***Monday, June 24, 2019, 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.

County resident Marty Martinez and Blue Sky Broadcasting News Reporter Mike Brown were in attendance of the meetings off and on throughout the day.

9:00 a.m., Road and Bridge Department Foreman Randy Morris joined the meeting to give the departmental report. A written report was presented. Chairman Dinning asked about shutting down Kootenai Trail Road for work. Mr. Morris said that closure was for paving the road and the pavers wanted no traffic on it for 24 hours, but paving crews kept getting rained out over the weekend. Commissioners asked if the contractor completed work for Ruby Creek Bridge #1. Mr. Morris said Bridge #1 is done. The bridge inspectors are supposed to let the county know how heavy of a load this bridge can handle. For bridge #3, Mr. Morris said engineering information should be turned back in this week from HMH Engineering. This bridge work involves installing some culverts in the creek and putting a new bridge deck on. The abutments on this bridge are fine, according to Mr. Morris. The deck for bridge #4 is ready, but Road and Bridge just needs time to do the work. A temporary bridge will be needed or they will put culverts in the creek when the water is low enough to put the deck on. Chairman Dinning asked when the Riverside Project is to get started. Mr. Morris said he thinks work should start on that project next year, but it’s not certain how long that project will take to complete.

Commissioner Cossairt mentioned receiving a complaint about dust on Depot Road in Naples. Mr. Morris informed Commissioners that Road and Bridge is cutting back tree limbs hanging over roads due to the rain received making the limbs heavy. Mr. Morris asked about the ability to order 12 inch bands and pipe and since there is budget for these materials, should he just order it. Mr. Morris said he would double check the budget for this. Durapatching was halted today due to rainfall, according to Mr. Morris. Mr. Morris said he had to check two approaches on Heights Loop. There are applications for two driveway approaches on this road and one resident installed culverts and built their driveway, etc., but they are now just driving off their property onto the pavement instead of using the approach. Mr. Morris said the county needs something that states you can’t built a residence until the driveway is in place.

The meeting with Mr. Morris at 9:16 a.m.

9:20 a.m., Commissioner Cossairt moved to go into executive session pursuant to Idaho Code 74-206(1)b, to consider the evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, or public school student. Commissioner Kirby second. Commissioners voted as follows: Chairman Dinning “aye”, Commissioner Cossairt “aye” and Commissioner Kirby “aye”. Motion passed unanimously. The executive session ended at 9:30 a.m. No action was taken.

9:30 a.m., Commissioners contacted County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull via telephone for an update on various projects. Chairman Dinning explained that a Boundary County resident, Mike Nunke, lives up Upper Pack River Road and he met with Commissioners to discuss his solid waste fee on his property tax bill. Mr. Nunke had informed Commissioners that he has been turned away from the Naples dumpster site in the past because he has 7B license plates and does not keep a property tax bill in his car to prove his residency is in Boundary County. Mr. Nunke now disposes of his garbage in Bonner County. Mr. Nunke informed Commissioners that he is paying Boundary County taxes for two structures on his property, but one structure does not qualify as a residence so the county can cancel the solid waste fee for one of those structures. Mr. Nunke requested that Commissioners cancel the solid waste fees entirely as he doesn’t use the service, but Commissioners said they see that as opening a can of worms. Attorney Hull said Mr. Nunke is a county resident and he may use Boundary County’s services at some point. If Mr. Nunke is using Bonner County’s solid waste facility, he must also purchase a permit for that service in Bonner County. As far as Boundary County is concerned, Attorney Hull said he feels Mr. Nunke should be assessed this tax. Chairman Dinning added that Mr. Nunke has 7B license plates so he wasn’t able to dump his garbage at the Naples site, but Commissioners said their thought is he has a property tax bill so he can take that with him to show residency. Commissioners said they would schedule more discussion on this. Attorney Hull said with the State of Idaho having switched to allowing someone to license a car in any county, it makes the argument go by the way side.

Attorney Hull updated Commissioners on other matters and he informed them he is still working on a matter for Clerk Poston pertaining to a death certificate and he’s also working on an assignment of an airport hangar lease, etc., so he has a few things to work on. Chairman Dinning said Treasurer Larson is working on a public administrator positon and Attorney Hull replied that he’s working on that, but he’s not sure about the document that exists so the judge is looking into that.

