After the approval of the claims and minutes, a regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners was held at 1:00 p.m.

Pit Run Gravel Prices in Stone

Lisa Baker and Dianna Dredge from Road and Bridge spoke to the commission about gravel cards for Stone.  The department has been purchasing gravel, and advised that they would like to raise the pit run gravel rates.  The current rate from the Stone pit is $3/ton, but they pay double that for the gravel.  RB proposed raising the rate to $6/ton to account for the difference.  Commissioner Eliason agreed that the change was reasonable in order to keep the account balanced.  Commissioner Eliason moved to raise the rates as suggested.  The motion was seconded by Brian Jeppsen and passed.  Commissioner Eliason asked what the limits on the card were.  40 tons per year was
the response.  

Airport Board, rotary mower

A rotary mower for use at the airport was discussed.  The commission agreed that the price of $3,000 seemed appropriate to the county.  Commissioner Jeppsen felt that validation of the value of the equipment should happen before finalizing the decision, although the purchase might be provisionally approved.  The commissioners decided to wait until the next meeting to vote on the issue.

Gravel around airport hangars

The removal of gravel from the airport taxiway was discussed.  It had been clarified that currently there was not a way to remove gravel on the taxiway.  The maintenance section of the lease was discussed.  Chairman Lewis motioned to sign a revision of the lease agreement to account for
the gravel.

Approval of hangar lease agreement

The airport hangar lesees have signed an agreement for tenancy.  

Veterans Service Officer Update

Robert Stokes, Veteran Service Office Commissioner, spoke to the commissioners about several issues.  He has applied for a grant that he would update the county on.  

At the last meeting, Stokes had requested a printer/scanner and internet access from his home in order to make his work for the office more efficient.  He had requested up to $3000 as part of the grant.  Clerk Lon Colton advised that the clerk’s office had an extra scanner/printer that he would make available to Stokes.  The toner for the device has been received, but the printer needs to be put into working order before it can be used.  The toner at present will not recognize the new toner cartridge, but Colton feels it should be usable.

The regulations regarding the Veterans Service Office stipulate that the office should be provided with space and equipment for the proper functioning of the office.  Stokes plans to scan files, rather than maintain paper copies in filing cabinets.  The timeline for notice about the grant was not definite at present.  

A motion to dedicate the printer from the clerk’s office to Bob Stokes for use in his home was passed.

Chairman Lewis raised the issue of a proclamation for “Hidden Heroes” to be adopted supporting military caregivers and their roles within the community.  The DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) sponsored the proclamation.  The proclamation recognizes the valuable support of those who provide care for veterans.  The proclamation also states that a contact person be designated to help facilitate services and information for caregivers.  

A motion to accept and sign the proclamation was passed.  

Lyle Fuller suggested that the county might contact one of the local service providers for a donation of internet services for the office.

Quarterly Newsletter and County Facebook

Rachel Clark spoke on behalf of the Treasurer’s office with the commissioners about the County’s website. This would be similar to the city’s newsletter.  Clark suggested that Facebook would have a larger potential reach than print copies, and would be a good location for the newsletter.  Information from each of the county departments would be provided to the Facebook and website administrators. The first newsletter is currently planned for April.  A Facebook page for the county clerk’s office has recently been set up to provide information about the county calendar, with a specific emphasis on election information. 

A motion to authorize the Treasurer’s Office to create a Facebook account for the county passed
unanimously.

iWorQs agreement

In January, the county signed an agreement to expand iWorQs.  The agreement signed by the county included an additional add-on (permit management for PZ), but also another addition related to public works that the county did not actually need.  As a result, the county needs to sign an updated version of the agreement to remove the unwanted application.  

Meeting schedule moving forward

In February, the commission agreed to change the schedule to allow for more participation from some members of the community who requested a later time.  The time of 1:00 p.m. has so far resulted in larger turnout.  Commissioner Eliason felt that the time was good.  Lyle Fuller agreed that the time has been fine, and he agreed with Commissioner Eliason that an evening meeting would not, however, work.  A state law requires a county commission meeting scheduled for the second Monday of every month.  Other meetings during the month were at the discretion of the board.  Commissioner Jeppsen suggested that perhaps meetings other than the required one could be responsive to timing in a way that allowed for later meetings, or meetings potentially on other days throughout the month.  

