STATE OF IDAHO
County of Idaho
MARCH SESSION March 8, 2016 SECOND TERM DAY
9:45 a.m. The board convened with Commissioners Jim Chmelik, Skip Brandt and Mark Frei, and Kathy Ackerman Clerk present.
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Brandt moves to amend the agenda to include a 9:55 a.m. discussion regarding replacement of the heating unit in the Commissioner’s room. Chmelik seconds. Motion carries with all in favor.
Kirk MacGregor regarding expenses for laptop computer and power point projector that were used during the recent murder trial-these will be used for future Court proceedings. MacGregor regarding other expenses related to the trial-discussion.
Syd regarding claims:
Current Expense $ 114,020.58 County Road and Bridge $ 31,139.28
Airport $ 189,070.97 Emergency Comm. $ 27,378.35
District Court $ 29,787.72 Title III-New $ 22,431.08
Indigent $ 400.00 Appraisal $ 292.45
Solid Waste $ 132,985.28 Noxious Weeds $ 1,132.19
Snowmobile 25-A $ 519.47 Snowmobile 25-B $ 792.72
Total Expenditures $ 549,950.09
Frei moves to approve claims. Brandt seconds. Motion carries with all in favor.
10:06 a.m. Chmelik regarding quote for $3300.00 to replace the heating unit in the Commissioner’s room. Brandt moves to approve quote. Chmelik seconds. Motion carries with all in favor. Brandt questions the rotation schedule for cycling out these units during yearly maintenance-Ackerman will check on this.
10:08 a.m. Gene Meinen regarding agreement with Valley County for snow removal on the Warren Wagon Road. Chmelik moves to approve agreement as presented. Brandt seconds. Motion carries with all in favor.
10:15 a.m. Chmelik moves to approve the hiring of Carrie Kaschmitter in the Auditor’s Office at an hourly rate of $12.55 per hour. Frei seconds. Motion carries with all in favor.
Chmelik moves to approve the wage increase for Lark Perry to $12.55 per hour for successful completion of probation. Brandt seconds. Motion carries with all in favor.
Chmelik moves to approve Alcoholic Beverage License for Oscar’s. Brandt seconds. Motion carries with all in favor.
Chmelik moves to exempt the property taxes on property purchased by the Nez Perce Tribe, but keep the solid waste fees. Brandt seconds. Motion carries with all in favor.
10:30 a.m. Chmelik moves to approve the Fair Housing Proclamation for 2016. Frei seconds. Motion carries with all in favor.
Chmelik moves to approve the 3rd amendment to Addendum A to PayPort agreement for Treasurer’s Office. Brandt seconds. Motion carries with all in favor. This had been reviewed by Kirk MacGregor.
11:00 a.m. James Zehner and Jill Bruegeman received notice from IDOT that they are raising the rates for mailing plates. Discussion regarding necessity of holding a public hearing on fee increase-Zehner will forward emails to Kirk MacGregor to review what other counties are doing-continued until March 15 at 9:30.
11:15 a.m. MacGregor regarding a property that was offered at tax deed sale-has been contacted by an individual who would like to make an offer-discussion. Continued for a week for further research.
Brandt advises that there will be a meeting on Thursday at Riggins at Noon PST to further discuss Adams County Landfill.
11:30 a.m. Chmelik moves to go into Indigent proceedings pursuant to Idaho Code 31-874. Brandt seconds. Roll call-District 1-yes; District 2-yes; District 3-yes.
0-Approval, 1-Denial, 2-Suspension, 1-Lien, 1-N1, 0-Lien Release, 0-Release N1
11:40 a.m. End Indigent. Recess until 1 p.m.