Commissioners talked to Attorney Hull about the Parks and Recreation Board using volunteer workers to help remodel the restrooms at the fairgrounds so they will send Attorney Hull some information.

The call to Attorney Hull ended at 9:34 a.m.

Commissioner Kirby moved to cancel one of the solid waste fees for parcel #RP60N02W218362A. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Kirby moved to cancel any penalties, late fees or interest based on Commissioner’s prior discussion with property owner Mike Nunke as it pertains to parcel #RP60N02W218362A. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Cossairt moved to deny the request made by property owner Mike Nunke to eliminate all solid wastes fees on parcel RP60N02W218362A and to amend the fee to just one solid waste fee for this property. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the Certificate of Residency for Alexander Wallace. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the Quitclaim Deed/Return to Grantee for Wallace Nyberg for parcel #RP00840010016AA and parcel #RP65N01W084815A. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the contract with Maria’s Cleaning Service to clean the Courthouse and surrounding buildings as well as the armory for the term beginning September 1, 2019 and ending October 1, 2020. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Kirby moved to approve Commissioners’ meeting minutes for the week of June 3 & 4, 2019. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.

Chairman Dinning discussed matters pertaining to the job description for the county’s geographic information system (GIS) position with Commissioners and Clerk Poston. Clerk Poston said with the census coming up she feels the person who fills this position would work quite heavily with the census workers. Chairman Dinning said he will have to check with Assessor Ryals. Chairman Dinning said he met with Assessor Ryals and County Mapper Olivia Drake and he was informed there are job duties that can be removed from the current GIS position. The immediate supervisor for GIS is currently listed as the Road and Bridge Department so do Commissioners want to keep it that way. Commissioners will speak with Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac about this and have the job description reviewed by the Personnel Classification Committee. Those present questioned having a county vehicle available for the person in this position.

As it pertains to the job description for the County Emergency Manager position, that notice probably just needs to be publicized, but Commissioners need to determine the wage. Commissioners and Clerk Poston briefly discussed budgeting for the public information officer position.

9:56 a.m., Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac joined the meeting.

10:00 a.m., Commissioners reviewed the county’s personnel policy for updates and amendments. The county is getting direction from Idaho Counties Risk Management Program (ICRMP) that they would prefer employees be at-will in order to bring the county into compliance with what they would like. With the county’s experience in personnel issues, there would’ve been a benefit to having an at-will policy as the outcomes of the issues in the past have been the same. Chairman Dinning asked if there is any talk of inserting language into the policy about urging elected officials or department heads to go through the process to help an employee become a better employee. Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac said having the county do what it can to help an employee has been mentioned, but not since beginning work on this policy. Commissioner Cossairt said it goes back to what Prosecutor Douglas talked about as to how a newly elected official could fire the current staff of that office in order to hire their friends for those positions. If an elected official doesn’t like an employee, they will find a way to get rid of them sooner or later. In the past, if an employee of an office decided to run for the elected official position against the current elected official of that same office, they could be terminated, but that was quickly turned around. Commissioner Kirby said there has got to be a process within the county where an employee can be terminated immediately if need be. Chairman Dinning mentioned that in the past if an employee who was terminated wanted to have a hearing for an appeal, the hearing would occur before Commissioners, who could overturn the decision of another elected official to terminate that employee. Chairman Dinning continued by saying that the issue is that the other elected official who terminated the employee wouldn’t take that employee back. Clerk Poston said she did solicit information from other counties that have an at-will policy, which totals approximately eight counties, and there has been no abuse of that as far as she is aware of.

Those present brought up other items discussed at the prior meeting to review the personnel policy to include bereavement leave. Clerk Poston said Assessor Ryals informed her that he is supportive of limiting bereavement leave to three days unless long distance travel is needed.

Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac said holiday time off will be based off an eight hour day; not a ten hour day. Those present discussed the official work week as being from Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. to 12:01 a.m. on Monday morning the following week. It was said the county has been using that day and time of Monday morning so that will be left unchanged.

