Monday, March 28, 2011, Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Ron Smith, Commissioner Dan Dinning, Commissioner Walt Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser. Blue Sky Broadcasting Reporter Mike Brown was also present at various times throughout the meetings.

9:00 a.m., Road and Bridge Superintendent Jeff Gutshall joined the meeting to give the departmental report. Mr. Gutshall presented a written report. Clerk Glenda Poston and James Jordan with CAT Financial Services also joined the meeting.

Mr. Gutshall said CAT provided training on the new equipment and it was held at the District 15 Pit. Road and Bridge employees are working hard on completing the ICRMP training, according to Mr. Gutshall.

Mr. Gutshall presented Commissioners with the final government lease/purchase agreement with CAT Financial Services. Mr. Gutshall said the interest rate for the CAT 140 Grader will be 3.6%.

Commissioner Dinning moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Lease/Purchase Agreement for a 140MAWD Grader for the Road and Bridge Department in the amount of $253,264. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Gutshall was informed that Commissioners would need copies of all four lease/purchase agreements that were recently approved.

Mr. Gutshall updated Commissioners on road conditions. Mr. Gutshall said he may have to tear up sections of roads where they have boiled up. Mr. Gutshall spoke of Fawn Lane and sections of Shamrock Road as roads that are in very bad condition.

Mr. Gutshall left the meeting at 9:25 a.m.

Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the minutes of March 14 & 15, 2011 and March 21 & 22, 2011. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Dinning moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the 2010 State of Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security Grant #2010-SS-T0-0088 for a total award of $50,306.72. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Dinning moved to appoint Geri Garten to the Hospital Board of Trustees replacing Joyce Trueblood with a term to expire January 2013. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

9:30 a.m., Deputy Clerk Nancy Ryals joined the meeting at 9:30 a.m.

9:31 a.m., Commissioner Dinning moved to go into closed session under Idaho Code 31-874. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. 9:33 a.m., Commissioner Dinning moved to go out of closed session. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Dinning moved to approve indigent application #2011-29 for non-medical assistance. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Dinning moved to review indigent account #2010-19 again in six months for reimbursement purposes. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.  

Commissioner Dinning moved to review indigent account #2010-4 again in six months for reimbursement purposes. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.  

9:35 a.m., Deputy Clerk Nancy Ryals left the meeting.

9:35 a.m., Commissioners received a telephone call from Bill Methenitis with Ernst and Young for the purpose of receiving an update on the request made by Areva Enrichment Technology to support an application for a foreign trade subzone under Boundary County’s Foreign Trade Zone #242.

Mr. Methenitis said his firm is helping Areva Enrichment Technologies with a uranium enrichment facility in Bonneville County. There is site work taking place at this time. Mr. Methenitis said it is beneficial for the site to have foreign trade subzone status. At this site, spent uranium taken from nuclear sites will be re-enriched, but that aspect doesn’t have to do with the foreign trade zone. The part of this operation that will benefit from a subzone status is the building of the equipment that does the work, which has to be done onsite, and that has a seven year term. Areva Enrichment Technologies is looking for Foreign Trade Zone #242 to sponsor their application similar to what Hoku Materials in Pocatello requested.

Commissioner Dinning asked how many jobs will be created. Mr. Methenitis said this is a four billion dollar project and indirect employment includes construction, which equates to approximately 4,800 jobs. Commissioner Dinning questioned if the subzone would be eliminated at the end of the seven year term. Mr. Methenitis said Areva Technologies would still create parts and they will debate if the foreign trade subzone status would be cost effective to run at that point. Commissioner Dinning questioned if the shortest length of time is seven years. Mr. Methenitis said with what has happened to the plant in New Mexico, Areva Technologies has announced they will double capacity of the normal plant so it will be longer than seven years.

Commissioner Dinning informed Mr. Methenitis that sometime after Boundary County supported the Hoku Materials application for a subzone, some gentlemen logged onto the internet and made wild allegations about foreign trade zones and people have contacted the County about it.

