***Monday, August 02, 2010, Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Ron Smith, Commissioner Walt Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser. Commissioner Dan Dinning was out of the office attending the Value Engineering Study on McArthur Lake in Coeur d’ Alene.
9:00 a.m., Assessor Dave Ryals, and Clerk Glenda Poston joined the meeting. The meeting is a continuation of the matter of a request for a homeowner’s exemption made by Josh Sherven and Tracy Truesdell. The property owners missed the deadline for filing this exemption as the information was sent to the incorrect address, but was the address listed on the deed. Chairman Smith said Commissioner Dinning had spoken to Attorney Phil Robinson about canceling value, but his thought is to continue this conversation until tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., when Commissioner Dinning was in the office. Chairman Smith said the value could be left as is and when the next tax notice comes out and Mr. Sherven and Ms. Truesdell feel they don’t owe this tax, they can request a tax cancellation. Assessor Ryals said the value can’t be cancelled at this point in time. Clerk Poston asked if a general statement about the homeowner’s exemption benefit is published in the newspaper. Assessor Ryals said the Assessor’s Office has this information on the county’s website and it is published in the newspaper once per year. Assessor Ryals said the Assessor’s Office attempts to notify property owners of these benefits even though the office is not responsible for doing so. There has certainly been no error made on the part of the county, according to Assessor Ryals.
The meeting with Assessor Ryals and Clerk Poston ended at 9:10 a.m.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the minutes of July 19 & 20, 2010 and July 26 & 27, 2010. Chairman Smith yielded the chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
9:30 a.m., Ingrid Pavia, Chris Meikle, Henry Yoder, Robert Yoder, Sandy Mong, Daryl Mong, and Jim Byler joined the meeting.
Ms. Pavia requested a meeting with Commissioners to voice concerns and comments pertaining to E.L. Automation’s Planning and Zoning application for cell towers. Chairman Smith said Application #10-034 was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the only way Commissioners are involved in this type of matter is if there is an official appeal to the application. Ms. Pavia said there are a certain number of days from the date of the application decision or when Mr. Weland receives the decision from the Planning and Zoning Chairman to begin the appeal process. As of this point, there has been no official appeal. Ms. Pavia said she is in the process of collecting 20 signatures on a petition with the intent to file the petition appropriately. Ms. Pavia asked for the process of filing an appeal and Mr. Weland informed her of that process. Commissioners and Mr. Weland informed Ms. Pavia she doesn’t need 20 signatures, she just needs a letter stating the reasons she is filing the appeal. Mr. Weland said the only time there is a need for 20 signatures is if there is a class action application filed and those signatures will waive the fee to the applicants. Those present continued the discussion on the process of notification.
Ms. Pavia said this matter is important and she has information based on science that is more up to date.
The meeting ended at 9:40 a.m.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
10:05 a.m., Boundary Volunteer Ambulance Chief Ken Baker joined the meeting. Clerk Glenda Poston also joined the meeting.
Mr. Baker said Ryan Fobes with Idaho Forest Group contacted him to see if
there is interest in using the old mill planer building. Chairman Smith
explained that Mr. Fobes approached Commissioners about selling the mill
property and mentioned the Fair Board might’ve been interested in it, although
the offer was never formally presented to them. Chairman Smith said since
meeting with Mr. Fobes, someone mentioned to him Idaho Forest Group would be
interested in leasing the office building. Mr. Baker mentioned all excess
equipment owned by the county entities such as the Ambulance, Search and Rescue,
and the Sheriff’s Office should be housed inside. Commissioners said the issue
is money. Chairman Smith said the entities mentioned are all county entities.
Mr. Baker mentioned the city fire department also has extra equipment that needs
to be housed inside. Chairman Smith suggested someone contact the interested
parties and Mr. Fobes to schedule a meeting if there is an
interest.
Courthouse Maintenance Jerry Kothe joined the
meeting.
Clerk Poston informed Commissioners she would like to update a server for GIS mapping, which will also free up room on the existing server. Clerk Poston said she applied to the State and was awarded a grant for $10,000. The overall cost for the server is $11,000 so the county only has to pay $1,000. Clerk Poston said the new server will store maps for the elections.
Mr. Baker left the meeting.
Clerk Poston left the meeting at 10:20 a.m.
Mr. Kothe explained the delay in having the back parking lot sealed was due to the chance of rain. Mr. Kothe and Commissioners discussed the matter involving the street behind the Courthouse and ownership when the road is relocated. Mr. Kothe questioned if the property that is now the road will belong to the county after the road is relocated as that area would need to be sealcoated as well. Mr. Kothe informed Commissioners he has to purchase gaskets for the Courthouse boiler.
