***Monday, March 19, 2018, at 9:00 a.m., Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Dan Dinning, Commissioner LeAlan Pinkerton, 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 Superintendent Clint Kimball and Assistant Superintendent Renee Nelson joined the meeting to give a departmental report. A written report was provided. Mr. Kimball commented on the improving weather and informed Commissioners of a couple landslides that have occurred. There is an area three-tenths of a mile up Katka that has experienced a slide and there is also a smaller slide that occurred on Lions Den Road. Mr. Kimball said he took a drive around the county and he noticed there has been quite a bit of damage and issues with roads due to moisture. Mr. Kimball informed Commissioners of staffing issues as a result of the cold and flu that is going around. Chairman Dinning said he noticed that Road and Bridge is no longer operating on their winter schedule. Mr. Kimball said people want to haul, but the roads are not ready for that yet.
Mr. Kimball and Ms. Nelson presented Commissioners with options for a Pay for Use Agreement and lease/purchase agreement for graders and Ms. Nelson explained what is involved for both options. It was said that the pay for use option is a bit less expensive than a lease. Ms. Nelson mentioned that the lease is 100% government fail safe with a non-appropriation clause.
The second chart in the information provided to Commissioners shows information on a lease/purchase and this option uses all of G35’s equity to purchase two graders. It was said if Road and Bridge and Commissioners chose not to use the G35 as equity, the Road and Bridge Department can keep it, pay the remaining two years and have a guaranteed buy back of $185,000.
Chairman Dinning said the G34 Grader has a payment due on March 30th and the balloon payment is $155,000. It was said if the county uses the five year lease purchase, it will have a full warranty. The information at the top of the document is for the three year Pay for Use Agreement and if the county were to use that option, it would save money in payments. Chairman Dinning asked of the two options in the first category, which is most beneficial to Road and Bridge. Mr. Kimball said he has one grader locked in at $18,000 so this will be the second one and due to CAT’s involvement, the payment has already increased over $5,000. It was not certain what would happen at the end of the five year term versus the three year term. Mr. Kimball spoke of various budget matters as it pertains to his department’s materials and resources they have on hand and he said if the county chose the option with the lower machinery payments, that is something that will help as the county has many projects coming up that require matches. Mr. Kimball said he would recommend the cheapest, lowest price for machinery. Mr. Kimball added that he has the Pay for Use Agreement for three years on Grader A for $18,000 and now there is an option for another Pay for Use Agreement with payments of $23,791.50 and it was stated another matter was the scenario involving a third grader as it has equity. Mr. Kimball reviewed with Commissioners the scenario that involves two graders.
Mr. Kimball informed Commissioners of issues Road and Bridge is experiencing with their older trucks and he said with the reduction of force, they need to have machines that have the power to get the job done. Chairman Dinning said he would like some time to think this over a bit and he asked Mr. Kimball and Ms. Nelson to meet with Commissioners again at 11:30 a.m.
Commissioners updated Mr. Kimball on their meeting with Skylar Roberts, a resident on Black Mountain Road, as it pertains to a water drainage issue. Chairman Dinning asked if the ditch to the north, from where the pond creating the issue is, could be dealt with. Mr. Kimball said yes, and he added that he would need to take out some of the cottonwood trees. Mr. Kimball said the other part of the issue is that there are some man-made issues that probably happened over time. Commissioner Pinkerton asked Mr. Kimball to take a few pictures of the area on the north and south side of the road. It was said the fixing the ditch to the north should alleviate the problem.
Chairman Dinning informed Mr. Kimball and Ms. Nelson that Mike Sheppard Sr. had met with Commissioners last week to discuss his claim that Road and Bridge crews are not plowing Trading Post Road. Ms. Nelson said she had spoken to the plow operators and they do plow that road. Commissioners said maybe this road doesn’t get plowed early enough in the day.
