Clearwater County Commissioners' news
Commissioners consider options to keep Dworshak open
At their regularly scheduled meeting Nov. 16 the Board of Clearwater County Commissioners met to further discuss ways to keep Dworshak State Park, Big Eddy Marine and Three Meadows Campground open.
Various options have already been discussed. The commissioners hope to keep the park from closing or having any interruptions in services.
There has been some interest from private enterprises wishing to explore the opportunity of running the Marina.
The Board ultimately voted to enter into discussions with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) to examine the feasibility of Clearwater County taking over management of the park from Parks and Rec. The IDPR Board was meeting this week, so it was also decided that Chairman Don Ebert and Sheriff Chris Goetz would travel to Boise for their meeting.
Also present at the meeting were Orofino Mayor Ryan Smathers, City Administrator Rick Laam, Chris St Germaine of the Clearwater County Economic Development Association and Sheriff Chris Goetz.
Sheriff Goetz met with the Board for his weekly update. Mr. Goetz presented a copy of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Idaho Department of Corrections, Idaho Correctional Institution–Orofino and local emergency responders. The purpose of the MOU is to ensure mutual support between the entities for responses to major emergencies at the State prison in Orofino.
Mr. Goetz also discussed the phone outage. He and Don Gardner, Emergency Management Coordinator will be working on drafting an emergency plan should this type of incident occur again.
The Board approved two tax cancellations totaling $16.20 and also approved a solid waste fee cancellation of $38.10 as presented by Treasurer Jeannie Johnson.
The Board met with Planning & Zoning Administrator Bobbi Kaufman. She stated that they would have a quorum at Monday night’s planning and zoning meeting, where they will be hear two requests.
Danielle Curtis, Employment Specialist with Opportunities Unlimited, Inc. (OUI) met with the Board. OUI has a program called Community Supported Employment. Curtis explained that this program is paid employment for individuals who are not likely to earn minimum wage or above without special training or assistance.
This program provides assistance with training on the job through a job coach who works one on one with the trainee as needed to learn the job and/or resolve any issues that would have a detrimental effect on their employment. She asked if the Board would be interested in allowing someone to work through this program at the County. The Board said they would survey different departments and see if there was a need.
The Board signed Request for Funds #15 for the Water Systems Improvement Grant #ICDBG-08-II-07-PF as presented by Progressive Engineering Group, Inc. An MOU regarding noxious weed control between various agencies, governmental entities, tribal organizations and private landowners was signed by the Board.
The Board met with IT/Networking Administrator Angela Vander Pas for her weekly update. An acceptable use policy regarding emails was discussed.
There were three executive sessions held to discuss personnel, contract negotiations and indigent matters. Present for the meeting was Chairman Don Ebert and Commissioners Stan Leach and John Allen.