 to 57 days from start to finish. Commissioner Pinkerton said that he was happy with that trend and asked how it could be continued. Ms. Maynard replied that the majority of that will be communicating with the public. Line adjustments will take longer because they require surveys. She expects the timelines will decrease in the spring.  She was also seeing some delays in comments from TC Energy and ITD.

The meeting with Ms. Maynard ended at 10:55 a.m. and she left the meeting.

EDC Director David Sims entered the meeting at 10:56 a.m. and said the Moyie Post Office has finally opened. The City of Bonners Ferry had initially wanted to use a consultant for Bonner St., but found the cost for that was over $250,000. They are now back to doing it inhouse. The county has been paid for the two energy block grants and he was surprised how quickly they were processed. They are still waiting for the report on the tree grants. He has been told it will be sent today. Innovia will be assisting with the City of Moyie to provide some funding to assist with a meal for Trunk or Treat.

Idaho Department of Water Resources has a grant available to assist with rehabilitating water systems. One of the local districts applied and received a large grant. He suggested that other districts consider applying. The Department of Commerce will be up on October 15th to look at various projects happening in the county. They produce a report each year for legislatures and the featured business for this year was local.

SPOT has been providing Monday service since May and Mr. Sims expressed concerns over the ridership and budget. It was currently 15% over budget and projections are showing they will be 30% over. If that continues, he fears they will need more funding.

The unemployment numbers for Boundary County are currently at 5.1%. The workforce was also increasing. He also confirmed that the unemployment rate for North Idaho was higher than the rest of the state. PAC was more focused on lending at this time than anything else. Their lending has also expanded to Spokane and Pend Oreille County. He felt they should be solely focused on the five northern counties of Idaho.

As for Canadian traffic they had been seeing increases over 2025 numbers, but lower than 2024. The month of August was a decrease overall.

The meeting with Mr. Sims ended at 11:25 a.m. and he left the meeting.

The meeting recessed for lunch at 11:43 a.m.

Commissioners reconvened for the afternoon session at 1:30 p.m. with Chairman Robertson, Commissioner Bertling, Commissioner Pinkerton, Clerk Glenda Poston and Deputy Clerk Stephanie Sims.

At 1:30 p.m. Commissioners held a bid opening for the County Fuel Supply for FY26-27. Those present were Chairman Robertson, Commissioner Bertling, Commissioner Pinkerton, Deputy Clerk Stephanie Sims and Jim Dyck. The proceeding was recorded.

Chairman Robertson stated that they received one bid from Dyck’s Oil and Auto with a total of $541,445.00. They also included a check for bid security and their certification regarding debarment.

Commissioner Bertling moved to accept the bid from Dyck’s Oil & Auto for County Fuel for FY26-27. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.

The proceeding ended at 1:33 p.m. and Mr. Dyck left the meeting.

Ms. Poston entered the meeting at 1:34 p.m.

Mr. Luke Huffman and his fourth-grade students from North Idaho Classical Academy entered the meeting at 1:44 p.m. and recited the poem Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

They then presented a thank you card and asked Commissioners questions about their job.

Mr. Huffman and his students left the meeting at 1:49 p.m.

Sheriff Travis Stolley entered the meeting at 2:12 p.m.

Personnel Director Pam Barton entered the meeting at 2:13 p.m.

Sheriff Stolley stated that he went through a pretty severe staffing issue with dispatch and were down to four employees at one point. Those employees worked tirelessly to cover all shifts 24-hours per day, 7 days per week and he wanted to show his appreciation for their assistance during that time. He was proposing a $2,000 stipend for each of the four employees.

Ms. Poston reviewed the balances in the Sheriff’s budget at the end of FY25-26 and what she estimated for carry-over. She said that she estimated $420,000 to be carried forward to the Justice Fund, but the actual number was $409,000. If approved the Commissioners needed to keep in mind that they are not showing the carryforward that she forecasted.

Chairman Robertson asked if you take this money out of the budget, would you be okay. Sheriff Stolley stated that he ordinarily would say no, however they were currently down 3 positions at this time. So those salaries are not currently being paid. He added that he could not emphasize enough how much those employees went above and beyond.

Commissioner Bertling moved to provide a one-time salary stipend of $2,000/each for four employees in Sheriff Dispatch. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.

Ms. Barton shared employee status documents that required signatures.

Sheriff Stolley left the meeting at 2:33 p.m.

Ms. Barton left the meeting at 2:34 p.m.

There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 2:44 p.m.

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

No meetings were scheduled; therefore, the Commissioners did not meet.

s/________________________________

TIM BERTLING, Acting Chairman

ATTEST:

s/_______________________________

GLENDA POSTON, Clerk

By: Stephanie Sims, Deputy Clerk

All times are tentative unless identified as a specific appointment or public hearing & the Board will address items on the agenda as they are completed, which may either shorten or lengthen the times for which items are addressed on the agenda. Claims Review & Approval, Indigent Matters and Junior College Tuition Forms will be discussed & approved and Resolutions will be adopted as time allows. Commissioners’ meetings are held in their chambers, Room 28, in the Boundary County Courthouse, unless otherwise stated. For Commissioners’ meetings that are held at the County Annex Conference Room, that address is 6566 Main Street, Bonners Ferry, Idaho.  

 Monday, October 5, 2026

9:00 a.m.: Courthouse Maintenance Department report.

9:15 a.m.: Motion to sign Commissioner meeting minutes from the week of September 21st and 28th. Cancel/extend various taxes. Claims Approval. Motion to sign Easement Agreement with City of Bonners Ferry. Motion to sign letter of recommendation. ACTION ITEMS.

9:30 a.m.: County Civil Attorney Bill Wilson – Update on various matters. Executive Session 74-206(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. Executive Session 74-206(f) to communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated. The mere presence of legal counsel at an executive session does not satisfy this requirement. ACTION ITEMS.

10:00 a.m.: P&Z report.

10:30 a.m.: Probation Office Department report.

11:00 a.m.: Boundary Economic Development Council (EDC) Director David Sims – Update on EDC projects.

1:30 p.m.: Bid Opening for County Fuel Supply for FY26-27. ACTION ITEM.

1:45 p.m.: Luke Huffman, North Idaho Classical Academy 4th Grade Class.

2:15 p.m.: Human Resources Report. Discussion/possible motion regarding one time salary stipend for four employees in Sheriff Dispatch. Executive Session 74-206(a) to consider hiring a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, wherein the respective qualities of individuals are to be evaluated in order to fill a particular vacancy or need. This paragraph does not apply to filling a vacancy in an elective office or deliberations about staffing needs in general. Executive Session 74-206(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. ACTION ITEMS.

 Tuesday, October 6, 2026

DISCUSSION MAY INCLUDE ANY OTHER TOPICS THAT HAVE BEEN COVERED IN THE PAST. Anyone requiring special accommodation due to disability should contact Boundary County Commissioners’ office at (208) 267-7723 at least two working days prior to the meetings.