***Monday, October 21, 2024 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 Stephanie Sims.
Commissioners said the Pledge of Allegiance.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign the new Private Road Name Request for Boysenberry Lane. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign RFF #9 for AIP 023 Slope Stabilization Project #3-16-0004-023-2023. Commissioner Robertson seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign RFF #10 for AIP 023 Slope Stabilization Project #3-16-0004-023-2023. Commissioner Robertson seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign amendment to AIP Grant No 3-16-0004-023-2021. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Robertson moved to sign PTC Application for Project No. M2664.01.001 and pay the associated costs. Commissioner Cossairt seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Solid Waste Superintendent, Richard Jenkins will pay the fee with his credit card.
Commissioner Robertson moved to sign Resolution 2025-01 Increasing the Airport Fund Budget Due to Transfer of Funds from Auditor’s Trust as Unanticipated Funds. Commissioner Cossairt seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION 2025-01
INCREASING THE AIRPORT FUND BUDGET
DUE TO TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM AUDITOR’S TRUST AS UNANTICIPATED REVENUE
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners, County of Boundary, State of Idaho, did establish an operating budget for the Boundary County Airport Budget for fiscal year 2024-2025, and
WHEREAS, Boundary County Airport has received $13,390.50 from the Auditor’s Trust, as reimbursement for work performed for a new taxiway “E” and future newer hangar sites, at the Airport, and
WHEREAS, the Boundary County Airport Budget is in need of additional revenue for fiscal year 2024-2025, and
WHEREAS, the addition of this revenue does not affect the tax levy for Boundary County, and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to increase the Boundary County Airport Fund Revenue Account Number 03-00-0391-0000 and the Boundary County Airport Fund Budget Expense Account Number 03-00-0807-0000, Capital Construction, in the amount of $13,390.50, and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to decrease the Boundary County Auditor Trust Fund Revenue Account Number #9101 and to increase Boundary County Airport Fund Budget, and
NOW THEREFORE, upon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously carried,
IT IS RESOLVED, that the increase to the Boundary County Airport Fund Revenue Account Number 03-00-0391-0000 and the Boundary County Airport Fund Budget Expense Account Number 03-00-0807-0000, Capital Construction, in the amount of $13,390.50 is hereby authorized and ordered, and
IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk is instructed to deliver certified copies of this resolution to the Boundary County Treasurer and the Boundary County Auditor.
DATED this 21st day of October, 2024
COUNTY OF BOUNDARY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
s/____________________________
Tim Bertling, Chairman
s/____________________________
Wally Cossairt, Commissioner
s/_____________________________
Ben Robertson, Commissioner
ATTEST:
s/______________________________________________
Glenda Poston, Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners
Recorded Instrument # 298430
Commissioner Cossairt moved to sign Commissioner meeting minutes from 10/14/24. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
9:33 a.m. Civil Attorney Bill Wilson joined the meeting. Mr. Wilson updated the Commissioners on projects he has been working on including working with Road and Bridge to update Road Standards and public record requests.
Chairman Bertling asked Mr. Wilson about creating a recreational district. There was discussion on the boundaries of the district and it was decided it would encompass the entire County.
Ms. Poston asked about putting it on the ballot and what the costs would be.
Chairman Bertling stated that he thought this would only fund the projects that they currently have and then stop. Commissioner Robertson was concerned about ongoing maintenance. It was concluded that it would include maintenance at a lower rate. The goal was to have it ready for the fall 2025 ballot.
Commissioner Cossairt stated that they have received complaints about a tiny home at the boat launches. There was some discussion on the proposed Ordinance to address that issue. Commissioner Cossairt stated the issue is when people move from location to location to avoid the 48-hour time limit. Mr. Wilson will look at the Ordinance and get back to the Commissioners so this can move forward.
9:55 a.m. The meeting with Bill Wilson ended and he left the meeting. Jeff Lindsey joined the meeting.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to recess the Boundary County Commissioners meeting and open Boundary County Ambulance District. Commissioner Robertson seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Lindsey gave his report stating that there were 130 calls in September which is the most they have had. However, they were only able to bill for 73 because not everyone was transported.
Chairman Bertling asked if they are fully staffed. Mr. Lindsey stated they are still down one person. The board is trying to decide what direction to go before advertising. The turnover has been very low.
Chairman Bertling asked how often does Mr. Lindsey go out on calls. Mr. Lindsey responded he does not, his roll is more administrative. The Captains are responsible for the day-in and day-out operations.