Commissioner Dinning asked if the enriched uranium is going to stay in the United States or would it be transferred. Mr. Methenitis said he understands the product will remain in the United State’s capacity so Areva Technologies is basically looking at the domestic market. Commissioner Dinning said in conversation last week, the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport has a foreign trade zone and they assess a fee for subzones that fall under their main zone. Mr. Methenitis agreed and said assessing a fee for a subzone is fairly common and these fees vary from $10,000 to $12,000 annually. Commissioner Dinning asked if there is any chance for employment in Boundary County as a result of this project. Mr. Methenitis said Boundary County is too far away from the site, but the reach of employment is anticipated to be fairly broad across most of southern Idaho. Commissioner Dinning said he had to ask that question.

Commissioner Dinning asked Mr. Methenitis if he could send Commissioners a copy of the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport subzone contract to review. Mr. Methenitis said yes and he reiterated assessing a fee is fairly common. Commissioner Dinning said Commissioners have contacted Bonneville County Commissioners to get their stamp of approval. Mr. Methenitis said he is the contact person if anyone has questions. Mr. Methenitis said the Areva Governmental Affairs representatives are also working with the Bonneville County Commissioners. The user of the subzone would be Areva, according to Mr. Methenitis. There are subsidiaries of Areva, but they would all fall under Areva. Chairman Smith questioned the administration obligations if the county charged a fee. Mr. Methenitis said the fees charged will have to be uniform, so what is being done for one subzone will have to be done for another. Mr. Methenitis said he will try to get a draft of Areva’s application to Commissioners by the end of April and try to have the process done by May.

The call with Mr. Methenitis ended at 9:40 a.m.

Commissioner Dinning said if Boundary County’s small amount of participation helps to create approximately 4,500 jobs in the state, it would be silly not to help. Unfortunately, the logistics aren’t here.

Commissioners tended to administrative duties.

10:40 a.m., Chairman Smith said he was mistaken when making the prior motion to sign the Bureau of Homeland Security Grant paperwork and appointing a Hospital Board member as it wasn’t done at the time scheduled on the agenda. Chairman Smith said he had mistaken the time these motions were to be made.   

Commissioner Dinning moved to reaffirm the action taken at 9:20 a.m., regarding signing the 2010 Bureau of Homeland Security Grant program Award for $50,306.72. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Dinning moved to reaffirm the motion to appoint Geri Garten to the Hospital Board replacing Joyce Trueblood with a term to expire January 2013. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

Bonneville County Commissioner Roger Christensen contacted Commissioners via telephone at 10:25 a.m. Commissioners asked Commissioner Christensen about Areva Technology’s application for a foreign trade subzone. Commissioner Christensen said the Areva Technologies project is a very legitimate project and it is all being handled by Ernst and Young. Commissioner Christensen said the Bonneville County Economic Development Specialists are very comfortable with this project. Commissioner Dinning said he feels Boundary County will continue in the process of supporting the application and he asked Commissioner Christensen for a support letter from Bonneville County.

Chairman Smith said to Commissioner Christensen that he was going to ask him about the rumor of revenue sharing by the State, but Seth Grigg with the Idaho Association of Counties had mentioned that issue is now off the table. Commissioner Christensen said he hasn’t heard anything about that, but the State’s hole is probably not as deep as originally thought. Commissioner Dinning said if the State also had a 3% cap to follow then had additional revenue over all those years, it would have been a different ball game. Those present continued the discussion on the status of the State and counties.

The call with Bonneville County Commissioner ended at 10:36 a.m.

10:50 a.m., Clerk Glenda Poston joined the meeting.

Commissioner Kirby moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security Contract Closing Documents regarding the apprehended detainees. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously.

10:00 a.m., Clerk Poston presented Commissioners with a quote from Fulton Construction for improvements proposed for the Godwin House. Clerk Poston said the county’s insurance adjuster came up and approved the quote from Fulton Construction. Clerk Poston said these figures have also been sent to Idaho Counties Risk Management Program (ICRMP). The quote mentions the floor, sheetrock, and foundation all need work and Chairman Smith reviewed the list of repairs aloud. The cost for improvements totals approximately $10,000. Commissioner Dinning said the normal process has been for the county to obtain three quotes, even though it may not have been necessary. Clerk Poston said Courthouse Maintenance Jerry Kothe mentioned BF Builders told him they were too busy for this project. Those present discussed requirements for public works licensing based on total project cost.

Those present discussed Commissioners’ budget in relation to travel.

11:30 a.m., Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac joined the meeting.

Those present continued the discussion on upcoming conferences.