The meeting to discuss the personnel policy ended at 10:20 a.m.

Chairman Dinning said he contacted the U.S. Economic Development Administration Office in Seattle about the allowed uses of the Extension Office, as it was built with a grant through that agency, but he hasn’t heard back.

Commissioners tended to administrative duties.

10:45 a.m., Billie Krause, Jeannie Bender and Connie Wells joined the meeting.

10:54 a.m., Restorium Administrator Karlene Magee and Assistant Administrator Diana Lane met with Commissioners to give the department report.

Commissioners asked for an update on the boiler at the Restorium. Commissioners had given their approval to have Cool-it fix the boiler so parts were ordered last week. The owner of Cool-it said he would make efforts to fit the Restorium in for boiler repairs, according to Ms. Magee. Clerk Poston will get back to the insurance company to let them know repairs will be done soon. Those present discussed having a boiler inspection done again. Ms. Magee said High Mark won’t do the inspection any longer as this boiler is old.

Ms. Magee discussed matters pertaining to staffing at the Restorium and presented Commissioners with a document she put together pertaining to employee schedules and how many more employees are needed to cover all shifts. Ms. Magee said there is a shift differential for the 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. shift and she questioned if there could be more of a differential for the graveyard shift. Clerk Poston reviewed budget information for employee hours. Ms. Magee said she doesn’t think the wage is the issue, but she doesn’t know why it’s hard to find employees. Commissioner Cossairt said it might be due to working the weekends. Chairman Dinning said Commissioners can’t restructure the wage to allow for a night differential or weekends just for the Restorium as it would have to apply for all departments and offices that work weekends. Ms. Magee commented that if there was some incentive or scholarship program, it may help find and retain employees and she added that this is something the hospital does.

The meeting regarding the Restorium ended at 11:30 a.m.

Ms. Krause, Ms. Bender and Ms. Wells left the meeting

11:30 a.m., Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac joined the meeting. Commissioners contacted County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull via telephone for the following executive session.

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 12:05 p.m. No action was taken.

Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac left the meeting.

Commissioners recessed for lunch at 12: 07 p.m.
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., Sheriff Dave Kramer, Timberlake Fire Chief/former State of Idaho Fire Marshal Bill Steele, Boundary County Sheriff’s Office Detective Dave McClelland, and North Bench Fire Chief Gus Jackson joined the meeting to discuss jurisdictional matters pertaining to potential fires.

Prior to starting the discussion with Sheriff Kramer, Commissioners contacted Larry Jenkins with Reliable Builders to discuss dry rot Mr. Jenkins found in a portion of wall on Memorial Hall as he was redoing the roof in that area. Mr. Jenkins said this building is structurally sound now, but any further work will have to be done from the top down. Mr. Jenkins said his workers did what they can for repairs up to two plates. There is nothing there that can’t be done down the road, but it is something for Commissioners to be aware of, according to Mr. Jenkins. There is something going on under the roof membrane on the Memorial Hall side of this building and Mr. Jenkins further explained what had dry rot.

The phone call to Mr. Jenkins ended at 1:31 p.m.

Sheriff Kramer introduced Mr. Steele to Commissioners as the current fire chief for Timberlake Fire Department and the past State Fire Marshal. Sheriff Kramer said he thought Chief Steele would be good to have at this meeting to answer any questions. In a potential fire season, those departments that don’t have fire district jurisdictions, but instead have subscription-based fees such as North Bench Fire Department, Hall Mountain Fire Department and Curley Creek Fire Department, have costs associated with fire events in those areas, but it falls back onto the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Kramer said he would like to talk about creating a memorandum of understanding with subscription based fire departments and the Fleming Creek Fire is one example of needing an MOU. Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) managed that fire, but structural issues were involved. Resources to order for structural protection and the costs and resources associated with that could fall back on to the county.

