Caribou County Commission meeting 8/26
The Caribou County Board of Commissioners met for their second regularly scheduled meeting of August.
After the bills payroll were approved, Tim Gaines was sworn in as a member of the Caribou County Planning and Zoning Commission by Chairman Mark Mathews.
Kevin McClain
McClain reported that the department was making good gravel in Chesterfield. They were waiting on weather to see where to put asphalt first. A number of subdivisions and roads are on the radar, “as long as the weather holds.”
Bids on a new backhoe were discussed. For a new machine, the range noted was $158K up to $300K. The current one is not suitable for a trade. International snowplow eventually will need a new chassis, but the current one is not in good shape.
The backhoe replacement will need to be ordered soon. State excess funds and capital outlay will be used to cover its cost.
A motion to approve the purchase of a new backhoe was passed for just over $158K from Western States Equipment.
J. Adam Mabey
Sheriff Mabey spoke to the commissioners about a number of items. The office received news that the jail facility had failed a fire nozzle test. State Fire is the company the county has been using. Getting them up to code will cost between $35K and $50K, according to early bids. As soon as the numbers are firm, the sheriff will present them.
One of the deputies in the office located a repeater, which will increase communication for law enforcement purposes. A 100 foot tower is available for locating the repeater, after which the coverage range of the system should be radically improved.
The project with the transport van is just about completed. Radios from an old patrol car will be used, and the project should save the county money. ARPA funds were used for some of the costs, as well as other projects in the county. A new training vehicle will be sought with some of the remaining funds.
The Sheriff discussed that the county’s body cams are in need of overhaul. Making them up to spec for the employees will cost around $99K. The importance of cameras within the law enforcement and judicial systems was stressed by the sheriff in his discussion. “This is a liability issue that will affect my house, your house.” The system can also be purchased straight out, or through a lease program. The sheriff requested that the commissioners take a look at the system and consider purchasing it. There is no money specifically for the cameras in the proposed budget.
Bob Monk, Search and Rescue Coordinator, spoke to the council. The use of motorcycles in Search and Rescue has been discussed. There are some areas of the mountains that are inaccessible to ATVs, but can be reached by motorcycles. The existing bikes are planned to be sold, since they do not function well as SR bikes. A trade-in or auction were deemed to be the best bets for them. Bikes that will serve the SR purpose are being sought in order to find a good value. Monk feels that the vehicles are a need for the SR portfolio.
Monk is asking for funds to be made available to Search and Rescue to secure vehicles, including $18K from PILT funds to purchase bikes and upgrade the repeater.
A generator, solar panel, and battery are needed to make the portable repeater ready for use this fall for a total of $2,500. The materials have been ordered.
A portable repeater from Bayer will be located in a mobile trailer, which can allow for emergency placement.
Becky Johnson, Eric Freeman IFG
Eric Freeman and Becky Johnson made a presentation to the board on Caribou County Mule Deer. Eric Freeman is a wildlife biologist and Becky Johnson is a regional manager. In the early 1900s, market hunting and overexploitation of mule deer began to occur. In the mid 1900s, more scientific methods of regulation and ecological conditions created a larger population of mule deer from the 60s through the 80s.
The Southeast region of the Fish and Game Management Units includes Caribou County.
“Why haven’t we been able to maintain mule deer populations like we used to?” was a question presented by Freeman, who answered it with a variety of data—wide variation in habitat potential, most have older stage habitat types, existing shrub stands are old, vigor is low, etc. The old-growth conifer cover base has been drastically reduced over the last decades.
Current threats to the health of mule deer populations include modern habitat capacity issues, urban expansion, increases in vehicle collisions, barriers or impediments to migration. Eric presented data showing the movement patterns of populations of mule deer which have been wintering in the Soda Hills. Eric stated that roughly 2,000 deer move through Soda Springs over the course of the winter.
In 2018, Fish and Game placed trail cameras on Bayer property, and found 1,500 deer moving through the area.
Data from the trail cameras are used to help inventory the age/gender/etc. of the local mule deer population.
Peaks for deer migration are during December and April during intense weather events.
Bayer was noted as having improved the Highway 34 crossing situation.
The topic is being raised as a matter of mutual importance for FG and Caribou County.
The future of the wintering mule deer population was mentioned as one that was important to the FG department. The presentation was given for general information purposes.
Competition between mule deer and elk was discussed as taking place in the shared habitat.
Rowdy Larkins
Larkins spoke to the county commissioners about change orders for the event center project. $50-55K in taxes will be saved as a result. $109K is the cost of the change order. The total cost of the project will likely reach $3 million by the time the process is completed. The original cost estimate was for $2.8 mill. Change order number 1 and 2 were amended to account for additional amount and better materials.
Melanie Rasmussen (snow removal)
The Rasmussens inquired about snow removal on less than a quarter mile of road on a street outside the city limits. Kevin McClain spoke to the couple, making sure that it was clear that the plowing was understood to carry a charge. A petition from all of the lot owners to dedicate the road in question to the county will need to be filed in order to allow for the process to move forward.
Eric Hobson
Hobson spoke to the commissioners about a number of issues. One of the sensors went out on a gas meter, and will be purchased by the department.
Two VHF repeaters were obtained for free. A $20K repair project was able to be taken care of for closer to $1K.
Fire danger signs for the roadside were quoted at about $1100 a piece.
There have been 8 wildland fires so far in the county. All of the fires so far have been natural and not man-made.
Bailey Creek Hazard Reduction Program grant has been received. An in-kind match will cover the county’s portion. Firebrakes around homes in the subdivision are among the initial goals.
All Hazard Mitigation Plan will kick off in September. EZEM from Rexburg has been brought on board. The plan is a five year strategic overview of the county’s emergency response plans.
Larry Weaver retired from the county recently, and a replacement for the position was discussed. Eric Hobson requested that the position be located under the Emergency Services Director’s office in the org chart. The position was part time, though Hobson requested that it be made a full time position. The position will need to be advertised and budgeted for if it becomes a full time position. Since the budget is already announced, the funds to cover the expanded position would need to come out of a general funding source. A number of options for finding funding sources for the position were discussed. There have been a couple people who have shown interest in the position, with a number of well-qualified applicants in the mix. The specifics will be discussed further down the road, but the commission authorized beginning the announcement/application process.
Budget Hearing
A budget hearing was opened at 11:33. The total expense budget proposed was printed in the paper last week.
The revenue amount is 7 mill plus; the total is 19 million plus. The total is up 1.3 mill. It includes the ITD grant. The core budget actually represents a decrease. The levy rate will decrease. The values of property are up. Cash forward 4 plus million. Levy capacity to take 7 million. A resolution was prepared which contains the numbers for the year, including the reserve of $215K. Motion to adopt the budget was passed. 2024-05 2024-06.
Jill Stoor
State liquor license for new Maverik was approved. The store anticipates being open by the end of the month. Stoor was not able to find any evidence that the county limits the number of Alcohol licenses. Store 746 had its license approved, and at present plans to keep both stores in town running.
This year tax deed funds have been added to the unclaimed fund, to the tune of over thirty-thousand dollars.
Sales tax has been used for some of the county departments and affiliates. Stoor would like departments to fill out the correct paperwork to ensure the county’s tax-free status. Stoor wanted to clarify the source of funds for the van discussed by the Sheriff’s Office. Some confusion about the ARPA funds was noted.
Morgan Hill
Morgan Hill is completing her bachelors degrees at ISU and is interning with Doug Wood during his senior year as she pursues her degree work.
