The Board of County Commissioners met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 10.

Bruce Hubbard—Weed Issues

Bruce Hubbard approached the commission to discuss the increasing presence of henbane weeds, which he says are beginning to encroach into the county from Forest Service/BLM land.  Hubbard suggests that the county has lost ten years on the fight against noxious weeds.  According to Hubbard, the BLM has not been responsive to weed control on their property.  It was clarified that the county has rights under an agreement with both entities to spray weeds on federal land.  Hubbard agreed to meet with the county’s weed control department to help locate the areas which were in need of intervention.  County weed control acknowledged that henbane has become a countywide problem, as well as Scotch Thistle.   The commissioners plan to meet with Hubbard to discuss the drafting of a letter of concern to the BLM.

Hubbard also spoke to the commission about a section of road that he believes is dangerous.  The road has two pastures which are not fenced.  Several of the cattle guards are reported to be in disrepair.  The sheriff suggested that six or seven cattle have been killed on the road.  Hubbard felt that fencing along the road, provided by the cattlemen, would be necessary to prevent the dangerous driving conditions on the road, as well as the loss of cattle due to car accidents.  Currently, the area is governed under an open range policy.  The issue has been discussed in the past, with the result that there are flashing lights in the area to alert drivers of livestock on the road.

Contract Modification for Counseling Service

County agrees to agree to payment for employees for up to 100 sessions total for the county under the current contract.  

County Elective on SRS

The county is required to determine the percentage for distributing the funds for rural schools between the school and the roads.  $96,300 are available from the state.  The division would be 70% to county roads and 30% for schools under Title I.  Another alternative would give funds a percentage for special projects on federal lands under Title II.  A motion to approve the funds according to Title I was passed.

Commercial Building Inspection Fees

The county’s agreement with Richard Bigelow for commercial inspections was discussed.  Pending further information, the topic was tabled until next neeting.

Sheriff

Sheriff Jones spoke to the commission about two Dodge pickups that need transmission repairs.  Bids came back for both rebuilds and new transmissions.  The trucks, which are both 2017s, will need to last the county at least five or so more years.  The sheriff explained that the police packages and heavy use on the vehicles can commonly lead to transmission problems, although he did find it unusual that all vehicles were from the same year.  New transmissions for the vehicles will cost just over ten thousand dollars each, with a substantial warranty.  There are no budget lines left in the sheriff’s budget for repairs.  The commission felt that the somewhat minimal difference between the repair and new costs for the transmission meant that purchasing new transmissions was a better longterm plan.  A third truck is also in need of potential repairs fairly soon.  The commission opted to move forward with replacing the transmissions of the two in the most immediate need and waiting until fall for the third.

A motion to accept the two bids for $10,283 each for two new transmissions was passed.  A motion to take the funds from the one-time expense fund was made, if possible, was passed.  If the funding source is not deemed appropriate, the funds will be taken from the contingency fund.  

Coroner’s Budget

A discussion of the budget for the coroner’s office, exclusive of salary, was had.  Brad Horsley serves as Oneida County’s coroner.  Horsley is also a mortician in the county, which causes some overlap between services in the county.  Chairman Lewis planned to meet with Horsley to further discuss the details of the duties involved in the position.  

Swimming Pool

Heather Howe from the pool spoke to the commission about the pool’s budget.  Supplies and cleaning, utilities, electricity have all been requested for similar levels to this year.  A number of repairs, including fixing a leak in the pool itself, have been made this summer, which has resulted in an increase to the budget for this year, though it is not believed that the expense will be recurring.  The pool has applied for a grant to pay for new stalls at the facility for just over $3000.  The commission expressed their appreciation to the pool staff for the recreation they provide, especially to the youth of the county.

Ambulance District

Shane Howard representing the ambulance district reported that the number of ambulance runs has increased in the last couple of years, and the anticipation is for another 400+ run year.  Most of the budget items for the ambulance district are fairly close to previous years, including office supplies, food, and reimbursements.  Public relations outlay has increased.  This year the district has supported two scholarships and made a donation to the pool.  Fuel for heating has increased a bit with the cost of propane.  Tires have also increased in cost, resulting in a higher budget in that area.  Phone costs have been defrayed by ATC.  The commission recommended increasing the tire budget even further to account for potential emergencies.  Repairs on vehicles were not seen as a large likely upcoming cost.  Continuing Education costs are one of the larger budget outlays, though it was down a bit last year.  CE is required for EMTs and Advanced EMTs to keep their training current.  $210,000 or so was reported to have been received in grants this year, including a new ambulance which should be in place by the end of the 2023 budget year.  The capital building line was requested to be increased from $20K to $28K, in order to repair and improve the facilities in Holbrook.  This would involve new flooring, new plumbing, electrical, and other improvements.  The commission suggested that the maintenance line might be more suitable.  

Airport Budget

Mike Hess, Jr. and Roxanne Albretson spoke to the commission representing the airport board.  The weather system purchased last year is currently being installed.  Future expansion of hookups to the well on site will be attached to the well currently connected to the airport lounge.  The sealcoat project which was fully funded has officially been completed.  A grant for new hangar development and a security fence is predicted to be fully grant funded in the near future.  Some additional expenses, including a brush mower, will likely need to come out of the budget.  Clarification about the extent to which the grants will be funded will be available toward the end of the summer.  Weed control was added as a separate line item which was not used in the last two years due to construction at the site.  The potential to make jet fuel available for sale at the airport as a commercial service was discussed.  The margin on fuel sales was seen as a potential good source of revenue.  Through a combination of grants and in-kind work, the airport board reports that the airport has recently completed projects valued at almost two and a half million dollars.  Traffic through the airport is reported to be up significantly, and the Life Flight access to Oneida County in less inclement weather has also been massively upgraded.  According to the board, the state has taken a serious interest in the appearance and viability of Malad’s airport.

Fair Board/Fairgrounds

Ken Moss, Jr. spoke to the commission about the budget for the fairgrounds and fair board.  $800 travel/meal budget increased for next year to account for fuel/food cost increases.  Utilities/fuel for heating (propane for cook shack) had also increased with rises in those sectors of the economy.  Diesel for vehicles $2000.  Repairs/maintenance for heavy equipment (mostly the water truck).  Repairs to building fixtures (stalls, bleachers, buildings, painting).  Advertising $7000.  The extension office has taken over $1900 for some of the fair premiums, clearing up a duplicated line item in the budget.  The Queen Contest was budgeted for $2500.  Misc $5000.  Entertainment $20K.  The commissioners asked for specifics about what entertainment the FB plans to use.  The FB explained that they have been able to contract a hypnotist, motocross, scales and tails, kids entertainment, etc., but were not able to afford a musical act.  The FB guessed that ticket sales brought in roughly $14K in revenue.  The commissioners were skeptical about increasing the budget any further for next year (noting that the budget had been increased around $6000 from last year) without a clearer view of a return on the county’s investment.

Ken Moss, Jr. asked the commissioners what plans they had for the property recently purchased near the school.  The property was purchased with the long term intention of creating an indoor arena.   At present, there are no specific plans in the pipeline to create plans or begin development of the property.  The creation of a committee to begin planning work was discussed.  Saving a portion of the upcoming years’ worth of PILT payments for the specific project was discussed.  Support from local organizations who might be willing to contribute money or in-kind work on the project was deemed to be contingent on a design plan before the project would be able to move forward.  

The next commissioners meeting will be moved from July 24 to July 26 at 9:00 a.m., as two of the commissioners will not be available for the originally scheduled date.