The Board of County Commissioners met for their regularly scheduled December meeting on Monday, December 11.

Christmas Greeting

Shelly Williams spoke to the commissioners on behalf of the Idaho Enterprise.  The county was asked to approve an expenditure for the annual Christmas greeting in the newspaper.  The commission approved the amount of $550 for the Christmas Greeting.  This will run in the Christmas edition. 

129,000 truck route 

application

Todd Hubbard, District 5 engineer for ITD and Molly Beseris spoke to the commission about truck route permitting for 129,000 pounds to the Hess Pumice mines.  Hubbard explained that, separately, the states were allowed to put together a freight plan, which provides opportunities for funding.  The freight plan is administered through the ITD.  There are a certain number of miles which can be designated as freight routes under the plan.  A freight advisory committee is responsible for designing the freight plan.  The county would then be able to apply for funds through the designation.  Across the state, there are multiple levels of weight limits.  The increased weight actually creates less weight per axle than some lower weight limits.  Chairman Lewis asked about the timeframe for grants.  Beseris explained that the first phase would be a freight plan evaluation.  Funds would allow for studies to determine viability of the route.  Should the county apply for the freight route status, an evaluation should be completed by spring.  Dianna Dredge and Lisa Baker of the Road and Bridge department, as well as the commissioners, asked a number of questions about the process moving forward.  The freight route and 129,000 pound limit are separate, so that one could be approved without the other.  Dredge expressed a belief that there were no reasons not to pursue either of the programs.  

The commission made a motion to pursue the engineering grant through LHTAC for a 26 mile route from Daniels road to Wright’s Creek road.

Commissioner Eliason asked about the road from Holbrook to Malad.  Hubbard stated that ITD was aware of the needs, and in the process of planning repair on the road.

Part-time salaries

Sheriff Arne Jones spoke to the commissioners about increasing the pay for part time deputies and dispatchers.  Jones explained that the department required part time employees in order to keep the office staffed.  He stated that using part-time and reserve employees would save the county around $30,000 a year, because it does not require full-time employees to fill in at overtime rates.  Chairman Lewis stressed that the department could not go over its allotted budget for part time shifts.  Jones stated that the department would not need another increase until 2025.  Jones believes that the comp time in the department would be reduced as a result of more part-time hours.  Currently $17/hr non-certified, $18/hr certified for deputy rates.  The rates will increase dispatch to $17.50/hr and part time deputies to $20/hr.  A motion to increase the rates passed.

School Resource Officer

Doug Williams spoke to the commissioners about the need for a law enforcement officer at the schools.  As a result of being short-staffed, there are no available officers to cover the schools as a resource officer.  A grant has been designed to cover shifts at the school for the remainder of the school year.  Jenny Hawkes will be the primary officer present in the schools.  Vic Pearson pointed out that employees would be accruing time/PTO/etc within the sheriff’s office, rather than the School District, which might be an issue.  The similarities to the arrangement with the sheriff’s office and the boat check station were discussed.  Wages paid for school officers by the School District were discussed.  The hourly rate would need to cover time and a half costs, as the employees would often be working over the allotted 40 hours.  The hours would be voluntary and separate from the scheduling needs of the sheriff’s office.  The commissioners wanted to verify that the $40/hr rate for the officer through the grant would cover all of the county’s obligation for funding the position.  Vic Pearson advised that the sheriff’s office needs to consult with the Labor Department to determine exactly what the parameters of the arrangement should be.  Chairman Lewis stated that he felt a resource officer was certainly a necessary, but that the situation needed to be clarified first in terms of payroll issues.  Vic Pearson and Lon Colton agreed to speak with the necessary entities before the next meeting to move forward. 

Ameriben agreement

The county’s membership agreement with Ameriben was discussed.  Ameriben currently provides a number of services to the county.  The Northwest Data Exchange is a digital service where salary information is kept for the sake of comparisons.  Many cities and counties subscribe to the service to provide data for salary setting.  Ameriben helps with data collection from the county and uploading to the exchange, as well as running custom reports for the county.

Ameriben also provides Human Resources services to the county.  The company supplies hotlines for employees and employers to mitigate risk and provide resources for workplace expectations and issues.  

Ameriben also provides feedback and analysis of the level chart for county employees.  The commissioners mentioned the importance of the resources provided through Ameriben.  

Some further questions about the Step and Grade system were raised.  The Levels were arrived out through Ameriben’s survey of the county’s employees, though some issues have been raised since related to the fact that many employees fill roles within their departments that include a number of job descriptions, rather than a single one.  

The commissioners suggested that they would like to maintain the hotline, as well as have several positions re-evaluated on the step and grade chart.  The potential to subscribe to the Northwest Data Exchange every other year, rather than every year, was raised.  

The commission approved a decision to renew the Northwest Data Exchange and a half year of select membership for a total of $4500 from the contingency fund.  The six months would allow for the next contract to line up with the fiscal year. 