Sheriff Kramer said with the Cape Horn fire, different resources were used and depending on where the fire occurs, the department that has jurisdiction has to order those resources. Chief Steele said Jason Blubaum is the actual deputy fire marshal for this region of Idaho, but he still maintains his state fire marshal commission to assist Mr. Blubaum when needed. Fire jurisdiction is a big issue in all Idaho counties. Chief Steele said to simplify, IDL and the Forest Service are two separate political subdivisions, but they work as one organization. Although the Sheriff’s Office has concurrent jurisdiction on lands, predominantly IDL and the Forest Service manage their fires pretty well with unified command, which is a very important concept as that is 60% to 70% of land mass that the county would be involved in. Now with people building further out into the urban interface and you have structures sitting in there, there are two more unique situations. Chief Steele said when he came to Idaho, he had never heard of subscription fire departments, but they are widespread around Idaho with the north region of Idaho having the most subscription service fire response of anywhere in the state. Having a lot of respect for Chief Jackson, in terms of legal jurisdiction for the county, whether an unincorporated district or subscription-based, the responsibility to the county is the same. The Sheriff’s Office has primary jurisdiction. What’s done in many other counties is helping prepare agreements. There is another piece of the law. If a fire district goes outside of their jurisdiction, there are two conditions in that the chief of that district has been asked to do that by another jurisdiction, such as the Sheriff’s Office, or due to an emergency situation to suppress fire, and that fire jurisdiction is allowed to collect reasonable fees for making that effort. That is in Idaho statute and is done regularly around the state. Chief Steele said he’s done that with the Timberlake Fire Department outside of Timberlake’s district, but not inside some other jurisdiction.

Agreements have been set up where the Sheriff’s Office is the agency for the billing and collection process. When the funds come in the fire district receives the funds from the county. The reason is the county has lien authority on properties whereas fire districts don’t outside of their jurisdictional authority. It doesn’t cost the county a dime other than administratively in writing the collection letter and writing to insurance companies. Those reasonable fees are already established statewide by the Standard Mobilization Guide Book. The only difference is to facilitate that process through dispatch. In the event of getting called out to an event as per the agreement, incident command is established by the agreement. For example, the Sheriff’s Office will request South Boundary Fire District head to a fire and take care of suppression by the authority of the Sheriff’s Office. South Boundary Fire District acts as incident commend and if IDL is involved, then the process involves unified command and the fire district authority is now extended. Unified command decides what resources are needed and who is going to pay for those resources. Chairman Dinning asked if the county is still the collecting agency in this scenario. Chief Steele said the county can choose to be or choose not to. It’s a win-win if those items are included in the agreement, but the county could say they want South Boundary to be the collecting agency, but the county is the only agency who has the hammer to do that. North Bench Fire Department has no legal authority under the law to do that and that all falls back to the Sheriff’s Office. In Chief Jackson’s scenario with a fee based service, the same type of agreement could be entered into between the Sheriff’s Office and North Bench if both parties choose to do that, especially for structures and reasonable response zones. Chief Steele clarified that it is legal for departments like North Bench Fire Department to use the terms “district” and “boundaries”, but they are not tax based collections. North Bench Fire Department can be given fees from the Sheriff’s Office as per the agreement, but lacking such an agreement makes the responsibility fall back onto the Sheriff’s Office. Where it becomes more difficult is with the concept of unified command and that is one issue Idaho Department of Lands Fire Warden Ken Homik made in IDL’s position. Legally, subscription based services have no authority to enter into unified command and it puts the liability on that department. Virtually, all cases in southern Idaho have established a minimum criteria of formal training that says when your personnel arrive at a certain level of training, it will be the threshold for that agreement. And in that scenario, if he were in the Sheriff’s position, he would send a representative from his office to the scene when there is unified command. When there has been a luxury of having an emergency manager on those calls, it didn’t become that significant of a legal issue for the county, but times have changed and there are more and more people looking for the deep pocket as it pertains to reimbursement. It is in Idaho Statute that if there is a hazardous spill in the North Bench area, there is no subscriber paying for that service, but it is for the Sheriff’s Office and Idaho State Patrol to have incident command and have unified command as state law requires unified command in those incidents, according to Chief Steele. If North Bench Fire Department was going to respond to a hazardous material spill at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 95, which would be logical response, they would secure the scene and call for assistance. There are a few companies, such as EF Recovery, that work on recovery for these incidents so the agreement would be between the Sheriff’s Office and EF Recovery. EF Recovery does the collection, works with insurance companies, collects the funds and disburses them back to the Sheriff’s Office, minus their fee. Lacking an agreement means the bottom line is the Sheriff’s Office is responsible and other than an emergency commandeering scenario, the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t have the resources to pay those costs back.