Commissioners mentioned receiving two Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) Agreements; one for Westside Road, Mile Post 12.0 and the second agreement is for Deep Creek Loop, Mile Post 1.1. Ms. Nelson said funding through Federal Highways to repair the slide on Deep Creek Loop was pulled and it is now going to be covered through the ERF Agreement with in-kind match. Commissioners had submitted a letter to Federal Highways requesting the project be turned over to ERF and now this is the application for that, according to Ms. Nelson. The ERF Agreement for Westside Road (Mile Post 12.0) will be signed by Commissioners in the event Road and Bridge seeks funding through this program for this project, but the agreement will not be sent in the meantime.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Emergency Relief Fund (ERF248) for the Deep Creek Loop (Mile Post 1.1) Project. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Emergency Relief Fund (ERF129) for the Westside Road (Mile Post 12.0) Project in the event the county decides to seek funds through this agency. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
The meeting with Mr. Kimball and Ms. Nelson ended at 9:46 a.m.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to reappoint Bob Blanford to the Boundary County Airport Board with a term to expire February 2021. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to reappoint Mark Weber to the Boundary County Airport Board with a term to expire February 2021. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to authorize the Chairman Dinning to sign Certificates of Residency for Kae Hilliard-Dodge and Rachael Robinson. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Addendum to the Inmate Telephone Agreement. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners took a short break prior to their meeting at 10:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m., Boundary Ambulance Service Chief Jeff Lindsey joined the meeting.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to recess as the Board of Boundary County Commissioners and convene as the Boundary County Ambulance Service District Governing Board. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the minutes of the Boundary County Ambulance Service District for February 26, 2018. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chief Lindsey said he didn’t have anything new to inform Commissioners of. Chairman Dinning briefly mentioned that Commissioners discussed the proposed plans for the armory with the Governor at Last Friday’s Moyie Springs Capital for the Day event.
Commissioners asked Chief Lindsey about the possibility of Boundary Ambulance tending to residents at the Restorium. Commissioner Kirby said the Restorium has a state requirement to have a registered nurse for the facility and he briefly mentioned scenarios and general issues the Restorium has experienced as it pertains to nursing. Chief Lindsey said the situation is two-fold. If there was no state law that prohibits that, Boundary Ambulance would be able to do that, but the issue would be the Idaho State Board of Nursing and he explained that paramedics are not even allowed to work in the local hospital here. For example, as medics, Boundary Ambulance can go to Montana to assess patients as the State of Montana allows that. As a paramedic in the field, Chief Lindsey said he can provide advanced life support, but there are nurses’ unions, and it is a different situation with an ambulance call. Chairman Dinning said the county can hire a licensed practical nurse for the Restorium as long as it is under the guidance of the registered nurse. Commissioners mentioned that in this case there would be a registered nurse for when a resident falls, for example, but Boundary Ambulance has a paramedic on duty 24/7, at a period when the nurse is not normally there. Chief Lindsey explained that Boundary Ambulance works under the medical direction of Dr. Stu Willis, not under a registered nurse’s license. Chief Lindsey said he has reached out to the state once he was approached about this as he thinks it will open a huge can of worms. Commissioner Pinkerton briefly mentioned paramedics and registered nurses. Chief Lindsey said paramedics are at the level of a registered nurse and in some cases can do more than a registered nurse. Chief Lindsey said if someone at the Restorium has a fall, they can absolutely call Boundary Ambulance to come and assess the resident and he suggested the reporting party contact Dispatch to report the call.
10:20 a.m., Commissioner Kirby moved to adjourn as the Boundary County Ambulance Service District Governing Board and to reconvene as the Boundary County Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chief Lindsey left the meeting.
10:28 a.m., Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Administrative Director and Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative (KVRI) Facilitator Patty Perry joined the meeting to update Commissioners on this evening’s KVRI meeting.
Ms. Perry said the KVRI agenda is pretty straight forward and there are no decisions to make.
The meeting with Ms. Perry ended at 10:28 a.m.
Commissioners and Clerk Poston discussed the process of approving demands and claims for payment. Commissioners discussed approving demands on Mondays and they questioned if Commissioners would want to give the Clerk permission to approve demands for amounts up to $500. Commissioner Pinkerton said Commissioners want to give the Clerk the leeway for demands that are emergent. Clerk Poston said to her, Commissioners have the final say on demands. Chairman Dinning said if someone makes a mistake and overlooks a Caterpillar equipment payment that is due, that demand needs to be paid, but when there is a consistent pattern with demands for payment that could’ve been handled in the general mode of operation, it is a whole different issue. Commissioner Pinkerton said Commissioners ought to be reviewing every demand.
Chairman Dinning said he visited with Sheriff Dave Kramer about a new Courthouse security metal detector so Sheriff Kramer will look into the State’s surplus program to see if they have one available.
Commissioners recessed for a short break until their meeting at 11:15 a.m.
11:15 a.m., Boundary Economic Development Director Dennis Weed joined the meeting.
