Adams County Commissioners-Discussion on Building Codes, Prosecutor Resigns & Property Rights
On Monday, February 12, 2024, the Adams County Commissioners started off their meeting with an executive session to consult with legal council. After this, Building Inspector, Kody Williams, arrived to talk about building department matters. He told the commissioners he does not think he should go after agricultural buildings regarding code compliance violations or building without a permit. District 3 Commissioner, Viki Purdy, agreed that they really need to just focus on homes that were unsafe. Williams asked the commissioners for guidance interpreting the ordinance regarding ag buildings moving forward. Do ag buildings need to comply with setbacks as well, for example? District 2 Commissioner Daren Ward said they probably need to hear what the interpretation of the ordinance is from the prosecuting attorney first and would defer to his legal interpretation. If the ordinance was very vague and difficult to interpret it may be necessary to change it, as it should be clear for everyone to understand. “It’s hard to hold someone accountable when they think they did the right thing,” said Ward.
This launched into a larger discussion about tiny homes, Airbnb’s, and ag housing. Williams said one person who has been in contact with him has six different buildings, some that were built before him and several were Airbnb’s and he was looking for guidance in how to classify tiny homes and Airbnb’s. Commissioner Purdy asked “What’s the Airbnb got to do with anything?” Building inspector Williams answered “It’s a dwelling.” Purdy then said that it needs to be classified as a dwelling. Commissioner Ward mentioned the gentlemen had called him to ask for guidance in how to deal with the dwellings. He has tried to argue with the assessor and said it was a residence but the assessor has said no, they are ag buildings. Ward said there seems to be some discrepancy between the building department’s definition and the assessor’s definition. Williams thought that maybe there needed to become more regulation or ordinance regarding tiny homes because it’s a gray area. Commissioner Ward said several other counties are working on ordinances regarding this and he would like to see how they play out, he doesn’t want to be the test case. “I wouldn’t like to be on the leading edge of that,” said Ward, “I’d like to find out where other countries have screwed it up.” Commissioner Purdy said Southwest District Health is trying to push the counties to heavily regulate these things and it is a big problem with the septic systems. It is problematic for multi generational homes. “We need to be careful,” said Purdy, “Otherwise we’re going to be controlling people right down to their toilet paper!” Williams said he doesn’t want to control people or write something that will mess people up if they are living in an RV while they are building their house, he just doesn’t know how to classify things and they need clarity between his office and the assessors. District 1 Commissioner Joe Iveson was particularly concerned about creating burdensome regulations on ranches with multiple dwellings for farm workers. “Tiny homes are becoming more and more popular,” said Williams, “and we don’t know what to do with it.” The commissioners decided to consult with lawyer True Pearce because he had some expertise in this area.
Steve Shelton with solid waste said things are going well at the landfill and asked if Ward had heard anything more from Republic Services regarding recycling. Ward said they met with them on the recycling and they are putting together the numbers to get back to us about whether it is feasible to come and pick it up for them. It would be an $80 flat fee to haul it per truck. They could take glass and concrete too. Once they get things settled they could put out an article explaining everything to the people about what they can and cannot take.
Adam Balderson, with Road and Bridge, said they’ve been working on organizing the yard while the roads are still muddy. Balderson also said they will need to buy more crack seal for Council Cuprum and several other roads. Iveson said he thought they should buy a whole truck load if they have room. Balderson showed the commissioners a new dump truck with a snow plow in Salt lake City that was for sale he was considering buying. County Clerk, Sherry Ward, said they have the budget for it. Balderson said they can sell one of the old plow trucks and the dump truck and this one will replace both of them. Iveson said he should get moving on it because they are really hard to find. Oregon Department of Transportation called about Oxbow Bridge, they are looking for 40k from Adams County and Balderson wasn’t sure what to do. Clerk Ward said the current procedure is that they receive the bill and they forward it to Idaho Power who pays it, they have never paid it. Balderson also asked about a road by Little Ski hill that a developer wanted to bring up to county spec and have Adams County take it over. The commissioners said the developer would need to come in and talk to them and they might need to do a site visit.
