Caribou County Commission Highlights, March 9
Sheriff’s Office—Deputy Russ Roper
Deputy Russ Roper spoke to the commissioners on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office. He discussed the events of the past Sunday, on which two people were pulled from the water at Alexander, and one of them did not survive. “We rescued one person from the water and lost another,” Deputy Roper said. “Some great work was done by employees of this county.” Roper asked for permission for the use of letterhead, on which to present Officer Kolby Call with a Lifesaving award for his bravery during the rescue. Dispatcher Sheri Allen Rider “handled things perfectly,” according to Roper, and should also receive a commendation.
Justin Steele
Steele spoke to the commissioners about security at the courthouse. The way that prisoners are led into the courthouse involves some parking issues.
He would like to make the first handicapped slot next to the elevator be usable by emergency services and prisoner transport to the courthouse. This would limit the amount of time or distance that prisoners would need to use on the way into the courthouse for trial proceedings.
Jeff Godfrey
Additions to the noxious weed list were discussed. The process of adding those weeds to the list requires action on the part of the county, including a public hearing in order to adopt them through an ordinance. A resolution would be another option, though it would not have any enforcement. Once the weeds are included, county and state resources can be used to combat them.
There will be a public hearing to add the two weeds in question to the noxious weed list.
Road and Bridge
Kevin McLain reported to the commissioners that one of the trucks was in in need of repair after running codes on it. It’s a 2017 MX13 model. Quote for repairs were $22K. The county can save on the cost by doing some of the work themselves, potentially up to half.
Cattle Guards were discussed. McLain has received bids for around $7,000, though he will continue checking for lower quotes.
McClain reported that the hauling of the silica sand for the Ledge Creek Trail project will start on Friday, and should include close to the amount that the city asked for.
McClain said that Bingham County would like to have some remote roads closed to prevent access during months when the conditions are dangerous. They suggested that they would put barricades at the point where the two counties meet to prevent access to Bingham County roads in order to prevent cost and liability for rescue and response operations during the winter months.
EMS--Eric Hobson
Hobson spoke to the commissioners about a grant that would allow for the installation of a radio repeater on Black Canyon. The Community Project Funding grant through Congressman Mike Simpson’s office was the source. Support letters from other agencies and entities have been received. A resolution would add this repeater to the All-Hazard Mitigation plan. A quote is $520K for the project, which would largely be grant funded. The process involves a congressional hearing, which will determine what the county’s obligation to the cost would be.
With the project, they are not allowed to do new construction. So they will be adding a 6 channel receiver into the existing Silver Star building and adding to the state network. Black Mountain is near Alpine.
Hobson then talked about a grant adjustment agreement for the AHMP. “Every time we submit for closeout, the Federal government shuts down,” Hobson joked. “If the government stays open long enough, eventually we’ll be able to get a payment.”
The state’s EMS SAVE grant, which comes partly from registration funds, required a letter of support from the commissioners to pursue. The grant helps secure an ambulance and gurney for a little over $300K. The county has four ambulances right now. This will be the fifth, and allow the oldest one to be retired from service.
Chris Banks
Banks shared an update on what the Conservation District accomplished in 2025. “A lot of what we do is driven by the Clean Water Act,” he said. According to Banks, the federal government gives about $1.8 mill to Idaho every year to administrate grant programs. A recent project involved a stock water system in Chesterfield. Tires have also been used to create troughs. They don’t rust, and can be easily repaired.
Other projects have installed a riparian buffer, cross fencing, and other grazing management initiatives.
The cross fencing splits pastures and fields to create grazing rotation.
Continuous fencing was put around a spring to prevent grazing access on that site.
Another project converted a ditch to a pipe., 4,600 feet. They came in under budget, and they will use it to install more pipe.
They have an upcoming project to discuss. It had been delayed as a result of overall federal funding delays. Across the road from Whiskey Mikes they are planning to start a stream bank stabilization project, which involves stream protection. A stream crossing also needs to be replaced.
“By way of a funding update, Bear Lake and Caribou County have done 35 projects, which has brought in $5.6million in grants.,” Banks said. “22 projects on the Bear River drainage have brought in $3.2 million, since 2014. We have awesome landowners in Caribou County. Your $15k is what allows these projects to keep going.”
Michael Blakey
Blakey started a transportation service from Lava to Pocatello last year. He asked the commissioners whether there was a need for those services in Caribou County. They have been bringing people here from the Idaho Falls airport and other areas, and he’s trying to figure out his first couple steps.
“It’s a great idea,” Commissioner Somsen said.
“We do a lot of different things,” he said. “I’m usually in Lava twice a week, four times a day. I could add coming here pretty easily for an extra thirty minutes.”