Mr. Kothe left the meeting at 10:25 a.m.
Chief Deputy Treasurer Sue
Larson joined the meeting.
10:40 a.m., Commissioners held a continuation of the tax deed hearing from March 2, 2010. Present were: Chairman Smith, Commissioner Kirby, Chief Deputy Treasurer Sue Larson, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser. The hearing was recorded.
Chairman Smith said this was to be a tax deed hearing for Lani Kirby-Christiansen for parcel #RP60N01E054862A, but the debt has been paid and there is no longer a reason to tax deed this property. Ms. Larson said that is correct.
Commissioner Kirby moved to take no tax deed action on parcel #RP60N01E054862A owned by Lani Kirby-Christiansen and to close the hearing. Chairman Smith yielded the chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Ms. Larson left the meeting at 10:43 a.m.
Sheriff’s Office Administrative Deputy Crystal Denton joined the meeting briefly to answer questions for Commissioners regarding the Emergency Communications Grant.
Commissioner Kirby moved to sign the Idaho Emergency Communications Commission FY 2011 Dedicated Enhanced Emergency Communications Grant Fee Fund Application for $76,681.96. Chairman Smith yielded the chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Kirby moved to sign the Award and supporting documentation for the 2010 Emergency Management Program Grant (EMPG) for $13,046.31. Chairman Smith yielded the chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Ms. Denton said if something has been needed through the E911 grant, she has just gone ahead and ordered it and she questioned if that is proper. Chairman Smith explained the Sheriff has a budget that he operates for his office, but in this case there is a budget for E911 and Ms. Denton oversees that budget so that would be fine. Where Commissioners would come in is if one of the other entities such as a fire department, the ambulance association, etc., comes with a request to spend money and in that case, those requests should come to Commissioners first. Commissioners said the everyday purchases don’t need to be reviewed by them beforehand.
Ms. Denton left the meeting at 11:25 a.m.
Commissioner Kirby moved to go out for bid for a hydraulic detachable gooseneck trailer for the Road and Bridge Department as approved by the county’s attorney. Chairman Smith yielded the chair to second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Kirby moved to go out for bid for the 2010-2011 county equipment
and vehicle fuel supply for the Road and Bridge Department pending approved
documentation from the county’s attorney. Chairman Smith yielded the chair to
second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners tended to administrative
duties.
Commissioner Kirby moved to adopt Resolution 2010-29. A resolution amending the Boundary County Personnel Policy. Chairman Smith yielded the chair to second. Motion passed unanimously. Resolution 2010-29 reads as follows:
RESOLUTION 2010- 29
AMENDING THE BOUNDARY COUNTY PERSONNEL POLICY
WHEREAS, Boundary County has reviewed its employee policy pursuant to the authority conferred by Article XII, Section 2, of the Constitution of the State of Idaho and Title 31, Chapter 8, Idaho code, and
WHEREAS, Boundary County is a political subdivision of the State of Idaho, operating under the provisions and the laws of the State of Idaho, and as such is authorized and empowered to make decisions regarding its employees’ benefits; and
WHEREAS, the Boundary County Commissioners find that the current employee personnel policy does not adequately address the definition of a work day and the hours in a work week, and
WHEREAS, an amendment to Rule 13: Definitions of the Boundary County Personnel Policy that was adopted by Resolution 2008-35 on September 30, 2008 is needed to address the inadequacies in the policy,
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Board of Boundary County Commissioners that it is in the best interest of the County to amend the Boundary County Personnel Policy as follows:
AMEND RULE 13: DEFINITIONS by adding the following terms:
#36. WORK WEEK HOURS: A work week consists of forty (40) hours.
#37. WORK DAY/DAY: For purposes of this Personnel Policy and when referenced herein, a work day/day is eight (8) hours long.
PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 2nd DAY OF AUGUST, 2010.
BOUNDARY
COUNTY
BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS
s/__________________________ RONALD
R. SMITH,
Chairman
s/__________________________
DAN
R. DINNING,
Commissioner
s/___________________________
WALT
KIRBY, Commissioner
ATTEST:
s/_____________________________
GLENDA
POSTON, Clerk
By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy
Recorded as instrument
#247418
12:00 p.m., There being no further business the meeting
adjourned until tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
***Tuesday, August 2, 2010, Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Ron Smith, Commissioner Dan Dinning, Commissioner Walt Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.
9:00 a.m., Chief Probation Officer Stacy Brown joined the meeting.