Commissioner Robertson asked who orders supplies. Mr. Lindsey replied that Drew handles the ordering. Mr. Lindsey is working through the paperwork so that they can order their own pharmacy. This will also require a new narc inventory control software.
Ms. Poston mentioned that the calendar year has changed and we have a new budget.
Commissioner Cossairt asked if there is any money in their budget to build a garage. Mr. Lindsey replied no, 80% of their budget is payroll.
Commissioner Robertson asked if Mr. Lindsey looks for grants and if there are any facility grants available. Mr. Lindsey responded yes and he is not aware of any facility grants.
10:10 a.m. The meeting with Mr. Lindsey ended and he left the meeting.
Commissioner Cossairt moved to adjourn the Boundary County Ambulance District meeting and reconvene the Commissioner’s meeting. Commissioner Robertson second. Motion passed unanimously.
10:22 a.m. Assessor Olivia Drake entered the meeting. Ms. Drake expressed her concerns about the phone system not working in her new location, but it should be repaired tomorrow. She had additional questions and concerns about the electrical and roof repair. She stated that Maintenance was a big help with the move.
10:27 a.m. Theresa Wheat with KVRI joined the meeting and reviewed the agenda for the evening meeting.
10:30 a.m. Prosecuting Attorney Andrakay Pluid, Chief Deputy Clerk Pam Barton, Court Supervisor Della Armstrong and Treasurer Jenny Economu joined the meeting.
10:32 Teresa Wheat left the meeting.
Chairman Bertling stated that he wanted to discuss the open space within the building and gather their thoughts on department needs and how best to rearrange to meet those needs at this time.
Ms. Economu stated she would like to use the vault on the Assessor’s side so she could move some of her storage from the basement.
Ms. Poston stated that she would like to move courts over to the Assessor’s office. The Clerk’s office is very crowded and she has had to put two people in the vault. There is also a long line for the public to access the office for services and she felt splitting it would help alleviate some of that. She would also need the vault space. There was some discussion on the size difference between the Assessor and DMV offices. It was decided that the space was about the same with the vault being a little smaller in the DMV space. Commissioner Robertson asked Ms. Economu if the Treasurer’s overflow could be in the vault in the DMV. Ms. Economu replied yes.
Ms. Pluid stated she would like to have Victim Services move into the previous DMV space. There are three people with Victim Services and their current space is too small. When visitors come with small children, there is no space for them to go. Their current room is also where the mold issue is and there are concerns about safety.
Chairman Bertling mentioned that the Mappers office is also open. Commissioner Robertson stated that he thought that would be a good space for HR. Ms. Barton could use that space when needed for HR so that she has privacy. Chairman Bertling agreed. Ms. Pluid stated that the Mapping office is sometimes used by the Prosecutor’s office for interviews. She stated that she could continue to use it for that purpose if the room is designated for HR.
Commissioner Robertson asked what would become of the cinderblock building. Ms. Pluid asked if that building could be used for storage. It was agreed that was a good purpose for that building. Chairman Bertling will give some direction to Squire Fields.
Ms. Economu asked about ADA access for the Treasurer’s office. In the past, visitors would come in the back door and call from DMV. She asked about a phone or intercom for that purpose. It was suggested that something like a Ring Doorbell be installed. Payments could also be dropped into the ballot box that was installed in the front of the building.
Chairman Bertling asked Ms. Poston about a timeline for moving. Ms. Poston responded after the election. Commissioner Robertson asked what needs to be moved. Ms. Poston responded desks, scanners and perhaps the counter in the vault if space allows.
Ms. Pluid said she has people from Drug Court that need community service and they can assist with painting. They helped paint at Probation and did a good job.
Commissioner Robertson asked about flooring. Ms. Poston stated that downstairs is not good and she would like to have the carpet replaced in the Assessor’s office before moving. Chairman Bertling stated that painting would need to happen first. Ms. Pluid stated that she would talk to Mr. Fields to get that moving.
10:56 a.m. The meeting ended and Glenda Poston, Jenny Economu, Della Armstrong, Pam Barton and Olivia Drake and they left the meeting.
11:20 am Dave Wenk joined the meeting. Mr. Wenk stated that the agreement with Stimson Lumber has expired. We need a letter to move this forward.
Commissioner Robertson asked if there was anything that needs to be changed in the previous agreement. The agreement was pulled for the Commissioners to review. Chairman Bertling asked Ms. Sims to locate and update the documents so they can be forwarded to Stimson.
Mr. Wenk also let the Commissioners know that the grant was approved for the snowmobile trailer which will need to be completed by May. He might consider an enclosed trailer for weather. He did not factor that in originally, but will look into that moving forward.
