***Monday, September 15, 2025 at 9:00 a.m., Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Ben Robertson, Commissioner Tim Bertling, and Deputy Clerk Stephanie Sims. Commissioner Lester Pinkerton and Clerk Glenda Poston were absent.
Commissioners said the Pledge of Allegiance.
Greg Lamberty entered the meeting at 9:02 a.m.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign the Commissioner meeting minutes from the week of 9/1. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign RFF#6 for 22HFR1-Boundary. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign the deed instructions for escrow document #1005549 for Sunrise Rd. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign the letter to Idaho Department of Commerce regarding the Panhandle Door Hwy project. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign the City/County Dispatch Agreement. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Fay Almond entered the meeting at 9:10 a.m.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign the extension request for File #23-0049 Riverview Meadows Subdivision, written decision. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign the Findings and Decision letter regarding File #25-0044 City of Moyie Springs. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Civil Attorney Bill Wilson entered the meeting at 9:31 a.m. and stated that he has reviewed and made some minor changes to the BVA agreement. It was now ready to move forward. He also added that he has changed his stance and no longer feels an MOU was needed since the BVA does the lions share of the work. Mr. Wilson will also reach out to the attorney on the Riverside project and has been working on public records requests and personnel issues.
Mr. Lamberty and Ms. Almond left the meeting at 9:42 a.m.
Commissioners discussed with Mr. Wilson the power/fiber lines behind the courthouse that recently came down and devised a plan forward.
Chief Jeff Lindsey entered the meeting at 10:00 a.m.
The meeting with Mr. Wilson ended at 10:03 a.m.
Commissioner Bertling moved to recess as the Board of Boundary County Commissioners and reconvene as the Boundary County Ambulance Service District Governing Board. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Bertling moved to approve the minutes from August 18, 2025. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chief Lindsey stated that there have been 127 calls for service for the month of August. They also had a request for assistance at a fire so they still have one unit out. Chairman Robertson asked about manpower and Chief Lindsey responded that they are fully staffed.
The meeting with Chief Lindsey ended at 10:05 a.m. and he left the meeting.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign the Ambulance Service Contract Renewal Agreement for FY26. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Bertling moved to adjourn as the Boundary County Ambulance Service District Governing Board and reconvene as the Board of Boundary County Commissioners. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
KVRI Facilitator Theresa Wheat was unable to attend the meeting in person and called in at 10:31 a.m.
Bonners Ferry District Forest Ranger Heather Fuller entered the meeting 10:32 a.m.
Ms. Wheat stated that the KVRI meeting would be chaired by Gary Aiken and they would have presentations from Ed Koberstein regarding past, present and future USFS projects. There would also be an update from the Grizzly bear sub-committee and the KTOI huckleberry harvest experiment.
The call with Ms. Wheat ended at 10:34 a.m.
Ms. Fuller stated that the pre-advertisement for Caribou Snow will go out this week and there was road work going on with IDL. The gates in Boulder should be fixed this week.
Chairman Robertson asked what was being done in Bog Creek. Ms. Fuller stated that a large boulder was being removed, culvert work and routine maintenance.
Commissioner Bertling asked if any grading had been done on Italian or Saddle. Ms. Fuller responded no.
Ms. Fuller stated that Mr. Koberstein’s presentation for KVRI was the same as the forestry subcommittee. They are also gathering more information for the discussion at the next subcommittee meeting in December.
Chairman Robertson asked about a firewood initiative with the Forest Service. Ms. Fuller stated that she was not familiar with it and would look into it.
Ms. Fuller stated that the field trip was being delayed a couple weeks.
Chairman Robertson asked how morale was. Ms. Fuller stated that it has been challenging. Chairman Robertson asked about budget for recreation. Ms. Fuller stated that funding for recreation was not an issue because of grants. She was please that they will now be able to hire seasonals so that will be a tremendous help.
The meeting with Ms. Fuller ended at 10:50 a.m. and she left the meeting.
Probation Officer Alisa Walker entered the meeting at 10:53 a.m.
At 11:00 a.m., Ms. Walker stated that she was there to discuss the potential of purchasing one of the City of Bonners Ferry’s police cars that they were going to surplus. Ms. Walker stated that she was under the impression that they were going to donate it to probation, but the agreement that was sent over requested a payment of $7,500. She also added that the car had 180,000 miles.
