Commissioners minutes, May 30-31

June 21, 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011, Commissioners did not meet due to the Memorial Day holiday.

 

Tuesday, May 31, 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., Commissioners held an elected officials/department heads meeting. Present were: Clerk Glenda Poston,  Restorium Administrator Karlene Magee, Extension Office Bookkeeper Angela Tucker, Noxious Weeds Superintendent Duke Guthrie, Courthouse Maintenance Jerry Kothe, Solid Waste Superintendent Claine Skeen, Extension Office Educator Jennifer Jensen, Chief Deputy Assessor Ken Carpenter, Chief Probation Officer Stacy Brown, and Road and Bridge Superintendent Jeff Gutshall.

 

Commissioners mentioned the only topic to discuss was the upcoming budget. Clerk Poston said all budgets have been turned in to her. Chairman Smith said Commissioners probably won’t contact other departments or offices to go over their budgets unless something needs clarification. Chairman Smith explained the process that used to be followed in preparing department budgets.

 

The elected officials/department heads meeting ended at 9:10 a.m.

 

9:29 a.m., Linda McFaddan, District Ranger for the Bonners Ferry Ranger District, joined the meeting.

 

Commissioner Dinning moved to release the payment bonds associated with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) as the grant is in the process of being closed out and the work has been completed and approved. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

 

Commissioner Kirby moved to adopt Resolution 2011-27. A resolution of the Board of County Commissioners of Boundary County, Idaho; approving Professional Service Agreement for Boundary County civil legal counsel; incorporating all prior referenced professional service agreements for civil legal services not in conflict; and setting forth amended and modified terms; establishing effective date of agreement; and effective date of this resolution. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously. Resolution 2011-27 reads as follows:

 

RESOLUTION NO. 2011-27

 

BOUNDARY COUNTY, IDAHO

 

TITLE:  A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BOUNDARY COUNTY, IDAHO; APPROVING PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT FOR BOUNDARY COUNTY CIVIL LEGAL COUNSEL; INCORPORATING ALL PRIOR REFERENCED PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENTS FOR CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES NOT IN CONFLICT; AND SETTING FORTH AMENDED AND MODIFIED TERMS; ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE DATE OF AGREEMENT; AND EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS RESOLUTION

 

WHEREAS:         Boundary County, Idaho, a political subdivision of the State of Idaho, is governed by the Board of County Commissioners, having previously beginning in 2002 determined the need for independent and supplemental civil legal services; and,

 

WHEREAS:           Boundary County, Idaho, has entered into a series of such Agreements for professional services of civil legal counsel, and the appointment and designation of Civil Counsel, which have been amended and modified, incorporating non-conflicting portions; and,

 

WHEREAS:           The Board of County Commissioners have made all necessary findings of the necessity of such civil counsel services which are continuing and reaffirmed by the approval and acceptance of the Professional Service Agreement approved and adopted herein which is attached hereto and incorporated in its entirety herein; and,

 

WHEREAS:           The Board of County Commissioners have determined that such an agreement, services, and the expenditure of funds is a necessary and ordinary expenditure, and should continue under the terms of the attached Agreement; and,

 

WHEREAS:           PHILIP H. ROBINSON, Attorney at Law, has been designated Civil Counsel for Boundary County since July, 2007, and will continue to be Civil Counsel for Boundary County under the extended, amended, and modified Professional Service Agreement which is the subject of this Resolution, which is deemed and determined to be in the best interest of Boundary County.

 

NOW, THEREORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:  The Board of County Commissioners of Boundary County, Idaho, pursuant to the authority and power granted by Idaho Code, does hereby declare and reaffirm that the designation and employment of separate civil legal counsel  is in the public interest and is a reasonable and necessary expenditure

 

 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:  The Board of County Commissioners shall sign, execute and deliver the Professional Service Agreement attached hereto and incorporated in its entirety herein by reference providing for the continued designation of Philip H. Robinson, Attorney at Law, as Civil Counsel for Boundary County. 

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:  The Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners shall attest such signatures of the parties to such Agreement.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:  The terms and provisions of this Agreement shall become effective as set forth therein.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:  This Resolution shall be in full force and effect upon its adoption by the Board of County Commissioners of Boundary County, Idaho, in a regular meeting of the Board, on the date set forth below.

 

ADOPTED AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BOUNDARY COUNTY, IDAHO on the 31st day of May, 2011.