11:45 a.m. The meeting with Dave Wenk ended and he left the meeting.
11:55 a.m. Commissioners recessed for lunch.
Meeting reconvened at 1:30 p.m. in the Conference Room at the County Annex.
Adam Ryals and Bradley Barton joined the meeting at 1:37 p.m. Mr. Ryals presented a formal letter for his vacation carryover (2 days) that was discussed at a previous meeting.
Mr. Barton updated the commissioners on Road and Bridge projects throughout the county including grading, crushing, hauling/spreading rock to multiple locations, set/pickup traffic counters, and pit maintenance.
Mr. Ryals discussed wrecks on county roads. They can cause damage to county property so they will be talking to the sheriff’s office so that they are included in those conversations. That way they can address any issues at the time and perhaps the county can be included on damage for claims. Documentation can also be used for future grant applications.
Mr. Ryals stated they were considering doing an internal policy. Commissioner Robertson asked if that would be for drug testing, accidents etc. Mr. Ryals answered yes and wanted to know how the Commissioners felt about that. It was decided that the Commissioners would review the policy first. Mr. Ryals will move forward and let the Commissioners know when it is ready for review.
Mr. Ryals stated that most employees have less than one-year hire date. There are learning curves and training, so projects are slower than they normally would be. They have one position open with a seasonal hire.
Mr. Ryals stated that Road and Bridge are still having email issues and they have reached out to Matt Hodges for assistance.
Mr. Ryals is continuing to work on approaches that are not in compliance within the County. Road Standards included this requirement in 2007 and enforcement is an issue. Mr. Ryals asked if they should include a fine in the Road Standards. Chairman Bertling asked what Bonner County does. Mr. Ryals explained that they have a fine and they charge for each trip. Mr. Barton stated that it should also include a timeline for completion. The Commissioners agreed with Mr. Ryals and Mr. Barton.
Commissioner Robertson stated that he suspected that in the past, people were told to just go ahead. Mr. Ryals agreed that was the case for farm access and that should be incorporated into the Standards.
1:58 p.m. Ryan Comer with Alta Forest Products, Robert Beacher with ITD, Carrie Ann Hewitt with ITD, Jerry Wilson with ITD, Dan Budd with HMH, Marcus Levesey with HMH, Justin Shaw with HMH, and David Sims with Boundary Economic Development joined the meeting.
Mr. Sims stated that he thought it would be a good idea to get everyone together to have a discussion on the developments of the highway projects so that the Commissioners could give their input. Mr. Sims included a sheet with traffic counts for the affecting roads in the Naples area.
Mr. Sims asked ITD what the project would look like. Carrie Ann Hewitt handed out a project sheet with several options and explained that everything is very preliminary at this time. The first one discussed was replacing the two box culverts and adding a turn lane at Schoolhouse Rd. Ms. Hewitt explained that because the creek is immediately adjacent to the road, this change would mean that you have to relocate the creek which involves fish passage, environmental impacts and special permits. Ms. Hewitt added that all of these issues are obtainable, but they need to be considered.
Ms. Hewitt then referred the Commissioners to an idea to move the entrance north to Mountain Meadows Rd. This location would incorporate a bridge over the tracks and there are no issues with the creek. A large building has recently been constructed in this area, so that would have to be considered. Ms. Hewitt stated the benefits would be that the road is on the backside of the mill so it could connect. Connectivity could also be added for the RV park which could eliminate railroad crossings and there are potential grant funds available for that purpose to help fund the project.
Commissioner Robertson stated that Schoolhouse Rd is the most unsafe access that we have. There also seems to be an awful lot of property acquisition and bridges to be constructed with the other option. Commissioner Robertson stated that he felt it made the most sense to improve the Deep Creek Loop access for many reasons and focus on a bridge project there. If something happens on the highway, Deep Creek Loop would be the alternate route.
Commissioner Cossairt stated that there would still be some land acquisition to the west with the Deep Creek Loop option.
Commissioner Robertson stated that we have thought about closing Schoolhouse Rd before. We could gate it and give access when needed. Ms. Hewitt asked where they would consider the cutoff and the response was at the highway. It would be treated like a dead-end road.
Robert Beacher asked how many log truck loads per day does the mill receive. Ryan Comer responded 30-50 log trucks and 20-25 lumber trucks with 9 residual each day. That does not include employees or delivery trucks like UPS.
Mr. Sims asked if there were any cost estimates for the projects. Ms. Hewitt stated that the estimates are very rough at this time with Schoolhouse being 6-10 million for improvements.