Commissioner Kirby said it’s pretty straight forward.

Sheriff Kramer spoke of the agreements in place so they don’t have to worry about jurisdictional issues. Chairman Dinning said we would need agreements with every agency. Chief Jackson said the Fleming Creek fire event fell under North Bench agreements and they have agreements with those agencies for an eight hour period so the first eight hours are free. Sheriff Kramer said without having that agreement, North Bench Fire Department would have jurisdictional authority, unless the request came under the Sheriff’s Office and an agreement would clear that up. Mr. Steele said the other thing about agreements is if we don’t have an agreement in place for mutual aid or it isn’t clear, the ability to recover costs under the Fire Mitigation Assistant Grant (FMAG) is lost, because the agreement we had wasn’t clear. Such as what is covered in the agreement, is it the first eight, twelve or twenty-four hours? The old agreement Kootenai County had countywide was 24 hours and that means all the rest of the resources coming to help in Timberlake’s District could not receive FMAG benefits for the first 24 hours. It was also said that assistance has to be requested while the fire is still active.

Commissioner Kirby said it seems like everything is in place and we just need to say, yes, let’s sign up.

Chairman Dinning said as of now, the unified command just rolls down to a single command person. Chief Steele said that depends if there are structures that an agency doesn’t protect and what tactics are agreed upon. Chairman Dinning said what he is hearing is that although the county provides a mechanism for jurisdiction, it establishes a route to the Sheriff’s Office and it allows the unincorporated fire districts to legally be a player at the table. Chairman Dinning said right now, using Fleming Creek as an example, everyone did great, but the legal framework wasn’t there through the Sheriff’s Office. By having our mutual aid agreements, we’re almost there, with the exception of reimbursement, etc. Chief Jackson said one of his concerns regarding the Fleming Creek fire is if this fire had gone differently and he was losing structures, resources from outside of the county would need to be brought in and that was a big concern for him. Selkirk Fire Department came up and tried to bill for their services, but that matter was worked out. Chairman Dinning asked if Selkirk Fire Department would need to be included in an agreement and the response was probably as far as having an agreement for mutual aid. Commissioners asked what the downside would be. Chief Steele said a downside in other counties was a legal department for a city as their attorney didn’t like the language in the agreement relating to whatever the concern was for an entity to protect the city so it took a bit of extra time to get the agreement done. One city didn’t want to enter into an agreement and they provided their suppression, etc.

Detective McClelland left the meeting at 2:06 p.m.

Sheriff Kramer said this matter was discussed at a recent Boundary County Fire Chief’s meeting involving different departments.

Commissioners asked that information be gathered pertaining to agreements. Commissioner Cossairt asked if Hall Mountain Fire Department had an agreement with Creston. Chief Jackson said he knows there is a cross border agreement with Hall Mountain. Chairman Dinning said one thing about the Fleming Creek fire is that it was learned that certain insurance companies were sending their own engines, etc., to the fire.

Chief Jackson said the Giles Connection Road is a good example where IDL or the Forest Service would have to request North Bench Fire Department’s assistance, but those agencies don’t pay for structure protection so they would have to call the Sheriff’s Office. If some of the homes are not paying members, then it gets back to jurisdictional issues. There is the ability to bill a home owner if the fire is within a set district. If a home in the Fleming Creek area caught fire and the property owner wasn’t a paying member, that property owner can be billed for the fire department’s response. This is for outside jurisdiction agencies. Chairman Dinning said in an agreement he would want a statement pertaining to wildland fires as well so it’s clear. Chief Jackson said as long as we get something in place, are moving forward and tie in the FMAG ability. As it pertains to Ken Homik with IDL, there is already a master agreement between IDL and other districts.

The meeting ended at 2:18 p.m., and Chief Steele and Chief Jackson left the meeting.