9:00 a.m., Solid Waste Superintendent Claine Skeen joined the meeting to give the departmental report. Mr. Skeen said he is looking at putting up a fence along the northern border of the landfill and he has spoken to Kevin Becker at Quality Fencing. Mr. Skeen and Commissioners reviewed an aerial map of the landfill property and Commissioner Dinning said in looking at this map, he doesn’t see how garbage could get through to the adjoining property. Mr. Skeen said he thinks Bill Michalk is talking about garbage in his alfalfa field. Commissioner Dinning said Commissioners have no control over someone’s garbage before it gets to the landfill. Mr. Skeen said the cost of the fence will most likely be around $25,000. Mr. Skeen said a net could be added to a 30 foot fence. The netting at the south end of the landfill is 20 feet tall. The way the garbage is sloped in the hole is from north to south and there is a bit of a funnel, according to Mr. Skeen.
Commissioners said they will speak to the county’s attorney about Mr. Michalk’s claims. Commissioner Dinning said Commissioners received information that Idaho Counties Risk Management Program (ICRMP) won’t cover this claim. Chairman Smith explained the process of filing a tort claim and the deadlines involved. Attorney Phil Robinson has suggested the county look into options to mitigate the problem of garbage flowing onto other properties and that is what Mr. Skeen is doing by looking into fencing. Mr. Skeen said hopefully there is about five years before the height of waste reaches ground level. Mr. Skeen said he already has enough material for 300 feet of fencing. Mr. Skeen suggested a 30 foot high fence and add another 30 feet with netting. Mr. Skeen said he has enough poles to construct a 300 foot long, 30 foot high fence at no cost. There is not budget for purchasing additional poles, but Mr. Skeen said he would like to purchase more poles in the next budget year. Commissioner Dinning said a 30 foot fence should be extremely adequate for the next five years. Commissioner Dinning mentioned possibly building 300 feet of fencing this year, with another 300 feet of fencing added for each of the next two budget years.
Restorium Board Chairman Larry Dirks joined the meeting.
Mr. Skeen said Frederickson’s Bonners Ferry Garbage is not weighing their loads as consistently as the landfill is. Mr. Frederickson is requesting reimbursement for the time it takes to weigh their truck loads. Mr. Skeen informed Commissioners currently the county is receiving approximately nine to ten tons of waste per day. Mr. Skeen said the county weighed truck loads for a total of 27 days and Mr. Frederickson weighed his loads for 17 days. Mr. Skeen said he took Mr. Frederickson’s weight totals and included it with the county’s totals and it comes to 12,000 tons per day. Mr. Skeen said he would like Commissioners approval to write a letter stating Boundary County Solid Waste Department will not accept garbage from the private contractor until the load has been weighed. Mr. Skeen said his department pays for the weight slip and there would be no cost to anyone as solid waste fees are already paid. Mr. Skeen said he would like to require that loads be weighed until the first of January so he can get definite tonnage. Commissioner Dinning said if Frederickson’s Bonners Ferry Garbage is requesting reimbursement for the time to pay his employees while they wait to be weighed, that is between Mr. Frederickson and the City of Bonners Ferry. Chairman Smith said if the landfill trucks are getting weighed there is no reason the city hauler can’t do the same thing. Commissioner Dinning suggested the proposed letter be sent to the city notifying them of this request. Mr. Skeen said the Road and Bridge Department transferred their scale to the Solid Waste Department so eventually there will be a stationary scale and everyone will be weighed. Mr. Skeen said he isn’t sure when the scale will be operational as parts may need to be made for it.
Mr. Skeen left the meeting at 9:30 a.m.
9:30 a.m., Restorium Administrator Karlene Magee was unable to meet with Commissioners to provide the Restorium report. Mr. Dirks informed Commissioners that a grant has been sought for the Restorium.
Bonners Ferry Builders is going to build a 10 foot by 20 foot room for the Restorium to be used as a pantry and they will do it free of charge, according to Mr. Dirks. Larry Devore is also donating his time to provide electrical services. Mr. Dirks spoke of an elevator in the Restorium and where the best placement in the building would be. Commissioner Dinning said when the city put in the elevator at the Visitor’s Center, he was told the maintenance costs and upkeep was more than was expected. Mr. Dirks said he was told maintenance and upkeep would total $1,800 per year. Commissioner Dinning said the county needs to look at long term costs involved with an elevator.
Mr. Dirks left the meeting at 9:50 a.m.
