Caribou County Commission 10/27

Kevin McLain—Road and Bridge

McLain discussed some of the county’s issue with maintaining roads that are not official county roads during the winter.  The specific case involved a home which requested snow removal on a road that is classified as a No Maintenance road.  There have been other requests received from residences built or located in “no maintenance” areas.  The costs for maintaining roads that are not established as maintained roads is significant, and the county discussed what to do about the issue in general.  In some situations, removing snow and dumping it onto ground which is owned by farmers can potentially move nematodes and other soil components from one field to another.  “You want to plow everybody’s,” Commissioner McCullough said, but noted that it wouldn’t be possible for the county to do so with limited time and resources during heavy snow. 

McLain stated that the county would try to attend to non maintained roads in any downtown they had between maintained road snow removal.  The commissioners indicated that agreeing to plow roads outside the maintained road would open the door to unreasonable expectations, though they wanted to find some solution to the issue by way of agreements with Bonneville county and/or service pricing for the maintenance.

Properties can be designated as “winter maintained” roads, but the commissioners noted that there are situations where the cost to that maintenance are not justified by the distance or difficulty of the plowing process.  This is especially true of the residence is a single home on a long stretch of remote roadway.

The county discussed vehicles that they are ready to auction.  These are two International 4 Wheel Drive Snowplow Chassis (confirmed that the plural of chassis is “chassis,” for anyone that wonders) that will be put on the government auction site, per regulation.

Locations for a gravel pit were discussed.  

Sheriff

No major reports, though the sheriff reported that things were going well.

The antenna and repeater are in place at Blak Mountain site. Communications throughout the county should be significantly increased.

Some shooter training for religious organizations in town was put on, sponsored by the Presbyterian church.  The recent church shooting in Michigan was the immediate motivation for the discussion, but preparedness for all events is always recommended.

The Sheriff discussed some of the issues with leasing vehicles.  Other companies than the current leasing service were being explored.

The positions in the office are filled, other than a dispatch position that still needs to be filled.

Another individual is being sought for the Board Of Guardians.  The board works in the interest of children within the county.

The sheriff reported that multiple contacts had been made with individuals whose water was covering the roadway.  In such cases, a series of warnings are issued, escalating to potential citations.  The office is generally willing to work with individuals who act in good faith on the issue.

The issue of drivers on Highway 30 staying in the left lane was discussed.  Generally, the left line is reserved for passing, while the right lane is the conventional primary lane.  Commissioner Somsen wondered about signs along Highway 30 to remind drivers of the practice.  In other traffic concerns, Clerk Stoor noted that she had received complaints about trucks pulling out from Idawy, though that particular exit is technically in Bear Lake County.  

The Drivers License Bureau should be open on Fridays now that it is fully staffed.

Rocky Mountain Power/PacifiCorp

May 21 was the public meeting at Alexander Second Bridge.  There were 60 citizens and 18 representatives of the county and companies.  

Mark Stenberg was out on medical leave, and he apologized for the delay in reporting to the commissioners.  “Winter is a good time to get things organized,” he said.  He would like to get a committee together to talk about erosion, enforcement, etc.  He would like a representative from the various stakeholding interests, such as different types of recreation (waterskiing, wakeboarding, fishing, etc), the county, and the BLM, which own some of the shoreline.

“I think that was one of the most well-attended public meetings we’ve had,” Chairman Mathews said.  “Did you hear what everybody said?”  Mathews said.  “We all agreed that erosion is happening.  The community that was there was willing to donate time and materials to help in whatever way they could.  How we can address those issues?”

Aaron Cook explained that he felt that the erosion should be more carefully tracked over the year to determine exactly what the cause(s) of the erosion was.  

“I’m sure there are aerial views of that from 20-30 years back you could look at,” Commissioner McCullough said.  Rowdy Larkins and Cook discussed different ideas about measuring the issue.

“It’s really hard to look at erosion and say that’s definitely what caused it,” Stenberg said.  

“But more measurements would be very helpful,” Larkins said.

Marty McCullough agreed to serve on a committee when it was formed.  

Rowdy Larkins

“We are almost done with the Event Center.  We are buttoning up here.”  A walk through at the Event Center location was discussed.

Clerk Stoor felt that it was important to answer some of the critical questions about the commissioners’ decisions about a fee schedule and policies for the Event Center.

A change order for adjusting the concrete was discussed.  Number 23, for concrete expansion for $16,400 was approved.

Bids to paint on the cinderblock building have been received.  $18,160 to paint the exterior and the addition.  A motion to approve painting of the cinderblock building from Nichols Bros, inc from Logan passed.

ShaLayne Bartschi—Senior Center

Bartschi stated that the insulation was complete.  There are moisture barriers to warn if there are any leaks.  Access to the attic is difficult, and they are looking at ways to make it easier.  The issue is complicated by the fact that the old building has two false ceilings as a result of being remodeled and added to over time.  They would like to find someone to build a direct access to the attic.

The thrift store reported that it had surpassed last year’s approximate sales at the same time, though a specific number was not available.  Bartschi noted that she would like to find a fulltime thrift store employee.  A fulltime cook will also be needed, due to employee health issues.

The new AC unit is reported to be working very well.  

Helen Barker--PZ  

Oregon Trail Road is not where it is platted.  A landswap to correct the issue, which affects a homeowner’s ability to sell the property as a result of the road designation.  

There are two conflicting surveyors, apparently.  There are some places where there are discrepancies in the land attribution between property owners.  The commissioners felt that the swap to correct the issue would not affect anything negatively.  

Freedom Park.  Idaho Parks and Rec inspected Freedom Park.  They found that there were a few things out of compliance.  

Weeds were the main issue raised, and the repair of some of the structures in need of repair or replacement.  Bleachers, signs, etc.  ADA compliance was also an issue.  There are not any budget funds to fix the issues at the moment.  The commissioners discussed ways to involve the community in taking care of the park and working at maintaining it.  

The county pays one individual to oversee the park, but that oversight is largely devoted to mowing, rather than a comprehensive commitment.  

Different ideas for people who might be interested in working on the park, or contributing to its care, were discussed.  The commissioners told Barker to make sure that she put the issue for budget discussion for next year.  

Oregon Trail RV Park issues were discussed.  ADA accommodations were part of the discussion.  The commission talked about various grants that might still be possible to pursue for the park.  Commissioner McCullough stressed that he felt decisions about the park should be made with residents of the county as the priority, rather than visitors.  “We need to take some pride, and make sure it’s Caribou County’s park,” McCullough said.  Clerk Stoor had just visited Walla Walla, where the Wittman mission historical site is.  She shares pictures of the national park on the location, which used a specific fencing option.  

Enforcement of rules for the RV park were discussed.  Signs about use were considered to be an important step in maintaining the park.  

Clerk Stoor

Still accepting applications for the court clerk position.  

One bill had been held for retention for the Event Center.  It will be authorized pending the walk through of the building later in the day.

Motion to approve the application for payment for HK Contractors was approved.

Some issues with screen technology in the commission room were raised. 

Fairboard members Jake Barfuss, Billy Rasmussen, Alexis Jorgensen, and Daphney Medina were approved and will be sworn in during the meeting in November.