Sheriff Kramer remained in the meeting at Commissioners’ request to discuss the provision for at-will in the county’s proposed personnel policy. Sheriff Kramer said Carl Ericson with (ICRMP) brought up the discussion of at-will at a conference as far as how to make that provision bulletproof. Both Mr. Ericson and another ICRMP representative provided their recommendation and stated that when it comes to at-will, it is typically not abused. A typical situation is where there is an employee who needs to be let go, it is much easier if there is an at-will policy, but that employee can still be afforded a name clearing hearing. There were five bullet points provided for a secure policy, according to Sheriff Kramer. Those present briefly discussed 1983 civil rights.

Chairman Dinning said Sheriff Kramer had made a request in his budget to use $6,000 toward a drug dog and Commissioners asked if the City of Bonners Ferry was okay with that. Sheriff Kramer said he is going to talk to County Civil Attorney Tevis Hull about funding and working with the high school leadership class for fund raising. Chairman Dinning asked if the county has already paid the amount of $6,000 to the city or would it be next year. Clerk Poston said that amount has not yet been paid. Sheriff Kramer said there had been past discussions with now former school superintendent Gary Pflueger about having two school resource officers; one from the city and one from the county. Chairman Dinning said he’s just trying to get the best of both worlds as both are important.

Commissioners asked for clarification if Sheriff Kramer is requesting budget to fund another patrol deputy. Sheriff Kramer explained that this position would help with the canine and would also have a flexible schedule so they can assist with drug related matters. Sheriff Kramer discussed applying for a Stonegarden grant in order to purchase a license plate reader, which can help identify stolen vehicles, etc.

The meeting with Sheriff Kramer ended at 2:36 p.m.

2:43 p.m., Commissioners and Clerk Poston visited Memorial Hall to take a look at the status of dry rot found in a portion of existing siding.

Commissioners and Clerk Poston returned to the office at 3:12 p.m.

3:13 p.m., Assessor Dave Ryals joined the meeting at Commissioners’ request to discuss matters pertaining to bereavement leave in the proposed personnel policy. Assessor Ryals said he feels bereavement leave should be consecutive instead of breaking it up into gaps in days. Bereavement leave should be taken within a reasonable period of time as well.

Assessor Ryals left the meeting at 3:22 p.m.

Commissioners discussed the issues with the roof and sidewall of the Memorial Hall and needing to make a motion for repairs as it’s time sensitive.

Commissioner Kirby moved to inspect and repair the west side wall, between Memorial Hall and the exhibit hall. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.

Chairman Dinning said as far as funds for these repairs, he expects the costs will be more than the approved total of $4,000 so do Commissioners want to allow for $5,000?

Commissioner Kirby moved to authorize the repairs of up to $5,000 for the west side wall, between Memorial Hall and the Exhibit Hall, as it’s a time sensitive matter. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioners tended to administrative matters.

3:30 p.m., Boundary Community Hospital CEO Craig Johnson, Hospital Board of Trustees Chairman Elden Koon, and Hospital Board member Dennis Dinning joined the meeting to discuss the hospitals proposed budget.

Mr. Johnson said the hospital made a presentation to Commissioners earlier in May and he’s aware the county is in the process of developing its budget. Mr. Johnson said one thing the county said it looks at is the actual amount of tax and that equates to $180,000 in additional revenues coming to the county. Mr. Johnson added that he feels Commissioners recognize the importance of the local hospital. If the hospital were to go away, there would be a significant negative to the county and lives of people here. We don’t want that to happen, according to Mr. Johnson. The idea here is how to gradually increase support to the hospital. If the county could increase its support by $90,000 per year for four years, it would be very helpful to the hospital to maintain its operation and he added that he knows the county wants to help. Mr. Johnson said he would like the county to really consider this request and to consider the hospital’s aging physical plant. Mr. Johnson commented that he wanted the opportunity today to talk and present a proposal that could be acceptable. When the county is asked for half of the increase requested each year, the thought is the county would consider that a good investment, according to Mr. Johnson. Mr. Dinning has done the research and if a taxpayer decides to tax themselves, it is not limited by other controls the county is facing. That is part of the statute that Mr. Dinning has researched. Chairman Dinning informed Mr. Johnson that Boundary Ambulance Service needs $75,000, which is more than the county can statutorily give them. Mr. Johnson said they all recognize that revenues rise and fall and times can be busier than others. The nature of the game is cash flow management and he has worked on that daily for the last 20 years and he would encourage Boundary Ambulance Service to work on that. Chairman Dinning said he goes back to the hospital and he was on the Hospital Board in the late 1990s. At that time the hospital’s financial statements were never more than three months updated, but when Mr. Johnson came on board that changed. The hospital had not been able to break even or fund depreciation and now they can fund depreciation pretty well. Chairman Dinning said it’s a lot better than it was. Mr. Johnson said he wanted to be up front and as timely as he could with his request and to also meet with Commissioners to talk and answer any questions there might be to be proactive.