Senior Citizen Center funding; Dave Colton

Dave Colton spoke to the commissioners about funding for the Senior Citizens center.  Colton is requesting funding to help with 350 meals in house per month and over 200 meals delivered.  The state has restored some of the funding which was eliminated in 2023.  Many of the grants that support the senior center are restricted for use on facilities.  Colton advised that the senior center had funds to make it through 2024.  Expenses have increased every year, due to increases in food costs and demand.  Due to state requirements for what is served, the menu has a floor cost that is unavoidable.  The commissioners approved a one time expense of $5,000 to supplement and support the food program at the senior center.  

Lloyd Briggs—dumpster at Crowthers

Lloyd Briggs and Austin Tubbs spoke to the commission representing St John Irrigation Company.  The company received a tax bill notice for a dumpster that was placed at the reservoir that they did not place.  It was suggested that IDAWY should be responsible for the decision about locating/billing the dumpster.  Jason Lower of IDAWY suggested that they could try assessing the need for the dumpster.  St John expressed the feeling that the dumpster was not being used by them.  IDAWY agreed to remove the dumpster and post signs about trash removal.  IDAWY will also contact Fish and Game to see whether they are interested in paying for a can at the reservoir.  Another source of funding will be sought.  The commissioners approved a motion to cancel the solid waste fee for St John Irrigation Company under the current bill for $427.

Fact and Findings and conclusion of law from Nielsen hearing

The commission discussed the facts and findings from the public hearing over a proposed rezone request submitted by Allen Nielsen.  The commission felt that it needed more time to evaluate the final document before they approved it.

Quit claim deed

Lisa Baker spoke to the commission about a quit claim deed with Hess Pumice and Hess Lumber.  Hess Pumice donated property to the county, which it is shifting to Hess Lumber.  The land in question is on the borders of current county roads, which will clear the boundary lines between the entities clear.  The deeds are necessary for the county to change anything in its system related to the property.  A motion to accept a quit claim deed, giving land to JRD Properties, LLC was approved.  A second motion to accept a quit claim deed providing a clean description of the remaining property to the county.  The second motion was also approved.

Purchase of excavator

Dianna Dredge spoke about the purchase of an excavator.  Dredge stated that the backhoe currently being used for cleaning out culverts is less efficient than an excavator.

Several models, ranging from $54K to $89K were located, which Dredge explained was available in capital funds.  According to Dredge, the design and capability of the excavator will be much better suited to the projects the backhoe is currently being used for.  Dredge felt that the purchase was a high priority for the department.  She explained that she would like to keep looking at potential vehicles, but that the expense would probably be close to the $90K range.  The commission approved using the capital funds for the excavator, once a suitable one is located.  

Extension Office budget

Kelly Sorensen spoke to the commission about the budget for the Extension Office.  Last year, the extension office was allowed to overspend its demonstration budget in anticipation of funds it would receive later from other counties that shared the cost for multi-agency events, or sponsors.  Those reimbursements cannot be put back into the budget.  A budget line item for those sorts of cost outlays will be created for next year, however in the meantime the office requested the ability to overspend from its account, recognizing that the funds will be or have been replenished by reimbursement from outside the county.  A motion to allow the 

Extension Office to exceed the travel budget with future reimbursement was passed.  A separate motion to allow a similar situation to occur with the supply budget was also approved.

SHSP funds for generator

Emergency Preparedness Director Dan Williams reported on the progress of SHSP funds directed toward an emergency generator for the Event Center and radios for the sheriff’s department.  A required EHP (Environmental and Historical Preservation) study is underway to determine any environmental issues in the process.  Failure to complete the study, or install the generator in time will void the grant.  The generator will need to be installed by April.  The generator will be funded out of SHSP funds from several years, the oldest of which need to be spent within that time frame.  Availability of some brands within the window available is questionable.

Disaster Preparedness grant

Williams also discussed a grant for disaster mitigation related to replacing culverts.  Williams submitted a notice of intent to submit for the grant.  He submitted an amount of $300,000 to replace five culverts.  The county’s contribution would be 25%, though some in-kind equipment or labor exchanges could be used to reduce the total.  The grant would need to be written by January 15.  

Beer licenses

Beer licenses for Family Dollar, Garren and Kathleen Atkinson, Thomas Market, CJs, Hotel Malad, Maverik, Dude Ranch, American Legion 65, KC Oil, Chat n Chew, Top Stop, and KJs were approved by the commission.

ESRI Renewal

The GIS program that is used for digital mapping required a renewal.  The yearly cost is $2090.  Within the next few years, the program versions will be upgraded, requiring upgrades to the computers used.  A motion to sign the renewal agreement was approved.

County vehicle

Kathleen Atkinson discussed the county’s Ford Escape, which has been valued at $13,000 as a trade.  Atkinson and the commissioners discussed the best value for the vehicle, which could also be used at another department within the county.  Chairman Lewis felt that purchasing a new vehicle and providing the Escape to the Extension Office would be a good idea.  A motion to purchase an Edge comparable to the county’s other travel vehicle was made.  The Escape will be used for shorter travel engagements in order to preserve its lifetime as long as possible.  A second Edge was located from Caribou Ford for $42,700.  A motion to make that purchase from one-time expense was approved.  

Caterpillar 

Documents approving the lease for a Caterpillar motor grader were signed for $46,242.29 per lease payment.