The Board of County Commissioners met for its regular meeting on November 27.  

Vic Pearson

Meetings for December for the commission will take place at 1:00 p.m. rather than 9:00 a.m. to allow Vic Pearson to attend.  Pearson is temporarily serving as the county’s legal counsel while Fuller and Fuller prepares to take over in the position.  Pearson also works for Franklin county, so his availability is limited some days of the week, including Mondays.

Fairboard Replacement

Pat Werk and Kacey Keller are both leaving the Fair Board, which will now need replacement members.  The commission plans to look into the term bylaws for the board in order to clarify the future commitment of the replacements.  A number of people were nominated as replacements, and they will be contacted about their interest in the upcoming weeks.  A motion to authorize Commissioner Ken Eliason to contact the nominees was passed.  

D6 Office Space

Commissioner Eliason reported that he had communicated with Gabe Jimenez of Juvenile probation about the use of annex space for D6 therapists.  A memorandum of understanding agreement between the two agencies was presented to the commissioners.  D6 Treatment will be using a space in the annex building during a few hours during the week in order to provide services.  The MOU was approved and signed.  

Ordinance for Area of Impact   

The Impact Zone Area of Impact ordinance needs to be approved by both the county and the city.  The city will not be able to approve the ordinance until its next scheduled meeting in December.  “This is a big, big step to getting where we need to be,” Chairman Lewis said.  The line defining the Area of Impact has been drawn by a combination of city and county officials.  A motion to approve the ordinance passed.

Findings of Fact Allen Nielsen

A review of the findings of fact in the decision related to Allen Nielsen’s proposed subdivision was conducted.  The board recently moved to reject the rezone request for the subdivision based on a number of issues.  The company responsible for creating the development code will provide the findings of fact to the Nielsens and the board.  The commissioners will review the findings in the meantime.

Records Retention Schedule

The commission spoke about a proposed records retention schedule.  Examples of schedules from other counties, especially Fremont, were used to design the proposed policy.  The policy will govern when the county can destroy records in order to consolidate data storage.  Some types of documents have mandatory retention schedules, while others are more flexible.  The Idaho Association of Counties outlines the basic guidelines, and a version of those rules were followed in the creation of the policy.  The county’s records are being transferred to digital archives.  The guidelines for the destruction of physical records was discussed.  A motion to move forward with the schedule, based on the Idaho Code and the IAC, was approved.  

EOM Grant

Commissioner Jeppsen spoke about the EOM grant.  Emergency Planner Dan Williams explained that several opportunities for funding were available.  One was related to building structures that need to be brought up to specifications for emergency resilience, with special attention to earthquake mitigation.  Flood mitigation was another project with available funds.  The county has until January 18 to apply for the funds.  A grant writer will be required to apply for the funds.  The county will need to find a suitable project oriented toward flooding in order to apply.  Williams mentioned the potential to use any funds to replace culverts throughout the county.  In that case, an inventory of culverts in need of repair will need to be conducted.  

December Meeting Schedule

The schedule for commission meetings in December was discussed.  The meetings were moved to 1:00 on December 11 and 26 in order to accommodate the schedule of Vic Pearson, the county’s acting attorney.

Onetime Expenses

Several requests for one time expenses were discussed.  Bids are still being taken for an emergency fuel tank with a generator.  No decision has been made about the purchase of a new county vehicle.  

Past and Current Meeting Assignments

The commissioners revisited their current assignments throughout the county.  

Extension office—Chairman Lewis reported that there is an opportunity for a program to teach computer skills to seniors.  Statewide, there are a number of projects dealing with agriculture available that Chairman Lewis advised the commissioners about.  

There is a new law in effect whereby weed spraying no longer requires proof of a notification letter.  Chairman Lewis discussed a number of legislative reports from the 4 county meeting, including mussel remediation, library bills, EMT services and other items.  Ways to spend money from the opioid settlement were discussed.  The funds need to be directed toward combating the drug, or dealing with its results.  In SE Idaho, it was reported that one of the highest prescription rates was found in the state.  The idea of a public information event was discussed.  Other locations that could be trained in the administration of Narcan were discussed.  There are just over $26K dollars in the settlement fund.  

Commissioner Lewis discussed a report from the juvenile detention center in Bannock County.  Six counties (Bannock, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida, Power) utilize the center for their juvenile detention needs.  The county’s cost is tied to the number of hours the county uses the services.  The magistrate judge, Hooste, is responsible for sending juveniles to the facility.  

Form C; Juvenile Financial Report

The financial report for the county’s juvenile justice program was discussed.  Money for the program is held in reserve by the state until it is needed.  The potential to use funds for building repair at the annex was mentioned.  $2,700 of remaining funds from the last budget year were in reserves.  The report was approved.

Removal of Floor Tile

The Drivers License area in the courthouse is in need of new tile.  The existing tile will need to be removed before the ADA fixtures can be installed.  A proposal for $925 to cut line for separation and preserve tile that will remain was received from the Fix-It Shop.  The proposal to fund the work from the capital fund was approved.  

Wrights Creek Road

Commissioner Eliason reported on the meeting last week concerning Wrights Creek Road.  Chairman Lewis conveyed his understanding that the road needs to be repaired, but the correct material for the repair is unclear at present.  Chairman Lewis stated that the county engineer would be best situated to provide a direction for the county to go as far mitigating the road issues go.  Road and Bridge and Hess Pumice are the interested parties in the discussion.  The commission expressed its awareness of the need to resolve the issue.  

The meeting was adjurned.