The Board of County Commissioners met for its final meeting of 2023 on December 26.  Chairman Bill Lewis, and Commissioners Ken Eliason and Brian Jeppsen were in attendance.

School Resource Officer

After opening the meeting and approving the agenda, further discussion of compensation for a Resource Officer for the school district (which had been raised during the previous meeting) was had.  A contract with the school district for compensation for the hours a deputy would commit to the school district’s properties was explored.  An arrangement similar to that between the Sheriff’s Office and the Boat Check station was considered as the model for the contract.  Due to the county’s contract with the Sheriff’s Office, the hours during which an officer will be working at the schools will be compensated to the county.  In order to assure that the position will not exceed the budgeted funds, an hourly rate of $50 was proposed in order to account for PERSI, overtime, and other payroll obligations for the position.  The contract was approved, with the caveat that the employee would not be allowed to work double-time pay hours.  The commissioners reiterated their belief that an officer served a valuable and necessary role within the community, and especially with regard to the county’s youth.

Garbage Can Fees

Property owner Gary Capps has owned property in the county for several years.  The property does not have a residence on it, and the owner had not requested garbage cans.  However, Capps recently received a bill for solid wase removal, which he asked the commissioners to waive.  The commissioners made a motion to dismiss the fees, which was passed.

County Excavator

The commissioners approved the purchase of a 2018 307 Excavator with a total of 519 work hours on it for $58,540, which includes a 1 year/500 hour warranty covering general repairs, as well as any repairs needed for hydraulics, powertrain, and other technical support.  The excavator will be able to be moved in the low-boy trailer, which can be pulled by existing vehicles in the county’s inventory.  The excavator will most immediately be used for work with culverts, which should be made much easier as a result of the vehicle.

Stop Sign

Neil Mateski lives near the corner of 2000 N 3400 W in the county, and requested a three way stop sign to replace the currently in place stop sign and yield arrangement.  Mateski stated that people routinely drive at high rates of speed on the road, and ignore the signage.  He felt that stop signs at each of the interstices would work to better control the speed and safety of drivers on the road.  Dianna Dredge, representing the Road and Bridge department, explained that the county had already installed a flashing sign, as well as a “stop ahead” warning light in the area of the intersection, and cut back nearby branches to increase visibility.  She also pointed out that the Road and Bridge department could not put up traffic signs without first conducting a traffic study; otherwise, any ticketed party could dispute the ticket for being issued without the proper justification.  The commission did not make a decision about the sign, but it was suggested that conducting a controlled study during the spring would be the necessary first step to move forward with any additional signage.  During the winter months, snow, ice, and road gravel make the location unsuited for the placement of equipment to conduct the study.

Weed Department Drone

Cody Clyde has been working on securing a spray drone for the Weed department for much of 2023.  The drone itself was approved recently, but Clyde required the commissioners’ signatures for shipping insurance as well as the licensing agreement in order to receive the drone.  Following acting prosecutor Vic Pearson’s evaluation of the contract’s language, a motion to sign the documents was approved.  A separate motion to approve the Summary of Purchase document for the AG216 Drone RTF was also signed.  The drone will be used to spot and spray noxious weeds throughout the county.  Results from other counties who have used similar devices anecdotally suggest that the process is significantly more efficient and cost effective than other spraying methods.  The drone can also be used for observation in cases of emergencies where visual information is needed about conditions or infrastructure in situations where the communication networks are disrupted.

Airport Agreement

An amendment to the airport’s Hangar Lease Agreement was proposed by the Airport board.  The amendment would attempt to prevent the spreading of gravel outside the hangars and taxi-way as a result of snow removal by hangar lessees.  Those lessees found to have violated the terms of the amendment would be charged $300/hr for cleanup.  Gravel creates unsafe conditions for taxiing vehicles, and causes damage to the paved surfaces.  A motion to add the amended language to the Airport Hangar Lease Agreement was approved.

Findings of Fact

Findings of Fact in the county’s decision in the rezoning request made by Allen Nielsen and the Church of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God were accepted by the commissioners in association with case 23-0016.  The Findings of Fact is essentially a summary of the process of the zoning request and the county’s interactions with the applicants, including meetings, documentation, decisions, and the input of the authors of the development code.  The 120 acre plot of land had been the subject of a rezoning request from Agricultural to Rural Residential in order to accommodate a planned subdivision.  The commission decided that the planned subdivision went against the comprehensive plan for the county, and elements of its development code.  In line with those observations, the commission suggested that developments be planned closer to city services, with the underlying principle being that of growth moving outward from the population center of the county, rather than stochastically throughout the county.

Dan Williams

Emergency Preparedness Director Dan Williams spoke to the commissioners about the impending deadline for applications for a grant to replace the culverts in the county.  The deadline is January 15.  The timeframe, as well as the cost associated with the grant writing process and any engineering required to qualify for the grant, make it a challenge.  Lisa Baker of Road and Bridge, Dan Williams, and grant writer Jean Thomas will be contacted by Brian Jeppsen about the potential viability of the project.  The commissioners approved moving forward with attempting to secure the grant.