Chief Probation Officer Stacy Brown met with Commissioners to update them on Probation Department matters. Commissioners spoke to Ms. Brown about the ability for her to access the ISTARS system from her office. Ms. Brown said she thinks there are only so many licenses to access ISTARS so she doesn’t think she could obtain that access. Ms. Brown said Rose Sprungl, Supervisory Court Clerk, and Kerry Hong at the Idaho Supreme Court will look into the possibility of access. The Bonner County Detention Center uses a system called CMS. CMS is expensive to install, but ISTARS can access certain information out from that system, according to Ms. Brown. Ms. Brown said by having access to ISTARS, it would be easier for the Probation Department to obtain grants.
Ms. Brown said her department’s Juvenile Probation Officer is supposed to be on call 24 hours per day, which is a requirement in the IDAPA rules. This employee is using a cell phone for business purposes, which is at no cost to the county. Ms. Brown said she is not engaging this employee to wait by the phone as they are on call and an employee cannot be compensated for waiting by the phone unless the employee goes out on a call. Ms. Brown asked if this employee could be compensated with compensatory time “by the minute” for the work related phone calls and if this employee goes out on a call, she can be compensated at the normal compensatory time rate. Commissioners said they didn’t have a problem with that system. Chairman Smith said in the past if he had a deputy that is working extended hours he would suggest working a shorter day towards the last day of the week. If this employee has worked 44 hours the overage could be counted as compensatory time.
Commissioner Dinning asked for the statistics of juvenile and adults on probation. Ms. Brown said the number of supervised juveniles has increased to 48 and the number of supervised adults has decreased to 56. The number of unsupervised adults is approximately 300. Ms. Brown explained the Probation Department uses a tickler system so the staff knows what tasks the probationers have to do to meet their obligations of probation.
Ms. Brown left the meeting at 10:14 a.m.
Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the minutes of July 12 & 13, 2010. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
10:17 a.m., Planning and Zoning Administrator Mike Weland joined the meeting at Commissioners’ request so Commissioners could address his request to attend a work related course offered in Coeur d’ Alene. Commissioners approved the class and asked Mr. Weland to inform Commissioners of costs.
Mr. Weland left the meeting.
Clerk Glenda Poston joined the meeting at 10:22 a.m.
Commissioner Dinning moved to go into executive session under Idaho Code 67-2345(1)b, to consider complaints brought against an individual agent. Commissioner Kirby second. Commissioners voted as follows: Chairman Smith “yes”, Commissioner Dinning “yes”, and Commissioner Kirby “yes”. Motion passed unanimously. 10:25 a.m., Commissioner Dinning moved to go out of executive session. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Clerk Poston left the meeting at 10:25 a.m.
10:30 a.m., Roger Fraser with Boundary Community Television and Jeff Schmidt with Spectrum Bridge joined the meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to update Commissioners on the status of Mr. Fraser’s TV white space project. Mr. Fraser said Boundary Community Television is preparing to deploy the project and Mr. Schmidt is conducting a site survey. Mr. Schmidt is looking at the layout of the land for the reality of where the program can be deployed. Mr. Schmidt said he is helping to bring technology to rural areas to allow community television abilities. It was said a lot of the TV spectrums have become available for public consumption. Mr. Schmidt said as technology evolves he works with small communities that will benefit from that. Boundary County is unique as the United States hasn’t negotiated an agreement with Canada yet. Commissioner Dinning asked with the use of the TV spectrum, what services would be available. Mr. Schmidt said throughout the county there are about 12 TV channels and this project is an enabler for other applications outside of TV such as internet. Mr. Schmidt said this is the best TV spectrum and he and Mr. Fraser are trying to bring critical mass to it. Boundary Community Television is still in the permitting process, but they expect sometime in September for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make this a reality. Mr. Schmidt said Boundary Community Television is trying to get some of these projects off the ground before that time. Mr. Fraser is working closely with the FAA so the FAA can see the benefits and get the ball rolling. Commissioner Dinning inquired if Boundary Community Television has equipment in place, could he use wireless communication in Copeland. Mr. Fraser said in theory yes. Mr. Fraser and Mr. Schmidt said this could apply commercially after the final FAA ruling in September. Mr. Schmidt said they provide the data base and coordination technology so TV stations and wireless internet service providers don’t collide with each other and can co-exist.
Those present discussed the level of radiation emitted from cell towers. Mr. Schmidt said cell towers emit approximately 1,000 watts and in speaking for himself, he doesn’t feel comfortable standing less than 100 feet from a cell tower. Mr. Schmidt said he doesn’t have the same feeling about that with E. L. Automation and he would feel more comfortable standing at a minimum of 20 feet in that case. Mr. Schmidt said all equipment has to be certified for human exposure. Commissioner Dinning said the regulating agencies may have their own regulatory standards for distance due to exposure. Commissioners gave recommendations of who Mr. Fraser and Mr. Schmidt could speak to about a site.