Chairman Bertling stated that if the truss bridge goes out, we need to have an alternative.
Commissioner Robertson stated it doesn’t make sense to spend money on Schoolhouse.
Mr. Sims stated that the highway needs a decelerate lane at Schoolhouse for safety.
Commissioner Robertson asked about a cost estimate on the Mountain Meadows idea. Ms. Hewitt responded that it would be roughly 8 million, but the cost of the bridge will affect that figure. There is funding from LHTAC for bridges. That also does not include property acquisition. Mr. Sims asked if that includes the County building the road out. Ms. Hewitt responded no, but there are funds that we can access for the railroad elimination projects.
Chairman Bertling asked if improvements were made to Schoolhouse, would truck traffic be allowed. Ms. Hewitt replied that improving Schoolhouse is not the answer. Chairman Bertling stated that we still have not addressed the needs.
Ms. Hewitt stated that if Deep Creek Loop is the preferred route, we need to make that bridge last as long as possible. There needs to be over-height detection in place before trucks approach the bridge. Chairman Bertling stated that there needs to be a detection system, with two lights before they reach the bridge and a turn around for the truck if needed.
Ms. Hewitt stated that we need to get some funding for the bridge that will probably be from LHTAC. She then asked if anything has been submitted in the last three years. The answer was yes.
Mr. Shaw suggested some federal funding as well. We need to sit down with the Deep Creek Loop intersection and really look at it and what is best for mill traffic and the surrounding area.
Commissioner Cossairt stated that he felt they should move forward with Schoolhouse because we don’t know how far out a bridge replacement is. He then asked if it would affect their chances for a new bridge. Mr. Wilson responded no. They would be looked at as two separate projects.
Commissioner’s then asked Road and Bridge for their comments. Mr. Barton replied that he thinks Schoolhouse was a good idea and long-term Deep Creek is good.
Mr. Sims stated that it would be best to design Schoolhouse for trucks just in case it is ever needed. Commissioner Robertson asked if there was time to design it to incorporate log trucks. Ms. Hewitt responded that they run into issues with the creek.
Mr. Sims stated that if matching funds are an issue. The Naples bridge falls within the disadvantaged area which would qualify for reduced or no match.
Chairman Bertling stated that we keep coming back to Schoolhouse. It appears this is the only thing that is reachable. Mr. Sims stated that it is still 7 years out.
Commissioners wanted to know what can be done in the next few years to improve safety now. We have had two fatalities at that location. Jerry Wilson explained a road safety audit is one way to access funds to make improvements when projects are years out. Mr. Wilson stated that once a project is entered into the cycle it can advance faster.
Mr. Wilson then asked for a priority in order. Chairman Bertling stated that Deep Creek first as it is the most obtainable. Commissioner Robinson agreed, but would like to see it move forward sooner than 7 years out.
Carrie Ann asked about who could help with a height detection system for the bridge. Mr. Shaw thought that TraffiCalm in Post Falls might be able to assist with that. He will check with LHTAC to see if there is funding for a warning system.
The discussion then switched to highway projects in other areas of the county. Chairman Bertling stated that on Hwy 2 from the 3-mile junction to Meadow Creek Rd we need a center turn lane. The speed also needs to be reduced to 45 at Sweetwater.
Mr. Beacher asked what is at Sweetwater to warrant the speed decrease. Chairman Bertling stated there are 25-30 cutouts which are causing issues. Mr. Beacher stated there are businesses along that section that are out of compliance for what their permit is for. In order for a speed limit to be reduced there needs to be a speed study.
Chairman Bertling stated that Damon Allen mentioned that if they have a transition zone, you don’t need the study. Mr. Beacher confirmed that is correct.
Mr. Beacher also mentioned that they went up to view the Sturgeon Station and encouraged the county to work through that project.
Mr. Sims asked what type of sensors are at the 3-mile light, because if you are not at the line it won’t detect that a car is there. ITD will send a tech up to look at it.
3:39 p.m. The meeting with Ryan Comer, Robert Beacher, Carri Ann Hewitt, Jerry Wilson, Dan Budd, Marcus Levesey, Justin Shaw, David Sims, Bradley Barton and Adam Ryals ended and they left the meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting ended at 3:45 p.m.
Tuesday, October 22, 2024 There were no items on the agenda therefore the Commissioners did not meet.
s/________________________________
TIM BERTLING, Chairman
ATTEST:
s/_______________________________
GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Stephanie Sims, Deputy Clerk