 

                                                                                s/______________________________________

                                                                                RONALD R. SMITH, Chairman

                                                                                s/______________________________________

                                                                                DAN R. DINNING, Commissioner

                                                                                s/______________________________________

                                                                                WALT KIRBY, Commissioner

 

ATTEST:

 

CLERK TO BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS:

s/_______________________________________________

CLERK /DEPUTY CLERK

Recorded as instrument #250842

Clerk’s Note: The agreement can be found attached to the original resolution located in the Clerk’s Office.

 

Commissioner Kirby moved to sign the Professional Services Agreement with Attorney Phil Robinson for the period of October 1, 2011 through January 15, 2014. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously. 

 

9:30 a.m., Ms. McFaddan said this time of year the Forest Service is providing a lot of training to new employees. The Forest Service is sending employees out of State on fire assignments in Texas this past month, but otherwise there is not much activity this time of year, according to Ms. McFaddan. Ms. McFaddan said this is Forest Supervisor, Ranotta McNair’s last week with the Forest Service and Deputy Forest Supervisor Maggie Pittman will fill the position while the Forest Service goes through the outreach and selection process. Ms. Pittman is good to work with, according to Ms. McFaddan.

 

Ms. McFaddan said the next Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting will be held on June 17, 2011. Ms. McFaddan said the Forest Service is going to try to cut back on the amount of funding usually requested. Ms. McFaddan mentioned cutting back 15% to 25% of previous requests. RAC funds have to be obligated by the end of September. Ms. McFaddan said there is one more Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payment due in February for RAC funds.

 

Clerk Glenda Poston joined the meeting at 9:45 a.m.

 

Those present discussed the resolution to allocate percentages for SRS funds that is adopted in September and questioned recalling that more funds may be received than otherwise thought.

 

The meeting with Ms. McFaddan and Clerk Poston ended at 9:55 a.m.

 

Commissioners tended to administrative duties.

 

Commissioner Dinning moved to adopt Resolution 2011-28. A resolution ratifying a Local Disaster/Emergency Declaration. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Resolution 2011-28 reads as follows:

 

RESOLUTION 2011-28

 

RATIFYING LOCAL DISASTER/EMERGENCY DECLARATION

 

WHEREAS, Boundary County has experienced heavy snowfall during the 2010 winter season and has continued experiencing heavy snow and precipitation throughout this 2011 spring season, and

 

WHEREAS, due to this excessive precipitation, it is anticipated that Boundary County has a potential for flooding on the Moyie River, side drainages, and small streams, which could cause damage to property and structures, and 

 

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved, that the Board of County Commissioners of Boundary County, State of Idaho, has hereby declared an emergency, and the aforementioned declaration is ratified by this resolution.

 

DATED at Bonners Ferry, State of Idaho, this 31st day of May, 2011.

 

                                                                                                                BOUNDARY COUNTY

                                                                                                                BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

                                                                                                                s/______________________________

                                                                                                                RONALD R. SMITH, Chairman

                                                                                                                s/______________________________

                                                                                                                DAN R. DINNING, Commissioner

                                                                                                                s/______________________________

                                                                                                                WALT KIRBY, Commissioner

ATTEST:

s/___________________________________________________

GLENDA POSTON, Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners

By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy

Recorded as instrument #250779

 

10:05 a.m., Phil Allegretti with Panhandle Pest Control joined the meeting.   

 

Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the minutes of May 23 & 24, 2011. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously.

 

Chairman Smith informed Commissioners that Inland Forest Management President Mike Wolcott contacted him about a grant application through the Idaho Department of Lands for hazardous fuels treatment purposes. The grant amount is $83,000, according to Chairman Smith. The paperwork had to be signed as soon as possible due to the grant application deadline.  

 

Commissioner Dinning moved to amend the agenda to include signing the Idaho Department of lands grant application for hazardous fuels treatment as it is a matter that is time sensitive. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

 

Commissioner Dinning moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Idaho Department of Lands grant application totaling $83,000 for hazardous fuels treatment. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

 

10:06 a.m., Mr. Allegretti met with Commissioners to update them on information associated with testing mosquito species for the West Nile Virus. Mr. Allegretti said Gem County is going to speciate mosquitoes for Boundary County. Mr. Allegretti said there is an $18 lab charge for this process that will be covered by the agreement, but he may able to have the processing done at no cost at all. The State will provide Gem County with test kits and Boundary County will send the mosquitoes to Gem County where they will be tested. Mr. Allegretti said he is going to send in three traps instead of four, but he may set out more traps in Boundary County out of curiosity.