The meeting ended at 10:50 a.m.
10:50 a.m., Clerk Glenda Poston and Assessor Dave Ryals joined the meeting to resume the discussion of Josh Sherven and Tracy Truesdell’s request for a homeowner’s exemption. Chairman Smith said this is a matter of the homeowner’s exemption where other people have missed the filing deadline in the past as well. The address on the deed was incorrect, which is where the brochures on the homeowner’s exemption benefit were sent. Assessor Ryals said when his office receives a deed of conveyance his staff sends a courtesy letter informing the homeowner of the homeowner’s exemption benefits. Commissioner Dinning said in this case there was a transposition of numbers on the mailing address on the deed. The only reason this came to light is the mortgage lender contacted the purchasers and said the amount of the tax withholding portion was short and this shortfall is to be included in the mortgage payment. Commissioner Dinning said he is not here to blame anyone and Boundary County didn’t make the error. Chairman Smith said the suggestion was to reduce the value and Assessor Ryals said the county cannot reduce the value at this point. Chairman Smith said when the tax bill is received the homeowner can approach the Commissioners to request a tax cancellation. Once the time frame of the Board of Equalization expires, no one can change value, according to Assessor Ryals. There is the ability to cancel a tax bill and that is probably what Attorney Robinson was thinking when he informed Commissioner Dinning that value could be reduced. Commissioner Dinning said the homeowners will have to pay a higher mortgage payment for 2010 and then if Commissioners choose to cancel tax at the end, there will be huge surplus in the account. Assessor Ryals said if the homeowner would like, the Assessor’s Office could offer to write a letter to the mortgage lender to inform the lender the homeowner did apply for the homeowner’s exemption for this next year. Assessor Ryals said Commissioners have never cancelled taxes in the past for this reason. Commissioner Dinning asked what Commissioners did for Don Vickaryous. Assessor Ryals said Commissioners cancelled the tax bill. It was said there has been no error made by anyone other than the person who typed the deed.
Commissioner Kirby said if everything happened as it was supposed to, the county wouldn’t have collected the $500, which is the difference in this case. Assessor Ryals and Clerk Poston said the county would have to collect that amount from remaining tax payers. Chairman Smith said come December, the homeowners could schedule an appointment with Commissioners to request the taxes be cancelled. Assessor Ryals said the homeowner has had three or four opportunities to pick up on this issue so where does the county draw the line in this. Assessor Ryals said the county can’t ask every taxpayer to pay for a homeowner’s mistake as it does affect other taxpayers. The amount in question equates to $500 or $600, according to Assessor Ryals. Assessor Ryals said if the county doesn’t receive $500 from this person that amount gets redistributed to the rest of the county taxpayers. If this property owner gets the break two things will happen: the homeowner will receive the break and the county will lose that amount of money.
Commissioner Kirby mentioned the 3% increase and questioned what that does to the levy rate. Assessor Ryals said ultimately he would guess $8 if values stayed the same, which is $8 per $100,000 in value. The amount is close to $170,000 with a 3% increase and new construction. Commissioner Dinning said most people should expect a reduced tax bill as Solid Waste fees have been reduced and the hospital levy is coming off.
Commissioner Kirby said if a department head said they need to run over their budget by $500 they would hear a “no”. So on the other hand if a taxpayer said something to the effect that it would cost the county $500, the county would also say “no”, so maybe Commissioners should say “no” to this. Commissioner Dinning said the county should look more closely at the future requests for hardship exemption that come in. Assessor Ryals said when tax is cancelled, that is an amount the county won’t collect to fund the budget, and the county really needs to think about that.
Commissioners referred to a specific hardship exemption case. It was said that Commissioners may not have been wrong in their decisions, but it does affect the overall picture. Assessor Ryals said everyone wants relief and he understands that, but not everyone is a true hardship. The person requesting the hardship exemption has to show and demonstrate there is a hardship. In this case, the homeowners just don’t like it. Chairman Smith said Commissioners need to look closely at the hardships that come in on a yearly basis because if the property owner continually can’t make their payments, maybe they shouldn’t own the property.
The meeting with Assessor Ryals and Clerk Poston ended at 11:20 a.m.
Commissioner Dinning moved to accept the assignments of 46.4% on indigent account #2010-2 and 100% on indigent account #2008-33 to the Catastrophic Health Care Program. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
/s/
RONALD R. SMITH,
Chairman
ATTEST:
/s/
GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy
Clerk