An SHSP grant for the installation of a backup generator at the Event Center was discussed.  The deadline for the grant application is January 15, which is complicated by the unavailability of Generac generators within the timeframe allowed.  It was conveyed to the commission that D&T Electric believed it could locate a comparable generator much more quickly.  The commission asked that Building Inspector Tory Richardson obtain a specific bid for the generator from D&T and present it to the commission.  

Tax Exemption 

Property Tax exemptions were requested by Brett and April Allen, as well as Jackson LaFevre under the guidelines recently established by the Idaho legislature.  The exemptions were approved by the commission.

129,000 Lbs Permit

The annual Overweight 129,000 pound permit numbers 1-5 for the road from Hess Pumice to Wrights Creek was approved.

Road and Street Financial Report

The 2023 Road and Street Financial Report for the county was accepted and approved by the commission.

Life flight policy

The Life Flight Group Program is offered to county employees as a way of insuring Life Flight trips at a rate of $75 per household.  A competing program out of Cache county has recently been established at a lower rate, and with a potentially larger pool of qualifying medical facilities.  A discussion about the Life Flight policy will be continued before the policy’s renewal date of February 2024.

Meeting Calendar

The meeting schedule for the county commission was discussed and established.  The regular schedule of the second and fourth Mondays of the month was approved, with four changes due to schedule conflicts.  The final calendar includes the dates: January 8 and 22, February 12 and 26, March 11 and 25, April 8 and 22, May 13 and 28, June 10 and 24, July 8 and 22, August 12 and 26, September 9 and 30, October 15 and 28, November 12 and 25, and December 9 and 23.

Annual Vessel Fund

Discussion of how to allocate the funds distributed to Oneida County through the state’s collection of boat stickers and other fees associated with waterways was held.  The total available to the county is $17,319, which will be further discussed at the next commission meeting.

Fair Board Members

Nominees to replace Fair board members Patrick Werk and Kacey Keller were approved to the positions.  Hugo Ramos and Shanae Blaisdell were approved as Fair board members.

Juniper Cemetery

The potential for the county to take charge of a cemetery in Juniper was discussed.  The county regulates cemeteries within the county in the form of cemetery districts under their oversight, but no one on the commission has been through such a process.  Research on what was needed in order to meet Idaho code and set up a cemetery district will be conducted with an eye toward a future decision on the matter.

Fuller and Fuller 

The contract between the county and Fuller and Fuller for their services as the legal counsel for the county was reviewed.  Some language in the contract was modified for clarity, such as the provision that records needed to be kept in Oneida county, rather than with Fuller and Fuller.  Compensation for expenses resulting from a capital case was also discussed, and it was determined that the firm would approach the county in any situation they felt might result in such an expense.  Compensation for travel expenses in the contract were also slightly modified.  A motion to approve the modified contract with Fuller and Fuller was made and approved.

Interim prosecutor Vic Pearson advised the board that the filing deadline for a candidate for next year’s Prosecuting Attorney election was rapidly approaching in March.  Fuller and Fuller’s current contract runs through December 31 of 2024.  If a qualified candidate files and wins election in the county, they will replace the firm on January 1, 2025.

Miscellaneous 

A Records Retention Resolution, which had been discussed over a number of recent county meetings, was officially adopted by the commission.  The resolution outlines the schedule for the disposition of documents generated within the county, which have a range of timeframes for retention and policies covering destruction.  The resolution is a required policy, and will go into effect immediately following approval.

Clerk Lon Colton submitted a resolution to open last year’s budget in order to amend budgets which had outspent their originally funded amounts.  Some of the overruns come from unexpected expenses throughout the year, and others come from factors related to the accounting for multiple accounts within the overall system.  A motion to allow the opening of the budget was approved.

Colton also submitted a resolution to request the use of PILT funds the county knew it would use for the Justice Fund and Fair board to supplement funds with cash shortages in the 2023 budget.  Resolution 2023-12-03, which allows PILT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) funds to be used to add to county funds with shortages, was approved.

A forensics lab in Bannock County is being constructed using ARPA funds, and will become an option for Oneida County’s forensic services.  Currently, the county uses forensic facilities in Ada county for its autopsies, and Vic Pearson questioned whether a trial arrangement with Bannock County would affect the future ability of Oneida County to contract with Ada county down the road.  The issues involves, such as potential cost savings, efficiency, ease of access, and so on, will be considered before the county makes any decisions about the future of its forensic services contracts with either Bannock or Ada counties.

Progress on ADA compliance at the courthouse continues apace, with the elevator project and replacement of counters and access ways nearly completed.  Disposition of removed furniture and materials were discussed, and a motion to authorize Lon Colton to establish an auction process for the surplus materials was approved.

The Ameriben and Northwest Data Exchange contracts discussed at the previous county commission meeting were approved.