Caribou County Officials Sworn in to start year

Whether national or local, officials elected (or re-elected) in the last election are being sworn in across the county as January gets under way.  The national spotlight is inevitably focused on the impending swearing of President-elect Donald Trump, but the business of running cities and counties can’t officially get going until its governmental representatives are in place. 

Bright and early on Monday January 13, a number of Caribou County officials were sworn in in the second-floor courtroom of District Judge Cody Brower.  Newly elected County Coroner Casey Batterton was not available during the morning session, but was sworn in later in the afternoon.

In the presence of family and co-workers, Judge Brower administered the oath of office to Chairman of the Caribou County Board of Commissioners Mark Mathews, County Commissioner Marty McCullough, Caribou County Sheriff J. Adam Mabey, and County Attorney S. Doug Wood.

The newly sworn in officials are not new to the positions, having won re-election in November.  Most of the candidates faced election competition in the form of primary opponents earlier in the spring, leaving continuity from the last governmental session relatively seamless.

Judge Brower congratulated the men on their efforts, and thanked them for their attendance.

As the year begins in earnest, the county is set to face some issues that are likely to span the year in its entirety.  

Perhaps most notable in terms of pricetag is the Event Center currently under construction in Grace near the site of the Fairgrounds.  The roughly $4 million project is intended to serve as a multipurpose county facility, which will house some of the county’s agencies (such as the Agricultural Extension Office), as well as provide facilities for Fire and EMS vehicles, and rentable space.  Recreation facilities are also planned as a part of the building’s amenities.

As the project has moved forward, some predictable change orders and construction issues have emerged.  Nonetheless, the plan is still to have the building up and running for this year’s Fair season in August.  It will be interesting to see how the move of some county assets and resources to the west side of the valley affects the makeup of the county itself.

One thing that will be affected is the county’s reach in terms of Fire and Emergency services.  Closer staging areas and water supplies will expand the county’s reach as far as services, and improve its response times.  County Emergency Services continues to refine its operation and keep the community safe.

A number of land issues will also be on the docket during the year.  Despite a reported drop in the number of solar power permits in the county, the issue of solar farms and outside entities seeking to locate them on county land is unlikely to go away.  Even if the economic incentives for green energy infrastructure are allowed to lapse, the interest on the part of large energy producers has been persistent.  Bans on solar farms throughout Idaho will almost certainly continue to be an issue.

Owing to a state law passed during the last legislative session, the issue of Agricultural Protection Areas will also take hold.  The bill requires counties to create boards that will hear petitions from landowners seeking to have their property declared APAs, which will create some protections for them against zoning and development, but also create some legal obstacles should the landowners plans for the property change.  During 2024 discussions, the Commissioners expressed the belief that the APA law was essentially redundant legislation in places like Caribou County, where the Development Code and Comprehensive Plan for land use already stressed the primacy of agricultural land.

Whether the new national administration will result in any changes to the county in terms of citizenship issues and concerns about resources devoted to non-citizens is hard to predict.  There have been some concerns expressed by farmers and ranchers about the potential effects a reduction in migrant workers will have on their industries.  On the flip side, a potential slowing of the drug corridor that passes through the county as a route from the southern border to the northwest would create some relief on the part of law enforcement, whose efforts at drug interdiction are at times intense.

Changes in the agencies that regulate state and national public lands may also represent decisions for the county.  This is particularly true with regard to how the various mining operations in the county are able to operate in the coming years.  Mines which have been stalled in the permitting process may possibly see a window for moving forward, and there is a strong chance (or at least it has been so stated) that regulations may be relaxed with regard to some industrial operations.

Growth is, as always, going to be another major focus of the upcoming year.  Around the county, several multi-unit housing projects and developments are underway, with population growth expected to be on pace with previous years.  A report issued last year found that Idaho, and specifically southeast Idaho, was one of the fastest growing areas of the entire country.  If economic factors are positive over the next year, there is no reason to suspect that trend will
not continue.

As the year rolls along, it will be interesting to see what kinds of changes come to the valley.  The current administration has experience under its belt, and residents will have a front row seat to watch how it uses that experience.  While January is an exception due to other meeting commitments, the Board of County Commissioners meets every second and fourth Monday throughout the year at 9:00 a.m. at the Caribou County Courthouse.  Members of the public are always invited to attend the meetings and find out what is happening in their county.  As a newspaper, we try to make the proceedings of those meetings available to the public the same week they occur by way of the County Commission report, but the sessions really do deal with a large agenda of items, and being in attendance is by far the best way to keep a line on issues going on throughout the county.