Commissioners’ News
Elk River Road to be Dent Bridge Road
The Board of County Commissioners met with residents from the Wells Bench area during the Nov. 18 meeting to reconsider the name of Elk River Road. The Commissioners received a large amount of correspondence from residents in Elk River.
After careful consideration of all the input, the Commissioners decided to make the official road name Dent Bridge Road, which they felt was a reasonable compromise.
Big Canyon annexation approved
Voters approved the annexation of Big Canyon Rural Fire District by a 10 to 1 vote. The Board signed an order declaring the Big Canyon Rural Fire Protection District duly organized.
John Elsbury met with the Board regarding the annexation.
Vote canvas approved
Clerk Carrie Bird met with the Commissioners to review the results of the general election held Nov. 4. The county had 415 new voter registrations on Election Day. The total percentage of registered voters that voted in this election was 78.65%. The Board voted to accept the canvas of the votes.
The Board met with Sheriff-Elect Chris Goetz for his weekly update. Goetz reported on the fire at the mill in Weippe. He requested approval to replace an unfilled sergeant’s position in the jail with two corporal positions. The Board approved the request.
Zoning requests granted
The Board met with Planning & Zoning Administrator Bobbi Kaufman to make their final decisions regarding requests that were presented the previous week.
The first item was a Conditional Use Permit request by Kenny Mark Swayne to convert existing mobile home spaces to small log cabins for commercial use as weekly rentals to sportsmen. This property is in Section 1, Township 36 North, Range 1 East, located along Highway 12, and is Zoned F-2.
The Board approved the request with the following conditions: the original plat must be recorded and the proper permits must be obtained from the Idaho Transportation Department.
The second item was a Final Plat for a full platted subdivision by the Groseclose Family Trust to divide 94.42 acres into 18 lots, all lots ranging between 5.07 acres up to 5.81 acres, to be named the Groseclose Estates. This property is in Section 5, Township 37 North, Range 1 East, located along Freeman Creek Road and is Zoned F-1.
The Board approved the request with the stipulation that roads being constructed must meet the county’s specifications or lots that the roads lead to, will not be issued building permits.
Item three was a Zoning Variance request by Ricky and Francis Trott to vary lot depth requirements from 150-ft to 120-ft for Lot 1 and 88.01-ft for Lot 4. This property is located in Section 26, Township 40 North, Range 2 East, along Front Street in Elk River and is Zoned F-2. The Board approved the request.
Zero value for property for sale
Assessor Mellisa Stewart and Chief Deputy Susan Spencer met with the Board to review a protest of value on transient property, specifically the taxing of personal property that is for sale.
The Board stated that circumstances such as these would have to be considered on a case-by-case basis, but that there would have to be proof of the items actually being for sale, such as auction notices, ads in trade magazines, etc. before a zero value is placed on the item.
Robert Simmons from Simmons Sanitation met with the Board to discuss cardboard recycling.
Road Supervisor Rob Simon met with the Board for his weekly update. Simon presented cost estimates on a pole building for the transfer station. The Board accepted the bid from Advanced Buildings, Inc. for a 30X30 pole building for $8,300.
Michelle Bly from Progressive Engineering gave an update on the Ahsahka Water District’s Block Grant. She reported that bids should be going out in February.
Grant requests approved
The Board met with Emergency Management Coordinator Don Gardner. He presented two grants for the Board’s review and consideration. Both are from the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security. The first one is a no-match required grant with 50% of it going to law enforcement.
The second one is the 2009 Emergency Management Performance Grant that is a dollar for dollar match. The Board approved both grant requests as presented.
Open range on Ahsahka Grade
The Board approved a request from Homer Ferguson to place an open range sign above the entrance to the High Country Inn on the Old Ahsahka Grade. Ferguson said he hopes this will slow people down who are driving too fast on that road.
Expenses
There were two executive sessions held to discuss indigents and personnel.
October, 2008 expense claims were approved and ordered to be paid in the following amounts: Current Expense-$82,695.79; Road & Bridge-$27,876.21; Ambulance-$22,303.04; District Court-$3,588.04; Justice Fund-$56,805.63; Health District-$15,718.25; Social Services-$31,450.70; Junior College Tuition-$1,150.00; Parks and Recreation-$460.39; Revaluation-$1,519.71; Enhanced 911-$21.34; Solid Waste-$38,853.94; Current Expense Tort-$5,027.18; Weeds-$3,267.01; Waterways-$6,477.22; Dent Bridge Trust-$49.74; Insurance & Grants-$32,630.81; Hospital Loan Trust Account-$6,712.58; Unclaimed Property-$46.06.
Total expenses for October were $336,653.64.
The following Departments incurred no expenses during October: County Fair; Drug Investigation; Drug Court; Interlock and Electronic Monitoring; Historical Society and Museum; Court Facility; Animal Damage Control; Flood Recovery; Disaster Recovery; Snowmobile; Capital Trust; Freeman Creek Trust; CAT Trust Fund; BHS Capital; CVH Loan Trust.
Present were Chairman Don Ebert and Commissioners Stan Leach and John T. Allen.