1:00 p.m. Chmelik regarding emails he has received from Elk City residents-they are frustrated and growing impatient that work on the slide is not moving forward. Dave Kuisti advises that the bid packets went out Friday night-site inspection was done on Sunday. West Company out of Spokane was low bidder $1.34 million-contract was being prepared and hand delivered in order to expedite the process-contract expected to be fully executed by later today. Kuisti advised that bid packet required removal/clearing to start within 48 hours of contract signing. Chmelik questions how long it will take to complete-Kuisti advises that they will work as quickly as possible to open one lane, however, safety is a primary concern. Elk City resident Hank Godwin advises that he feels it would be reasonable to continue scheduled travel through Wednesday. FS, advises that they realize the alternate route is the only option and that dialogue needs to happen regarding reasonable wear and tear on the road. ITD will allow transport across the bottom of the slide-Kuisti advises that Life Flight may need to be considered-discussion. Chmelik advises that he is frustrated with the lack of response-this has been an emergency from day 1-there are over 600 people up in Elk City and he is concerned about the health, safety and welfare of the citizens. Godwin advises that he wouldn’t recommend crossing the slide in a vehicle, feels the #1199 would be the best option-a 4 wheel drive should be able to navigate the #1199. Mel Coulter, ITD in Boise, advises that the route at the bottom of the slide would not be available while the contractor is working. Kuisti advises that he anticipates that work will be primarily during daylight hours-may be extended into night time work if the situation stabalizes. Brandt questions where slide materials will be placed-Kuisti advises they have put together an agreement Idaho Forest Group for a location. Meinen advises that the Bennett site is on the Mother Lode Road, which is in roughly the same condition as the #1199. Discussion about maintaining the roads while transporting slide debris-Kuisti advises they are working to address this and have a tentative plan for handling ongoing maintenance during slide removal. Mike Edmondson questions why the BLM site near Junction Lodge was not considered-ITD advises that they have had several discussions with BLM and no site was offered-they will follow up with BLM, as it would be preferable to use sites that are on their road, as opposed to FS or County roads. Godwin questions solid waste removal-does emergency situation allow for garbage trucks to use the #1199? Brandt advises he feels that trash removal should wait. Meinen advises that Simmons would be willing to sign a waiver and drive across the bottom-questions what the Commission would like him to tell Simmons-Brandt advises to contact Chmelik. Godwin questions how supplies will get into Elk City next Tuesday, if the #1199 is closed-Kuisti advises that the contractor will be working 7 days a week-hopefully some access will be available through the slide area. Zumalt advises that the only other alternate means of transportation is helicopter/air transport-discussion. Zumalt questions whether or not people are going hungry-Godwin advises the residents are not going hungry-discussion regarding getting commodities to the residents-Kuisti advises that they would be willing to transport supplies. Mel Coulter advises that a Modified Unified Command will be set up for teleconferencing to assess needs and progress-they will invite folks to participate and will also be posting updates to their website. Discussion regarding parties who should be included in the teleconferencing group. Chmelik questions whether or not we should be placing rock on the road in an effort to maintain the #1199-Meinen advises that they have placed some rock down, but the weather conditions are working against them-it is impossible to really do anything to keep the road accessible.
Frei advises that some decisions need to be made to promote some sort of civic order-advises we need to make a decision regarding when the #1199 will be closed for sure and also press ITD to provide a date for limited access through the slide area-discussion. Meinen advises that he feels most folks in Elk City know that the weather is dictating continued road use on the #1199-discussion. Frei questions what our plan is for dealing with medical emergencies-Zumalt advises that the EMT’s will have to assess the circumstances and call for Life Flight if necessary. Meinen questions whether or not the approaches across the slide area can be addressed to allow for ambulance transport-Kuisti advises that they will work on this immediately. Randy Doman questions the use of a jet boat for emergency transport-Edmondson advises that a boat could not navigate the river at the slide area.
Chmelik and possibly Frei will travel into Elk City on Thursday to meet with citizens. Work on implementing a recovery plan will continue.
1:55 p.m. Meeting adjourned.
Chairman______________________________ Attest:____________________________