 

Commissioner Dinning asked if the Wildlife Refuge could contribute towards relief. Mr. Allegretti said if the Wildlife Refuge floods their fields early for ducks, it could cause a problem, but the Refuge does use organic insecticides. Mr. Allegretti and Commissioners discussed approaching the Refuge for financial assistance. Commissioner Dinning mentioned using an organic treatment that is not harmful to anything else and how it will help the cause to raise awareness. Mr. Allegretti said the Refuge could also plant mosquito fish in the water to eat the mosquito larvae. These fish are put into ponds containing cattails, according to Mr. Allegretti. Mr. Allegretti said he still has the old permits that were issued to be able to use these fish.

 

Commissioner Dinning moved to sign the Independent Contractor Agreement with Phil Allegretti of Panhandle Pest Control. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

 

Mr. Allegretti said he may possibly start placing traps out this weekend.

 

Mr. Allegretti left the meeting at 10:30 a.m.

 

Commissioners discussed various agreements for renewal. Commissioners discussed the Public Defender’s Contract and considered a provision for automatic renewal. Commissioners said the contract will not include a cost of living increase as increases cannot be offered to other county employees.

 

Commissioner Kirby moved to sign the Agreement with the Seniors Hospitality Center for the 2011 passenger bus. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously.

 

Commissioners discussed a matter involving an old filing cabinet and the question of whether or not this is still a piece of county equipment.

 

Commissioners recessed for lunch at 11:15 a.m.

 

2:00 p.m., Commissioners reconvened for the afternoon session with Chairman Smith, Commissioner Dinning, Commissioner Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.

 

2:00 p.m., Commissioners held a bid opening for chloride dust palliative materials for the Road and Bridge Department. Present were: Chairman Smith, Commissioner Dinning, Commissioner Kirby, Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser, and Road and Bridge Superintendent Jeff Gutshall. The bid opening was recorded.

 

Chairman Smith said the only sealed bid received was from Oxford Inc. The bid included a public works contractor’s license, liability insurance certificate, and a bid bond in the amount of 5% of the total amount bid. The Oxford Inc. bid is for 120 tons of CaCl Mini-Pellets at a cost of $409 per ton for an overall total bid of $49,080. Mr. Gutshall said that bid amount is fine and he has budget for it. Mr. Gutshall recommended Commissioners accept the bid from Oxford Inc.

 

Commissioner Dinning moved to accept the bid from Oxford Inc., of $49,080 for 120 tons of CaCl mini-pellets for the Road and Bridge Department. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.

 

Bid opening ended at 2:05 p.m.

 

Mr. Gutshall presented a Road and Bridge Department report. No written report was presented. Those present discussed the projects to repair the three roads, Deep Creek Loop, Westside Road, and Fleming Creek, that sustained damage due to heavy spring precipitation.

 

Mr. Gutshall said he heard from Jim Roletto with David Evans and Associates that the Forest Highway representatives said they were excited to work on the Westside project. Mr. Gutshall explained that Mr. Roletto used to work for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), but now is a consultant for David Evans and Associates. Mr. Gutshall said as a county, the Westside Road is too big of a project to do on its own.

 

Those present discussed issues with poor visibility at the junction of Deep Creek Loop and Highway 95. Mr. Gutshall said a property owner immediately to the south of this intersection is going to relocate his fence to improve visibility.

 

Mr. Gutshall said he has approximately one or two culverts left to install on the Farm to Market Road in addition to needing six or seven days to finish graveling before that section of road will be done. Mr. Gutshall said he would eventually like to get a portion of the road near the Houck property into the chip seal program. Mr. Gutshall said he has ditched Fawn Lane so he is waiting for the next step.

 

Mr. Gutshall said he spoke to Steve McNulty with Transcanada Gas Systems about working on the gas line on the Meadow Creek/Moyie River Road.

 

The meeting with Mr. Gutshall ended and Commissioners tended to administrative duties.      

 

3:00 p.m., Boundary County Emergency Services Director Dave Kramer, Incident Commander Bob Graham, Bureau of Homeland Security Local Area Field Officer Jay Baker, and Road and Bridge Superintendent Jeff Gutshall met with Commissioners. City of Bonners Ferry City Council member Tom Mayo and Mike Weland also joined the meeting.

 

Mr. Baker said due to his communications last week he wanted to address the issue of the decision that the President did not include Boundary County in an emergency declaration. Chairman Smith said he read the newspaper article and that is not the information he informed the newspaper reporter of. Mr. Baker said he spoke to the Bonners Ferry Herald representative to clear up the matter. Mr. Baker presented a synopsis of what has occurred.