Mr. Weed explained that an opportunity zone is for any investor who comes into the county and wants to purchase a particular parcel or building and under new legislation they can be free of capital gains for any appreciation of that building. The program is identified by meeting the current market tax credit zone and Boundary County only has south of the Kootenai River to the county line. Chairman Dinning asked if it has to be commercial or can it be residential. Mr. Weed said the legislation currently stipulates that it is commercial; not residential, and he added that some of this information is still being clarified. Mr. Weed said if Commissioners agreed to this program, they would be agreeing to request the county be included on the list of counties to be considered for an opportunity zone.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to submit Boundary County’s name to be included on the list to be considered for an opportunity zone. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Weed discussed applying for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) grant for the regional sewer feasibility study project. Mr. Weed said he has been working with Charlie Parkins with DEQ on the grant application and there is no place for his name as the contact person so Mr. Parkins had suggested he put his name in place of Clerk Poston’s. County Civil Attorney Hull did not feel comfortable doing that so Mr. Weed discussed with Mr. Parkins putting his name and contact information in another location on the grant application. This is the DEQ grant for $60,000 and it’s the final application, according to Mr. Weed.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to authorize Chairman Dinning to sign the documents for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality grant application for an amount of $60,000 for the regional sewer feasibility study. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to adopt Resolution 2018-10. A resolution authorizing Chairman Dinning to sign all applications, grant agreements, and other documents relating to wastewater planning grant. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Resolution 2018-10 reads as follows:
Recorded as instrument #273472
The meeting with Mr. Weed ended at 11:20 a.m.
11:20 a.m., 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 Pinkerton second. Commissioners voted as follows: Chairman Dinning “aye”, Commissioner Pinkerton “aye” and Commissioner Kirby “aye”. Motion passed unanimously. The executive session ended at 11:30 a.m. No action was taken.
11:30 a.m., Road and Bridge Department Superintendent Clint Kimball and Assistant Superintendent Renee Nelson returned to the meeting to discuss options for graders. Clerk Poston and Commissioners reviewed the Road and Bridge budget and those present discussed chipsealing in relation to the budget.
Mr. Kimball said Road and Bridge took the grates off the top of the sand trucks for the protection of his employees and put Grizzlies on the ground. Mr. Kimball said he would like to have a 130,000 pound excavator with a certain mulcher and attachment for a bucket so it can run up and down the roads without hurting them. Mr. Kimball said he also needs a little chipper to pull behind the truck and to update a couple trucks as well. Some trucks are fairly old, not that old isn’t good, but with annual hearing testing that is done, these trucks are noisy. Besides the decibel output, the vehicle emits fumes. Chairman Dinning stated this discussion can continue to the next Road and Bridge Department report.
Those present reviewed the document Mr. Kimball provided earlier on the Pay for Use Agreement and lease/purchase scenarios for a grader. Mr. Kimball mentioned the previous payments in the Pay for Use Agreement was $8,148.10, but now the annual payment would be $18,369 for a three year period.
In the second set of scenarios, Road and Bridge has been paying $13,000 annually and still has three more years to go. Road and Bridge will have the G35 grader for two more years. Chairman Dinning said the county will lose all that equity if we trade the G35 in on the two grader scenario. Ms. Nelson said we will be using that equity so payments will be less. Those present reviewed the pay for use method versus lease/purchase scenarios and the total of payments combined.
Commissioner Pinkerton said we need to consider what is remaining in the budget for this and setting aside funds for the tires. Chairman Dinning said it doesn’t appear to increase the outlay for payment if we kept the G35 grader. Commissioner Pinkerton and Chairman Dinning said they lean toward saving the equity. Commissioner Pinkerton said he appreciates the work Mr. Kimball and Ms. Nelson put in to this.
Those present discussed trees along Bonner Lake and recouping costs for logs.
The meeting with Mr. Kimball and Ms. Nelson ended at 12:35 a.m.
Commissioners discussed putting on next week’s agenda, discussion and possible motion for a Pay for Use Agreement for the G35 Grader.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to authorize Chairman Dinning to sign the Pay for Use Documents from Caterpillar Financial Services for the G36 Grader, 140M3AWD Caterpillar Motor Grader, Serial No. N9J00687, upon review of the county civil attorney. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Kirby moved to approve going forward with the 2019 Hazard Fuels Reduction Grant Application through the Idaho Department of Lands for the amount of $90,000 for hazardous fuels treatment. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.
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DAN R. DINNING, Chairman
ATTEST:
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GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy Clerk