Next, Sheriff Ryan Zollman arrived to talk about a contract from Sawtooth Correctional for health care. He said that Adams County Health Center is raising their rates and the Sheriff’s Department is already over budget. Also, they are not jail medical providers, and they battle a lot because they don’t quite understand what is different between jail medicine and there are things they can’t really prescribe. He is interested in switching to Sawtooth Correctional, which would save the county a lot of money because they would be able to do more telehealth visits and avoid a lot of transports. Commissioner Purdy said she wasn’t crazy about taking business away from Adams County Health Center. Commissioner Ward agreed that correctional medicine is very different and if they are being seen by a family practitioner many inmates know how to work the system. Zollman said they have discussed this with the clinic and they appreciate that they are sympathetic people but they have to be harder for inmates. Ward said he has known the company for years and they are a good company. Zollman said “I’m like Viki, the last thing I want to do is take business away from our local companies, but it’s coming to a head.” Zollman also wanted to discuss emergencies within the building. He reached out to a provider that can install emergency lockdown buttons that would lock all exterior doors if pressed. He would like to have three of them in different parts of the building. They have had to do lockdowns in the past and it is not a straightforward process. These buttons would lock the building from the outside but not lock the interior so people can still leave. He thought homeland security might pay for them. There are 22 state inmates and no county.
After an executive session to discuss personnel, the Mayor of New Meadows, Julie Good, came to update the commissioners about some exciting things happening in the city. The transit program in New Meadows was supposed to end Labor Day, but she was able to get some other sponsors and a large grant, so they were able to continue it two days a week. The plan is to continue through May two days a week and then start five days a week again. Some employers in McCall are letting people change their shifts so residents can ride the bus to work. “This is working for our community,” Julie Good said. The library in New Meadows is going in with the transit company so they can build a bigger entrance that will also be open when the library is closed so there will be a place for people to wait out of the weather. Mayor Good said she would eventually love to see this come to Council as well, but for now it is working and they are getting buy-ins from businesses in McCall. What she would really like to see is for the county to chip in 20-25k a year and see if they can’t expand down to Council as well. Commissioner Iveson said their main concern is they had to trim the budget by about 250k this last year and they are not in good shape at the moment. Good said she understands, but she just wants to put it on their radar and if they could pitch in even something small the support would go a long way. She said the residents love it. Iveson was also concerned about creating a program that is free to the customer but not free to the taxpayer, what if the funding from other sources run out? He asked if they have priced out what it would be to bring it down here twice a week. Good said she will have those numbers shortly “I’m trying to get as many partners as possible so it’s not all in one basket.” The commissioners were concerned about creating another situation like the Mobile Health Care Unit which is just sitting in New Meadows going to waste. They had a grant and spent almost 350k on it but it hasn’t been utilized at all and it has become a sore spot. They are worried about implementing a new program that might not get utilized, but know that people in New Meadows need to get access to medical and dental care, among other things.
Julie Good also wanted to share with the commissioners that they have acquired a large grant to renovate the old recycling center. The plan is to put a preschool/day care in one half and a youth center in the other half. She hopes to open it next school year. It is a collaborative effort between the City of New Meadows and the school. They will eventually have capacity for 60 children and are also hoping to do mentorship programs with students at the high school who may be considering a career in early childhood education. Programs will be funded through state grants and they have already secured funding for training personnel as well. The skate park is also planning on breaking ground and starting construction this year. Commissioner Purdy mentioned that they are also looking for grants to improve Packer John Park. Julie mentioned the transit bus stops right there too.
