EMS District Discussion; Local ‘Stop and ID’ Law Proposed
On Monday, July 28, the Adams County Commissioners met at the Adams County Courthouse.
First arrived Julie Good, Mayor of New Meadows, to discuss the area of impact for the city of New Meadows. Recent legislation had been passed that required cities and counties to update their areas of impact. The commissioners also spoke with Mayor Good about the recent proposal to create a new ambulance district for Meadows Valley and their concerns. Mayor Good highlighted some of her concerns. She said Meadows Valley Ambulance consistently said they would not raise the levy rate, but have not specified how they were planning on closing the budget shortfall. She was also concerned about the way they talked about Brundage and was worried they would have that attitude with any future development. She asked what they would have done about Brundage if they already had their own ambulance district and was told they would have just de-annexed them. Good said the city council will be asking the fire commissioners to come to a meeting soon so they can get answers.
Commissioner Viki Purdy said that they were not feeling inclined to approve it right now and it was her understanding that even if it did go through they would still need permission from the county commissioners to de-annex anyone.
Mayor Good said she was concerned about the information that was given out. The only reason she could see they want to create their own district in the first place would be to have more control over fees. She said at a meeting where it was discussed, several times Meadows Valley was asked why they needed to do this and didn’t give clear answers. They would need to elect three new commissioners if it went through and the plan seemed to be to use the current advisory board members.
Mayor Julie Good said she kept questioning where the money was going to come from if they were already in the hole. If they were not going to raise the levy, how were they going to fund their plans? She did not get clear answers. She said the fire department and EMS is loved by a lot of people, but that people were feeling threatened that they were not going to have service and she didn’t like that, although she didn’t think that was anyone’s intention.
Good said they needed to do a public records report because they were not getting all the numbers. The next step if the ambulance wanted to move forward was to get the petition into the commissioners. Mayor Good said she wanted the fire commissioners to come to a meeting that the city was running and try to get some clear answers. She said what came across was that they were against EMS and Fire, but that wasn’t the case at all. Commissioner Purdy agreed, they just wanted to make sure they had service for the community.
Mayor Good said the growth is going to happen, but the city cannot move forward with approving things if they do not have the fire and ambulance services to support it. Meredith Fisher, with Planning and Zoning, agreed, and said their role as a fire district was not to hold a jurisdiction hostage and negotiate a piece of property. It was to make sure the configuration of the development met state code and that they could service that many units. Fisher said she knew that Commissioner Purdy wasn’t in favor of an impact study but it would help them to really quantify the numbers needed to service growth and help growth appropriately pay for itself.
Mayor Good was also concerned about the attitude towards Brundage. “We’re in the same community,” said Good, “they have a place in our community.” She also reiterated “we support emergency services.”
Overall, the commissioners did not understand the animosity.
Before leaving, Mayor Good invited the commissioners to an open house for the community at the Old Depot in New Meadows, which would now be housing City Hall and a museum. She said the historical society was elated. Good mentioned that, interestingly, it was the fire department that was against the change of acquiring the building for free. “That’s part of what I’m not understanding,” she said.
Next, Meredith Fisher, with Planning and Zoning, said a special meeting has been put together for Brundage on August 11th. P&Z was working closely with Mountain Origins to help them get approved for final plat. They were running into some gridlock with DEQ and Southwest District Health. Fisher said her intention was not to step on the toes of DEQ and Southwest District Health- they didn’t like the county issuing partial permits or foundation only permits. Iveson asked if they could do it anyway. He didn’t really care if it ruffled feathers at DEQ and Southwest District Health. Fisher said she was with him, but was concerned about liability. She said a partial permit is very hard to take back once it’s been put down, but it was their decision.
Steve Shelton, with Solid Waste, had negotiated a better warranty on the equipment he was looking into. After some discussion the commissioners signed and approved the sales agreement for a 2023 CAT 730 articulated truck and a 2019 CAT 950m loader.
Adam Balderson, with Road and Bridge, also had prices for a loader and graders. He said interest rates for a lease were 2% lower than for financing. The commissioners debated whether they should purchase the loader outright or lease it, and whether to lease at a higher amount with the option to buy the machine for a dollar at the end of the lease, or to lease for a lower amount. The leases also had a significantly better warranty. After much debate, the commissioners decided to lease all three, and to lease the loader with the dollar buy back since they didn’t put too many hours on those and would still have a good running machine at the end of the lease.
Sheriff Ryan Zollman said that rodeo weekend wasn’t terrible. There were a few arrests and the lightning storm produced two fires but both were out. There were 25 state inmates and 2 county.
Tyanne Rowland with the University of Idaho Extension Office arrived next with her proposed budget. She was requesting a part time person for 20 hours a week. The commissioners had cut the position down to 6 hours last year due to budget constraints. Commissioner Joe Iveson asks what she thought of the Extension Office moving over to the new building. Rowland said that there are problems with her building. The commissioners wanted the county building inspector to check them out. Rowland said she was more than willing to move somewhere more cost efficient, but mentioned that she would need a big meeting room because they often let the community utilize theirs.
Next, Lorraine Bennett and Monica Forbes arrived to talk about The ROC Recovery Center. The ROC (Recovery Oriented Recovery) was a satellite of Peer Wellness Center in Boise which gets funding from the state as a recovery center. They have a center in McCall and also recently in Council, with limited services. Forbes said they were not planning to approach the commissioners so soon, but moved up the timeline when Region Three Behavioral Health Board came to ask for the commissioners to support a recovery center in Council recently. Commissioner Daren Ward said they were a separate group doing the same kind of thing, but the difference that he saw was this was local, and any support would be with the opioid money, not tax dollars.
Forbes said she was a person in recovery since 2004 and was passionate about helping others. She helped found the first recovery center in Idaho. They have a satellite center in McCall and are starting one in Council, with the aid of Lorraine Bennett, who has been doing it independently for a number of years already. Forbes said suicide was the second leading cause of death for teens in Idaho. Covid increased substance use and increased trauma. She said the ROC has two purposes, to remove barriers to recovery and to put a positive face on recovery. Getting peer support for kids and dealing with trauma were important towards achieving these goals.
Loraine Bennett said that when she started she was in a church and it was faith based only, but when she moved to a different location she was able to serve more people, both from the community who didn’t want to come to a church, and more people from her church, who didn’t want to be seen with the stigma. Currently she is operating out of an office in Council at 100 Illinois Ave Suite 2.
Commissioner Ward noticed they were requesting funding from the Health District and asked if they were already on board. Forbes said they were not committed yet, but she thought they would provide funding, especially if there was pressure from the county. Commissioner Purdy asked if they provide meetings. Forbes said they acknowledge all pathways to recovery, there are no wrong doors. They don’t duplicate existing resources, so if it isn’t already existing, they will get it together. “Recovery is a gift,” said Forbes, “we expect to pay it forward.” Forbes said a big part of what they do is building community, she said the bigger the recovery community the longer you stay in recovery, so another thing they offer is sober events. Forbes said the opposite of addiction was connection, so their job was to help build strong connections and let go of the unhealthy ones. She said they were also starting to provide services in the jail.
Commissioner Viki Purdy said she was grateful that they came in, because she did not feel inclined to give the other group a dime. After they left, she asked Prosecuting Attorney, Peter Donovan, if it was possible to give half of the opioid money to this group and the other half to the clinic for trauma training.
After a lunch break, the Council Valley Ambulance District Advisory Board, along with EMT Rianne Horsch, arrived to speak to the commissioners. Horsch presented their budget. They were getting a lot of runs, she thought they would probably end the year with over 600 runs. Last year there were around 400.
Dan Huter said they wanted to talk about the plan to become a separate commission. He said they were hoping that the commissioners would evaluate or have a get together before they made a decision but then he heard the commissioners had called Horsch and said they didn’t support it.
Commissioner Joe Iveson said they never officially made a final decision, someone then wanted to wait and see if they moved forward with a public hearing. Iveson said he was not in support but his mind could be changed. Prosecutor Donovan said they haven’t even had the opportunity to make a decision yet because first the ambulance would need to gather signatures.
Iveson had a lot of concerns. He said he didn’t understand where this whole thing was coming from and he felt like they were having the same issues with Meadows Valley but he didn’t understand why. He thought there had never been a time when someone from the ambulance had come in asking for something that the commissioners didn’t give. “We’re here to help you, support you, in any way we can,” said Iveson. “No one has told me why.” Dan Huter said right now they own the ambulance buildings. The commissioners countered not them, but the citizens, and that would still be the case. The members of the ambulance advisory board seemed to think that a decision had already been made and were told the county commissioners didn’t support it and wanted to know why. Commissioner Purdy said she didn’t support it because nothing would change and it didn’t make sense. Huter thought it would be easier and simpler to not have to bug the commissioners and to be able to do things on their own.
Iveson said another concern was only 3 out of 44 Idaho counties had done this and it was fairly new. Commissioner Daren Ward said he was confused because he thought that last time Horsch was in she had said they had decided not to pursue it. Horsch said yes, they paused it. She said she can see both sides. She thought that if they could meet regularly and work together that would be fine, but she has big plans and would like to see them becoming paramedics in 6-8 years. She would like to start paying everyone the correct way.
Dan Huter asked if the only way to get more money was a levy and what it would require. Clerk Sherry Ward said yes, it would require an election with a 2/3 majority.
Commissioner Daren Ward said he was trying to see from their perspective why there was an advantage to this. The advisory board members said they were still learning about the process and the pro’s and cons. Ward said he has not heard anything that seems advantageous yet, but he has not made a final decision. He said right now they have an advisory board, but the commissioners have never seen or heard from them until now and maybe that was where the issue was. Commissioner Purdy said they obviously run pretty lean and do a good job.
Iveson thought that there was probably an advantage in larger counties where the commissioners were busier. Prosecutor Donovan said it reduced liability for the county, but he wasn’t sure what the overall benefit was to the community Commissioner Purdy said they just want what’s right for the taxpayers, and if they went through with this the ambulance would be able to double their levy, move boundaries, pay their commissioners, and more.
Commissioner Iveson said to go get signatures and change their mind. Commissioner Daren Ward reiterated what he said at the initial meeting, that if the people wanted this he wasn’t going to stand in the way, but it didn’t sound like the advisory board was even completely on board. He thought what probably should have happened originally was the advisory board recommended it. Iveson requested that if they went forward they should be transparent about cost and potential increases with the people
Next, Sheriff Ryan Zollman and Undersheriff Ken Boell arrived to talk about a proposed Stop and Identify Ordinance with Prosecutor Peter Donovan. The proposed ordinance would require that citizens identify themselves to law enforcement if requested and it would be a misdemeanor offense to refuse. Zollman said in the last month they had two incidents where this could have been very helpful. Donovan said there were two similar state statutes, one that requires providing a drivers license and another that prohibited giving false information. If the regulation to give an identification was a misdemeanor that was committed in the officers presence that could be used as justification for an arrest.
Commissioner Viki Purdy interrupted at this point and asked “so you are guilty before proven innocent?”
Donovan said it related to weather evidence gathered was subject to spurious attacks. It would give the officers probable cause that a person had committed a crime. Commissioner Purdy thought it was a work around and an elimination of due process.
Commissioner Daren Ward asked if this would be coming down at the state level. Zollman and Donovan didn’t think so. Ward said he would be uncomfortable having it at the county level and he understood the reason for it, but thought it should be coming from the state level. Purdy thought it was over reaching and out of balance. Donovan said the county didn’t have the ability to change anyone’s right to due process and this wouldn’t have that power. Purdy said she loved the sheriff’s officers and completely supported them, but they were human beings and she thought this tipped the balance too far. She thought there was too much abuse during Covid and this wasn’t a conservative thing.
Zollman said that an innocent person never refused to give an I.D. He thought, in his eyes, that this wasn’t something that would be easily abused. “The real, true, honest, law abiding citizen has no problem,” said Zollman.
“To me, it’s overreach,” said Purdy, “If you guys want to, take it to the state or the legislature.”
Commissioner Iveson said he wouldn’t mind hearing other opinions, but he didn’t like the wording on it. He thought maybe they should mull it over and have a public hearing just to see what people thought. Zollman thought it was tested and already proven in the supreme court. Commissioner thought it would fall under resist and delay, and was sort of unnecessary. Purdy also thought it sounded like a good way for the county to end up in court. Ward said he would be happy to do a public hearing. Zollman left them by saying something would be coming at the state level since the Clarke decision had handcuffed them so much and if they did it at the county level they would have more control over it.