Chairman Robertson stated that he agreed with Ms. Poston that there should be a better relationship between the City and County. I can understand paying for the front-end repairs that are being done and a small amount more, but the amount they were requesting was too much.
Commissioner Bertling stated that since they don’t put enough money toward dispatch, this should be donated to help make up the difference.
Chairman Robertson stated that the Sheriff will have four vehicles that will be rotating out of service soon. Perhaps we should wait for one of those. In the meantime, they could use the Commissioners vehicle.
Commissioners agreed to pass on the City’s vehicle unless they were willing to donate it.
Ms. Walker then asked about the reclassification of probation positions for law enforcement. Commissioners discussed the pay would not change, but they agreed to look into it further.
Chairman Robertson then discussed their Facebook account and asked that they not share things from private entities. It was for County information only.
The meeting with Ms. Walker ended at 11:28 a.m. and she left the meeting.
Restorium Supervisor Janay Smith entered the meeting at 11:29 a.m. and Commissioner Bertling asked how they weathered through the recent round of COVID. Ms. Smith stated that no one was hospitalized except for the first case. It was rough for about a week. They had five or six that did not have symptoms and never tested positive. She added that admissions were notified and they chose to wait until it had passed. Five individuals are expected to be admitted soon and they are all private pay.
Ms. Smith then reviewed the accounts with them and stated that they are doing well reducing the amount that was behind. She stated that they are still working to fill the nursing position and they have other positions that have been hard to fill because it takes too long for the required background checks.
Ms. Smith said the concrete work was scheduled for the first week of October and the 50th anniversary of the Restorium will be rescheduled for a future date.
The meeting with Ms. Smith ended at 11:48 a.m. and she left the meeting.
Commissioners recessed for lunch at noon.
At 1:30 p.m., Commissioners reconvened for the afternoon session with with Chairman Robertson, Commissioner Bertling and Deputy Clerk Stephanie Sims.
Road & Bridge Assistant Superintendent Adam Ryals entered the meeting at 1:22 p.m. and stated that they are brooming the roads that were recently chipsealed. They have been watering and grading in District 5 and Flemming Creek as well as durapatching on quite a few roads throughout the county. Sign work has been done on Gold, Paradise Valley, Two Tail, Blume Hill and White Mtn roads.
Mr. Ryals stated that the new mechanic will start on October 6th and they recently put everyone through forklift training so they are all certified. They will start screening sand in a few days.
Chairman Robertson asked Mr. Ryals to send probation the governmental websites they have used for recent vehicle purchases.
Personnel Director Pam Barton entered the meeting at 2:00 p.m.
The meeting with Mr. Ryals ended at 2:02 p.m. and he left the meeting.
Ms. Barton reviewed several job postings that recently opened. Commissioners agreed to run the positions for two weeks. She stated that she was working with their contracted physician to put together a packet for workman’s comp so that everyone was on the same page. She will also have a representative from SIF at the next department head/elected official meeting to review the necessary information.
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. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Commissioners voted as follows: Chairman Robertson “aye”, Commissioner Bertling “aye”. The executive session ended at 2:45 p.m. No action was taken.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Robertson, Commissioner Bertling, and Deputy Clerk Stephanie Sims. Commissioner Pinkerton was absent.
At 2:00 p.m. Commissioners held a public hearing for file 25-0128, lot line adjustment via short plat, for Koverage Contractors LLC. Those present were: Chairman Robertson, Commissioner Bertling, Deputy Clerk Stephanie Sims, P&Z Staff Tess Vogel, P&Z Administrator Ben Jones, Road & Bridge Assistant Superintendent Adam Ryals, Adam Isaac, Coral Koberstein with JRS Surveying, Munro Murdock, Adrienne Norris, and Jennifer McLeish. The hearing was recorded.
Chairman Robertson opened the public hearing and stated that Commissioners are conducting this hearing for preliminary plat approval to combine Lot 1, Block 2 of the Replat of Northland Woods Subdivision and Lot 7, Block 2 of Northland Woods Subdivision First Addition into a single, 2.69-acre lot. The lots are located off Tobe Way, a 60-foot-wide County road from U.S. Highway 95. The properties are zoned Commercial/Light Industrial zone, which has no lot size minimum other than sufficient sizing to accommodate uses and services. The proposed lots are identified as Assessor’s Parcels RP00370002001AA; RP003900020070A in Section 14 Township 62 North, Range 1 East.