A motion to continue 1:00 meetings through May, but to be flexible with regard to other meetings throughout the month.  There were no specific expectations that the times would change at present.

Liberty Gold mine

Pete Shabestari and Elizabeth Campbell spoke with the commissioners about a proposal from the Liberty Gold mine and its Black Pine Mine project. Shabestari introduced himself and the company to the members of the board, and described the project.  The current agreement with the county expires this year.  Two and a half years ago, the mine spoke to the county about its plan to explore whether golf existed at the site.  Liberty informed the county that it had located gold at its mine site, and was planning to re-open it.  

Black Pine is located right on the border of Cassia and Oenida County, seven miles north of the Idaho border, about an hour southwest of Malad.  The mine sits on a historic mining area dating back to the 1890s.  Black Pine hosts a large oxidized gold supply held in carbonaceous rock.  This means that there is no acid-generating rock in the process of refinement or extraction.

The mine was run by Pegasus Gold Mining as a ROM Heap Leach site.  The average recovery of gold was 60%, and less for silver.  The mine was shut down in 1997, and the Parent Company declared bankruptcy.  There are 750 acres of reclaimed land.  The area has no surface water, and therefore no threatened species (other than sage grouse).  

1,000 holes have been drilled for measurement purposes.  A resource estimate has been created, which states that 3.5 million ounces of gold may be present in the area.  

A 3 plus million dollar bond will be in place before any digging starts.  

Most of the gold is technically in Cassia County, though most of the infrastructure and roads are in Oneida County.  

The company proposes to reopen the mine, expand the five existing pits and open four or five more.  A total of a billion tons of material may ultimately be involved in removal.  

Some of the main transportation routes run through Holbrook and Snowville.  Estimates are as many as 300 direct hires, and as many indirect hires as the process moves forward.

In addition to the mine pits, ancillary facilities will also be built around the site.

Some of the issues include the complexity of the land tenure, with multiple counties involved, as well as BLM and Forest Service land.  The company will need to conduct and complete a number of studies before the process can begin as well.  

Elizabeth Campbell is the community relations advisor.  She answered questions from the commissioners about some of the issues raised.  One was about ambulance service to the mine.  It was related that Snowville was the closest location for ambulance dispatch, but they had been in contact about assuring services for the area.     

The hope is that the initial phase of the operation should be completed by 2027 for a groundbreaking on the project.  The total timespan for the project was estimated at more than 25 years for the life of the mine reserves, although more gold could be discovered during the mining process.  

The depth of the mine was predicted to be variable, but above the water table.  

There was no plan to build a manned camp at the complex.  Workers will come from surrounding communities.  

Questions about the removal of solid waste were raised, though the specifics of that process were not yet determined.      

Dianna Dredge reported that she felt the road agreement with the county has been great so far.  

TV Translator District

Brian Jeppsen updated the board on the TV translator board.  Reorganization of the board will be necessary soon, as the number of board members has dropped below the required 5 members.  Once a meeting has been scheduled and held, Commissioner Jeppsen will update the commissioners again.  1,670 households were currently listed as “users” of the over the air broadcast, and assessed a fee for the signal.  

Fish and Game

Commissioner Jeppsen met with the Fish and Game department about a couple of issues.  One issue is upkeep on the Deep Creek area and docks.  The agreement for the area was first established in the 1970s.  F&G is willing to help with maintaining the outhouses provided that access to the reservoir is kept free.  A private entity has approached Devil Creek and Crowthers about maintaining the areas, though they will place a tackle shop on the site, and charge a launch fee.  The county owns the docks, but does not have a specific contract with the irrigation companies about the reservoir areas.  

It was suggested that the private company would attempt to make a similar arrangement with the other irrigation companies.  One issue is that F&G would not stock the reservoirs with fish if access to the fishing was not free, which would be the result of instituting boat fees.

The commission recognized that there were a number of issues related to the management of the reservoirs that needed to be considered and worked out in the coming months.  

Sheriff Arne Jones discussed the history of the waterways board, which no longer existed in its
original form.

Environmental Consultant Contract

Several counties have pooled resources to pay an environmental consultant for the management of issues such as wolves, sage grouse, grizzlies, and other things.  The feeling was that the county did not have an overwhelming need for such consultancy, but if the cost was minimal it might pursue it.

Upcoming Budget—Arne Jones

Sheriff Jones spoke to the commission about the upcoming budgeting process.