11:45 a.m., Commissioners reviewed requested changes to the job descriptions for the Restorium Activities Director and the Restorium Assistant Superintendent. Clerk Glenda Poston and Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac were also present. Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac said these changes will not incur an increase in the Restorium’s Budget.         

The meeting ended at 12:14 p.m.   

Commissioners recessed for lunch at 12:14 p.m.

2:30 p.m., Commissioners reconvened for the afternoon session with Chairman Smith, Commissioner Dinning, Commissioner Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.

2:30 p.m., Commissioners participated in a legislative call. Present were: Chairman Ronald Smith, Commissioner Dan Dinning, Commissioner Walt Kirby, Clerk Glenda Poston, and Treasurer Jenny Fessler; and elected officials from Benewah County, Bonner County, Kootenai County, Shoshone County, and Latah County; Seth Grigg with the Idaho Association of Counties, and District 3 Representative Vito Barbieri who participated via telephone.

Legislative bills discussed included: H0216 & H0275-Indigency CAT Board modifications, S1198-Primary Elections, H0302-Public Records, H0095aaS & H0110-Urban Renewal, SCR105-Wildlands, Cigarette Tax, and Wolf Legislation.

The legislative conference call ended at 2:50 p.m.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.  

Tuesday, March 29, 2011, Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Ron Smith, Commissioner Dan Dinning, Commissioner Walt Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.

9:00 a.m., Courthouse Maintenance Jerry Kothe joined the meeting to give the departmental report. Mr. Kothe presented a written report. Mr. Kothe’s report states the sidewalk heater has been shut off. Mr. Kothe said he noticed standing water in the southeast corner of Riverside Park. Mr. Kothe said he told the City about it, but he hasn’t heard back from them yet. The problem could be the storm drain on the other side of the train tracks as there is a large delta in the area from the tracks to the park. The drain is to the north into the ponds, according to Mr. Kothe. Mr. Kothe said he has scooped water away from the trees, but it looks like water has built up again. It will take a backhoe to dig a trench to get it to drain, but those ponds are pretty full as well, according to Mr. Kothe.

Mr. Kothe said the trees have been trimmed, and the lawn and flowerbeds have been raked. Mr. Kothe said he had to replace the ballasts at the Extension Office again.

Commissioner Dinning asked for the schedule of sealing the Extension Office Roof. Mr. Kothe said he likes to have the roofs checked once per year. Commissioner Dinning asked Mr. Kothe to contact John Youngwirth at the City of Bonners Ferry’s Road Department and have their department take a look at the back parking lot where the City was allowed to dump excess snow and have it cleaned up if need be. Mr. Kothe said he reset the fence at the skateboard park and worked on the lawn mowers. The water has been turned on at the fairgrounds so the restrooms are open and any leaks have been fixed, according to Mr. Kothe.

Commissioners informed Mr. Kothe that one quote came back for the Godwin House and the Park and Recreation Board will submit their recommendation to Commissioners after reviewing the quote. Commissioner Dinning asked Mr. Kothe to document who he contacted for quotes to keep for the file.

Mr. Kothe left the meeting at 9:15 a.m.

Commissioners tended to administrative duties.

9:30 a.m., Bonners Ferry District Forest Ranger Linda McFaddan joined the meeting to update Commissioners on Forest Service matters. Ms. McFaddan said the Forest Service is under very serious budget constraints. A few permanent seasonal employees have been hired, according to Ms. McFaddan. Fire season is calling for more of the same conditions, which is above average precipitation and below average temperatures through June. The southwest is still dry and drought-like, according to Ms. McFaddan.

The Northern Prairie and two other sales are still active, but there are seasonal restrictions in affect for now. Ms. McFaddan said Forest Service roads are in bad shape and the Forest Service is trying to inform people the roads are snowy, icy, or muddy. Bear gates will start closing this Friday in order to protect bears as they begin to come out of hibernation, according to Ms. McFaddan. These gates will reopen sometime in the fall.

Those present discussed resuming the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) meetings and the importance of keeping these meetings going.

Ms. McFaddan said the Meadow Creek Project is moving along and will be broken into two sales, the north and south halves.

The meeting with Ms. McFaddan ended at 9:40 a.m.

Commissioners tended to administrative duties.

Commissioner Kirby moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Polling Place Accessibility Grant Application. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously.  

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m.