It would function like a taxi service while in town and a shuttle out of town. He has a fleet with a car, a van, and two busses. He just started the business last year in June. “I’m fresh, and I’m just trying to introduce myself to people.”
Helen Barker
Barker spoke to the commissioners about Parks and Rec department, and what the commissioners support would be for fixing up local parks. Fixing up the pump and existing restroom was discussed for Oregon Trail park. Barker plans to have the existing tables removed and replaced before the Fourth. The issue of who will be providing lawncare at the location was discussed.
In regards to Sucker Trap, she plans to remove the broken tables, fixing up the fencing, and doing something with the swing set. She doesn’t have a set budget for any of this yet.
At Oregon Trail, the stairs to the toilet need to be fixed, and the vents.
An irrigation/sprinkler system was also discussed.
There is $20K in the Parks and Rec budget that could potentially be used to this end.
Commissioner Somsen encouraged her to begin working on the projects with the budget funds. Some other upkeep/painting and improvement projects were mentioned for Freedom and other locations.
Barker noted that the pumphouse might be a bit of a challenge since the reservoir is still high. The pipes do get damaged by boats. Commissioner Somsen suggested that she contact RMP to see whether they were going to draw down the reservoir.
The commissioners expressed their support for Barker’s plans to work on repairing/improving the parks.
Rick Phillips, Galen Wilson, Coleen Benson, Alexis Metrone
Rick Phillips of Soda Springs spoke to the commissioners first. Gov. Little appointed him to the Idaho Historical Society Board for the state, and he appeared before the commissioners to talk about the Caribou Historical Society, and the state board. One of the projects of the state Historical Society is to coordinate with local governments on preservation. Alexis works for the State Historical Preservation Office (SHIPO). 59 total SHIPOs exist across the country. “With this funding comes an obligation that we have to ship out 10% of the funds we get to certified local governments,” Metrone said. Caribou County has been a CLG (Certified Local Government) entity certified with the department in the past, but Galen Wilson and Coleen Benson have been pursuing reinstating that relationship.
The county passed an ordinance to create the Historical Commission last meeting. A certification statement saying that Caribou County wants to be certified by the Park service will be part of the process as well.
Commissioner Somsen and Metrone spoke about the Section 106 process, which is invoked when federal land is involved.
There are 41 CLGs in the state of Idaho. Around half of them are counties. They prefer counties because of their farther reach.
This was described as a partnership, where they would consult and provide access to grant possibilities. The checklist for commissioners to complete the application package for the CLG was discussed. They should be able to finish everything before the next grant cycle starts.
Tom Calton and Ally Schwulst
Calton spoke to the commissioners representing a mapping company that does GIS mapping and consulting. He is located in Marsh Valley, and the company is close by for any needs. They are ready to pick up where Ally Schwulst has been working in the GIS system. They will not take over the Assessor’s mapping needs, as those are separately mandated. Schwulst is taking a position at another organization, and the contract will allow the county to maintain continuity in its GIS mapping and tech practices. “We feel like we can step in pretty quickly,” Calton said. The first couple weeks would involve working with Schwulst to transition the system, so that it could be fully moved over within a couple of weeks. GIS products are used by a number of departments within the county.
The Next Generation 911 system is the next biggest thing on the GIS horizon, according to Calton.
The commissioners felt that there was urgency in the need to transition to a GIS provider, with Schwulst set to leave the position. The commissioners accepted the proposal for services, and will sign the final contract as soon as it is available.
Dave Parkhouse
Parkhouse brought a zoning issue to the commissioners, involving the splitting and selling of property. He is looking to sell part of his property to a family member in the Blue Landing subdivision. It is possible to sell the property, however, it is below the 5 acre minimum. Chairman Mathews noted that he thinks it should not have been joined in the past.
The commissioners asked about whether there were HOA regulations that would affect the decision. Because it appears the original property plat has been altered, the commissioners were inclined to be open to resetting it to the original state in order to allow for the property split. The two parts have separate deeds, and were purchased separately. They have been combined for tax purposes, but not otherwise. The history of the property and its ownership was not immediately clear, but it was clear that it had been somewhat muddled.
A motion to allow the separation of the two parts of the parcel into its original lots at the Caribou Blue Landing subdivision was passed.
Kya Simmons
Simmons is in charge of the Caribou County Website. Issues related to the site design and maintenance were discussed. Simmons presented a draft copy of a logo for the county for the commissioners’ approval. A motto was also discussed. There is currently not a motto, which the commissioners decided to maintain.
Doug Wood
Wood spoke to the commissioners on behalf of the Lions Club. The county routinely donates to the DYW, and did so again to the tune of $1000.