 

Mr. Baker said an incident period for mudslides and landslides was identified as the dates of March 21st through April 11, 2011. Infrastructure identified as sustaining damage during that time frame was included in the declaration. The Governor declared in support of Boundary County along with six other counties, according to Mr. Baker. The initial rapid damage assessment indicated the eligibility state for countywide assistance may have been reached.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and State of Idaho conducted a local preliminary damage assessment, which was done in April. Three sites were identified and assessed in Boundary County and it was determined at that time that Boundary County met the economic impact threshold for the damage declaration. Mr. Baker said in turn, the Governor asked the President to make a major disaster declaration in support of Idaho’s qualified counties. All documents were forwarded to FEMA Region 10 who coordinated with the Federal Highways Administration on the sites involved. Federal Highways has looked at two of the sites, Deep Creek Loop and Westside Road, and determined they had responsibility for those roads. Once another federal agency has responsibility for those repairs, FEMA cannot participate in those sites and that removed those two roads from the overall damage leaving only Fleming Creek. On the joint damage assessment it was determined debris removal will cost $3,000 and surface material will cost $16,000 at Fleming Creek. Since Fleming Creek is the only road that qualified, Boundary County’s economic threshold was no longer met. This was determined after the Governor had requested including Boundary County and the President declined it. When this type of information comes back the reason isn’t disclosed. At this point Boundary County is not included in that major Presidential disaster declaration, according to Mr. Baker. If there had been other damages identified during that incident period that were not assessed during that initial damage assessment, Boundary County can request the field office come back out to conduct another assessment. Mr. Gutshall said he can only come up with the minor sliding that happened on Westside Road. The water damage across Meadow Creek Road is just a water issue, according to Mr. Gutshall. Mr. Baker said unless other damages are identified, Boundary County will not be included in the declaration.

 

Chairman Smith asked Mr. Gutshall for the status of Deep Creek Loop and Westside Road and Mr. Gutshall said he doesn’t have any information yet. Mr. Baker said Federal Highways deals directly with Road and Bridge so he wouldn’t know the status. Mr. Gutshall said Federal Highways is responsible for bridges and counties, but it doesn’t mean repairs will be done tomorrow or within the year. Those present discussed mitigation measures and Commissioner Dinning asked if more than mitigation work would be done to the roads if they had been included in the declaration. Mr. Baker briefly explained the process of mitigation and added that he doesn’t want to say what will or won’t be done.

 

Commissioners and those present discussed the river levels. Mr. Graham said the elevation at Libby Dam at the pool is 2,367 and 91 feet is remaining before the pool is filled. Mr. Graham said the outflow is 23,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), but the inflows are 37,300 cfs so water is filling faster than it is put out. Mr. Graham said the Kootenai River level is 60.59 as of today. The closest gauge is at the Kootenai Tribe fish hatchery so roughly three rivers and a few streams are adding approximately 15,000 cubic feet of water and that is fairly significant information. Mr. Graham presented information from the National Weather Service. The River Forecast Service out of Portland paints Boundary County in a very different picture than the Northwest Weather Service. Mr. Graham said he had a conference call at with the National Weather Service and was told today through Thursday there will be significant rain and cooler temperatures, but that should settle down Friday. Mr. Graham said all agree these forecast centers are missing what is happening up north. Today the Weather Service had radar pictures for north of the Canadian River system that is color coded for moisture. Mr. Graham said he, Mr. Baker, and Mick Shea with the Libby Dam agreed the Forecast Center isn’t reading the Canadian reports properly. For the entire month of May, snow should have been decreasing, but snow has been gaining. Mr. Graham said this year the time of when the high level and mid level snow melts keeps compressing. If Boundary County gets warm weather this weekend we will see effects of that soon. If rivers get this water coming down at the same time as the high level snowmelt, the worst is yet to come. Mr. Graham said he estimates the effects will probably hit one week from Thursday. Mr. Graham informed Commissioners he would not be available next Monday through Thursday. Commissioner Dinning said looking ahead in the next week for planning purposes, two members of Emergency Services will be gone and if there is a emergency situation, he will be the only Commissioner available. Mr. Graham said Sheriff Sprungl would take over for Emergency Services. Commissioner Dinning will contact Sheriff Sprungl and Mr. Baker if there is an emergency. 

 

Mr. Graham and those present discussed the condition of the Kootenai River dikes. Chairman Smith mentioned the work done to temporarily repair the rock face area along the River. Chairman Smith said if these repairs were done properly there shouldn’t be a problem in the area of the Fodge property. Chairman Smith questioned what problems would properties be faced with other than seepage. It was said if properties are sustaining that kind of damage, there is nothing that can be done. Mr. Graham said there is very little to protect farmers from surface water, but the County can help with dike problems. If the Kootenai River increases to 1764, farmers will sustain a big hit. If the river dikes are having problems, than the County can assist with dozers, sandbagging, etc., and the Corps of Engineers can also provide assistance at that point. Mr. Graham said the Corps of Engineers said if dikes are not brought up to standards they can’t help with flood mitigation, but flood fighting is a different thing and the Corps of Engineers have been more than willing to jump in and help in flood fighting. Mr. Graham said 10,000 sandbags have already been put out this season.  