Commissioners had no conflicts or disclosures.
Mr. Jones explained the proceedings and provided the staff report. Mr. Jones stated that the application had been routed through the various agencies. Addressing had no concerns. Airport commented that it was outside of the height zone but was in the traffic pattern, so a Fair Disclosure form would need to be signed. Mr. Jones stated that the applicant has since signed the form. Road & Bridge has granted access under permit #25-0037 and an additional right only access may be granted at a later date. Panhandle Health does not have a sewage disposal application for the parcels at this time so it was unknown what will be needed. No public comments were received.
Chairman Robertson reconfirmed that the paperwork was signed as requested by the airport. Mr. Jones confirmed that it has been signed.
Chairman Robertson then asked for the applicant to present. Ms. Koberstein stated that she had nothing more to add. They are combining two lots from different subdivisions into one lot.
Chairman Robertson then asked if anyone wished to testify in favor of the application. No one spoke. Chairman Robertson then asked if anyone would like to testify as neutral.
Mr. Isaac stated that he had a concern about construction happening prior to this being approved. He added that they are also building on another location that he had concerns was also prior to approval.
Mr. Murdock stated that he owned the campground next door and was concerned about future development.
Chairman Robertson then asked if anyone wanted to testify in opposition. No one spoke.
Commissioners had no questions, but stated that the application being considered was to combine two lots and any future development had not currently been submitted. Ms. Koberstein stated that the applicant would like to build on the line combining the two lots.
Commissioners worked through their reason statement and Chairman Robertson called for a motion.
Commissioner Bertling moved to approve the preliminary plat to combine Lot 1, Block 2 of the Replat of Northland Woods Subdivision and Lot 7, Block 2 of Northland Woods Subdivision First Addition into a single, 2.69-acre lot, File #25-0128, and direct staff to prepare written findings, a reasoned decision, and terms and conditions of approval, finding that the preliminary plat is in accord with the applicable zoning and subdivision standards of the Boundary County Land Use Ordinance, based upon the findings and conditions as written and based upon the reasoned statement as read into the record. This action does not result in taking of private property. Chairman Robertson stepped down as chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
The hearing ended at 2:15 p.m.
At 2:30 p.m., Jennifer McLeish read a statement and provided a document as public notice to Commissioners regarding the USCS rules of civil procedures, and Rule 17 and Rule 20 of the US Supreme Court. She discussed concerns regarding states enacting their own legislation in substitute of the US Constitution.
Ms. Norris read a statement and provided documents regarding grand jury and their lack of use for most proceedings.
Chairman Robertson stated that they needed to have conversations with legislatures and asked what they wanted from Commissioners. Ms. Norris asked them to look into the information provided and stated that lower courts are not honoring the US Constitution. Ms. McLeish stated that there was the potential for budget issues because more torts could be filed if they are not following federal law. She added that qualified immunity has been exaggerated beyond what it was intended to be.
Cory Trapp with Longwell + Trapp entered the meeting at 2:52 p.m.
Wally Cossairt entered the meeting at 2:54 p.m.
The meeting with Ms. McLeish and Ms. Norris ended at 2:54 p.m. and they left the meeting.
Prosecutor Andrakay Pluid entered the meeting at 2:58 p.m.
Mr. Trapp stated that he had reviewed camera locations with Matt Hodges and thought Commissioner Pinkerton would be interested in reviewing that information as well. Access control will be wired in so that it could be added at a future date. Data locations will also be run to the second floor and Mr. Hodges will do the connections himself to reduce cost. The cabling for cameras will also be provided so that Mr. Hodges or another contractor can install the cameras. He also shared the finishes that had been chosen for flooring, countertops, cabinets, trim etc. The bid packet should be ready at the end of the month.
The meeting with Mr. Trapp ended at 3:17 p.m. and he left the meeting.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
s/________________________________
BEN ROBERTSON, Chairman
ATTEST:
s/_______________________________
GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Stephanie Sims, Deputy Clerk