Mr. Dinning said the other part of this is that new equipment is needed, such as 3D mammography machine. Mr. Dinning informed Commissioners that the hospital went out on its own to apply for grants and private donations so they don’t have to run another levy to fund equipment. It’s not just that the hospital is asking for assistance as they’re looking at funding options themselves as well. Mr. Koon said the hospital is trying to raise money for a grant for financing a 3D mammography machine. This type of machine is 35% more effective in detecting cancer than the old machines and local patients are getting referred to locations outside of the county for this service. Mr. Dinning added that the hospital representatives have been working diligently in getting grants. Chairman Dinning said the only concern he’s ever had, as he lived it in year 2008, is if the if the county reaches its levy limits and then values drop 20% to 30% , there will be cuts across the board county-wide. Mr. Johnson said those are the risks we take every day and that’s why he tried to pass the idea of a hospital district years ago, but the community didn’t want that and they felt more secure having a county hospital. Mr. Johnson commented that he thinks an election to form a hospital district would be a very close election. It wouldn’t be a big increase to the county, according to Chairman Dinning. Mr. Dinning said a proposed hospital district might be a bit more palatable now due to an increased aging population. Chairman Dinning said Commissioners will do their best in budgeting and it’s not arbitrary. Commissioners were asked to keep in mind that the hospital is an aging facility and there are other things the hospital is facing so something will have to be done.

Those present discussed the legislature in relation to counties, Medicaid expansion, etc. Mr. Dinning said Medicare cuts are geared toward hospitals.

Chairman Dinning spoke of the community’s veterans being able to use the local hospital to have services done instead of having to drive to locations outside of the county. Mr. Johnson said the veteran has to make that statement or request to use the local service. Mr. Johnson suggested Commissioners talk to Hospital Board member Kris Perry about matters pertaining to veterans. Commissioners said Mr. Perry and County Veteran Service Officer Ron Self should talk about these matters. Mr. Johnson said the request is the responsibility of the veteran to say what they want.

The meeting with Mr. Johnson, Mr. Koon and Mr. Dinning ended at 3:55 p.m.

Commissioners resumed discussing budget matters.

4:00 p.m., Deputy Clerk Nancy Ryals joined the meeting at Commissioners’ request.

Commissioner Kirby moved to go into closed session pursuant to Idaho Code 31-874. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously. 4:11 p.m., Commissioner Kirby moved to go out of closed session. Commissioner Cossairt second. Motion passed unanimously. No action was taken.

Deputy Clerk Ryals left the meeting.

Commissioners tended to administrative duties.

4:30 p.m., Mandy Bateman joined the meeting to discuss the county’s vacant public information officer position. Commissioners informed Ms. Bateman that the county is separating out emergency management position from the public information officer position and generally there are not a lot of public notice releases, but when releases are posted, they’re posted to a Facebook page, county website, local and online newspapers.

The meeting with Ms. Bateman ended at 4:40 p.m.

5:00 p.m., There being no further business, the meeting adjourned until Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at one at 9:00 a.m.

***Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at 9:00 a.m., Commissioners met in special session with Chairman Dan Dinning, Commissioner Wally Cossairt, Commissioner Walt Kirby, Clerk Glenda Poston, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.

9:00 a.m., Commissioners and Clerk Poston met in special session for the purpose of holding a budget workshop. The workshop ended at approximately 12:00 p.m.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 12:00 p.m.

Motion made to approve on July 8, 2019.

_________________________________
DAN R. DINNING, Chairman
ATTEST:

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GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy Clerk