 

Commissioner Dinning said if there is a dike that sloughs into the River and there is a potential for problems in that district, the Corps of Engineers will assist with that, except for just general maintenance. Mr. Graham said that is correct. Mr. Graham said the work the Corps of Engineers did was done well and it should hold for a long time, but it is considered temporary.

 

Commissioner Dinning questioned what problems are to be anticipated and Mr. Graham said surface water for farmers will be the biggest problem. Mr. Graham said last week surface water hadn’t come up near the Moyie River. Chairman Smith asked Mr. Baker to clarify to General Bill Shawver the article that was written on the subject of the disaster declaration in the Bonners Ferry Herald as the Herald was not told the listing went to the President and Boundary County was not on the list.

 

Mr. Baker said prediction models that come out of the Northwest Weather Service are predictions for the first three days and after that information is called models. Commissioner Dinning said he would check the charts to see what the projections are.

 

Commissioner Dinning said Canada does not have adequate snowtel sites and that issue was brought up in year 2006 with guarantees something would be done about it. Mr. Graham said he gets Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Weather and Climate Center (NRCS), information daily and the State Director for the NRCS Snowtel site came out with predictions one months ago that bothered him. Mick Shea with the Libby Dam Operations and the State director had different information, but it was the State prediction that was off. There were four snowtel sites on the Westside of the Kootenai River and all four were at a record high for precipitation. Mr. Graham said all snowtel sites could be considered. Commissioner Dinning asked if there are snowtel site sin Canada and Mr. Graham said yes, but not very many. Commissioner Dinning asked what the appropriate process is to apply pressure on that fact. Commissioner Dinning said with today’s technology, the sites should be used. Mr. Graham said he still feels the worst of the conditions are yet to come.

 

The meeting with Mr. Graham, Mr. Baker, and Mr. Kramer ended at 3:45 p.m.

 

3:45 p.m., Clerk Glenda Poston and Courthouse Custodian Jim Thompson joined the meeting. Those present discussed quotes Mr. Thompson received for having the Extension Office carpet cleaned. One quote came in at $381.68 and the second quote came in at $400.12. Chairman Smith suggested omitting the service for carpet protector since only one quote included that to see how the quotes compared. Commissioners questioned the use of carpet protector. Commissioner Dinning said Mr. Thompson should get back to he one vendor to have the carpet protector included. Commissioners asked what budget this cost would come out of. Clerk Poston listed line items under the Courthouse budget to include cleaning and janitorial. Clerk Poston said 78% of those funds have been used, but there are funds in the repairs and maintenance, buildings line items. Commissioner Dinning said he didn’t know if Courthouse Maintenance has committed any of those funds. Mr. Thompson said he would contact the vendor who didn’t include carpet protector to have that included.

 

Mr. Thompson said he has been having a problem with his supplies disappearing as they are stored in the downstairs’ men’s restroom. Commissioners said Mr. Thompson doesn’t need to keep some of the supplies in that room.

 

Clerk Poston and Mr. Thompson left the meeting at 4:00 p.m.  

 

4:00 p.m., Commissioners contacted Mr. Griner via telephone to discuss his daughter’s delinquent property taxes. Mr. Griner said his daughter has been incarcerated and he would like to pay her taxes, but he would appreciate some sort or relief in the amount owed. Mr. Griner said he would like to take care of these taxes so his daughter has something to come back to. Commissioner Dinning informed Mr. Griner the 2008 taxes are the taxes that put the property in jeopardy if Mr. Griner would like to pay those or Commissioners could work out a payment plan. Mr. Griner said he would just like to take care of the entire balance to bring everything current from year 2008 through year 2010.

 

4:01p.m., Chief Deputy Sue Larson joined the meeting to present Commissioners with updated tax figures. Commissioner Dinning informed Mr. Griner the new amount owed due to additional interest totals $1,352.92. Mr. Griner said he isn’t sure what he plans to do.

 

The call with Mr. Griner ended at 4:15 p.m.

 

 

 

 

                                                           /s/

                                                            RONALD R. SMITH, Chairman

 

ATTEST:

 

 

/s/

GLENDA POSTON, Clerk

By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy