Report of February 26th BOCC meeting
On Monday, February 26, 2024, the Adams County Commissioners met for their regular meeting in the Commissioners Room at the Courthouse. Building Inspector, Kody Williams, was first on the agenda, but didn’t have anything new to report. He was curious as to the progress of the trucks they were purchasing. The commissioners said the purchases are moving along, and they may be able to help bring people down to pick them up from Canyon County.
Meredith Fisher, with Planning and Zoning said there was no Planning and Zoning meeting this month as nothing was ready to move forward yet. She was wondering if the commissioners wanted to schedule a public hearing to review the final plat for the Legacy Ranch Subdivision. Their lawyer was looking over the code and thought it wasn’t required and Fisher agreed, however, they can decide if they still want to do it on a case by case basis. Because there had been some opposition to the subdivision, the commissioners thought that they did need to have the public hearing.
Next, Fisher presented Murry Carter and Taylor Shields with Carter Cutlery to the board of Commissioners. Carter has seen the need for an assisted living facility in Council and was interested in building one on a property adjacent to a home with a shop that Shield was interested in purchasing and expanding his own knife making shop into. The property has a somewhat tumultuous history and they wanted to check with the commissioners to see if this was even a feasible prospect before purchasing it. The house and shop are on two lots totaling 48 acres down Orchard Rd. They would be close to the airport, which Carter sees as advantageous for access to Life Flight, and it also backs up to the Weiser River Trail, which he thought would provide wonderful recreational activities for residents. He is trying to get buy-ins from his church and they would possibly be helping with staffing as well. He has already sold his helicopter to help fund the project. Commissioner Joe Iveson asked what the current hangups were. Fisher said they might need to make changes to the property zoning. There had been prior concerns about increasing the density, but that was for residential use, commercial wasn’t on their radar. It has legal access, but it would be better in the future if there was access from the highway. They could do it under a conditional use permit, but there might be problems in the future if they wanted to expand because they would have to apply for a new conditional use permit. The commissioners were generally favorable. “I want to see us do as much as we can to assist a business venture,” said Commissioner Daren Ward “people aren’t getting younger.” Commissioner Viki Purdy thought the area needed it, and if they can put it in a location where people can get out and enjoy what they have around them that’s really special. “I think it’s a great idea,” she said. Carter said he likes the idea of the 40 acres because there would be room to put parks and things for people to be active. Commissioner Joe Iveson said it sounds like they are on board. Fisher said she needed to do some more research about the best way to move forward.
Steve Shelton said the fair board was interested in the new trailer as a sawdust and manure trailer. The trailer hasn’t been used since the fair board used it last year, however, it is brand new, and he was hoping to recoup some of the costs to purchase some equipment for the landfill. The commissioners were in favor of selling the trailer to the fair board, but they weren’t sure if they could give it to them since it was brand new and they needed to recoup some of the expense.
Next, Adam Balderson, with Road and Bridge, came while the commissioners opened bids for 11 miles of chip sealing on Council Cuprum Rd, and .75 miles of recycled asphalt base for Missman. There were three bids for Missman, the first was from Sunrock Corporation for $299,550, the second for Valley Paving and Asphalt for $229,250, and the third from Knife River for $311,500. For Council Cuprum there was only one bid from Boswell Asphalt Paving Solutions for $739,194. Clerk Sherry Ward said she had budgeted $700k for Council Cuprum and $300k for Missman. The commissioners said they would accept the contracts for Valley Paving and Boswell.
Emergency Manager, Carol Walsh, arrived next to discuss the fuels reduction program and different grants. They will be working in the Bear/Cuprum area come spring. They have been doing just the roadside for now but several property owners are interested as well. They should be moving on to Meadow Creek, Highland and Little Salmon Subdivisions and are getting new grants to help with that. Sheriff Ryan Zollman asked if they would be doing any defensible space around subdivision borders. Walsh said that is something she is working on.
Sheriff Ryan Zollman said that the Adams County Health Center has agreed to continue the rest of this fiscal year with the current terms. They will discuss continuation in May. He is sharing the contract from the other provider with them to see if they might be able to provide some of the same services going forward. He is also requesting that when their current provider retires they try to find someone with correctional medicine experience. There are 23 state inmates and 0 county. Adams County also received an award from the Idaho Transportation Department for Zero fatalities on the highway for 2023.
Next there was a meeting of the county elected officials and department heads. The commissioners wanted to have a discussion on travel, tipping, sick time and overtime. Travel was set to that it will always follow the state mileage reimbursement rate. Tips cannot exceed 20% of total. The commissioners also reminded everyone to please get itemized receipts and use sick time appropriately. Sheriff Zollman wanted clarification on how it works if an employee donates unused sick time to another employee who needs it. Several people chimed in to the conversation, as it has been somewhat of an issue and they were wondering about ways to make things smoother. Commissioner Ward thought they should reach out to some larger organizations to see what they do and they could see problems with many of the solutions that were proposed as well. There was also a discussion about the funds for the Natural Resource Officer and how the money has been spent. Commissioner Ward wasn’t sure he thought that was the best use of funds, but Commissioner Purdy disagreed. “We are a natural resource county, and if we can’t use our natural resources it’s going to make a big difference,” she said. Commissioner Iveson thought they had already been seeing results, with the Forest Service saying to them as a result of their letters that they would look into why they weren’t logging more. Iveson said that was a win. Sheriff Zollman thought the county should consider a social media account so the county could better disseminate information to residents and the public could see more of what they are doing and how they are utilizing funds. Commissioner Purdy said the resource officer has wanted to do a press release but has been advised to wait until something comes to fruition. Zollman said the Sheriff’s Department has a social media account and the public loves it. Commissioner Iveson said the paper has requested that they write updates about things the public doesn’t understand much about, such as how property valuations are calculated. Commissioner Purdy said she is fine with a social media account if someone wants to put something together. Zollman also was concerned about the claims that have been filed recently from a mining company and he would like to know what their intent and timeline is going forward. They also discussed the new I.D. printer for the county. Sheriff Zollman said they are printing I.D. cards for other organizations as well, like the Fire Department and Parks and Rec, and maybe they should start charging them a small administrative fee to help offset the costs of the printer. Commissioner Iveson didn’t realize they weren’t already paying for these services.