After lunch, the commissioners had a meeting with Prosecutor Chris Boyd over the phone, with many of the department heads present, to discuss Boyd’s resignation and contract. Boyd submitted his resignation effective Monday. He will not be a resident of the county going forward. He said that since there were fewer than three attorneys qualified for his position residing within the county that the commissioners could make a resolution saying that they have made this finding. If they do this, that would allow them to be able to hire him as an employee (as opposed to an elected official) until they find someone suitable. He said he would still be able to come up once a week and provide the same level of services, although at a distance. Iveson asked if the department heads present had any questions. Building Inspector Williams asked if he would still be available. Sheriff Zollman asked if the contract could specify that he would be here two days a week. Commissioner Purdy said they have been looking for six months for a replacement and haven’t found anyone yet. Meredith Fisher asked if there will be any changes on the other attorneys they are subcontracting with. There were also concerns about how he would be classified for HR purposes. Boyd said the only thing that changes is he would be an employee. Commissioner Ward was concerned that they would be going from a full time elected official to a part time employee, but paying them the same. Boyd said he would not be part time, he would still be full time, but partly remote. Sherry Ward asked if they find a person who wants to be the prosecuting attorney for the county do they have to go through the election process or can they hire them this same way as an employee? Boyd said since they had done the resolution they would be able to do that, he also said “If you don’t like me you can fire me.” Commissioner Ward said he is a firm believer that the prosecutor be answerable to the people, not to the Board of County Commissioners. “I do not feel it right for someone doing the contract stuff to have the same benefits as the elected official.” Commissioner Purdy said that employees get benefits and he would now be an employee. Sherry Ward mentioned one benefit he will get that he wasn’t getting now is unemployment, elected officials do not get unemployment. Boyd said he would be willing to waive any unemployment or cobra benefits as he is not asking for that. Commissioner Purdy motioned that they accept the resignation. Then they motioned and approved the resolution. The commissioners then approved his employment contract. Commissioner Ward still had some reservations and did not motion on the employment contract.
Kerstin Dettrich, with The Land Group, had called in to the meeting via phone and asked the commissioners about the request from Meadows Valley Fire to de-annex Brundage from Meadows Valley Ambulance District. The commissioners said they are not in any position to de-annex right now and there are certain deadlines that would have had to be met that will not happen for this year. Sherry Ward mentioned they asked for a meeting in their letter. Commissioner Iveson said if they are going to have a meeting they need to have Brundage there, and their legal there, and every homeowner in the area that they are de-annexing needs to be notified as well. Commissioner Purdy thought they needed to send them a letter saying it’s not possible to do this year anyway. Commissioner Ward said they should meet with the prosecutor in executive session during the next time he was available.
Next the commissioners decided to amend a resolution saying that county employees could not tip more than 15% for meal expenses when getting reimbursed. Apparently there was an issue where an employee tipped more than the cost of the meal. Iveson said not with taxpayer money!
After addressing some other routine business there was a meeting with Planning and Zoning to review the subdivision Ordinance 2006-11. Meredith Fisher, with Planning and Zoning, had an updated draft for the commissioners. She said once they liked it they should take it to legal to check over, and then after that put it in the paper and arrange public comment. She spoke with a resident who was in favor of the old ordinance who explained to her that ranchers are land rich and money poor, and that sometimes they need a way to get rid of some land and get some cash. They all discussed several aspects of the ordinance. One part that was of concern was a section allowing up to four splits of more than 40 acres at one time through administrative means. Once you get to more then five splits it would have to be a planned unit development. The commissioners weren’t sure if this made sense in regards to some of the bigger lots. Fisher suggested the other thing they could do is zones, and have different density requirements for different zones, to which Commissioner Purdy promptly replied “nope, not doing that!” She said that was socialism and would destroy property values. Commissioner Iveson said that the reason this was in place was to keep ag land ag. Commissioner Purdy was conflicted, on one hand, she said she wanted to preserve large parcels and the reason that many live up here is for the low density and to be rural. But on the other hand, the one thing that destroys agriculture is regulation. Iveson said they are in a very tight spot, the rancher wants to protect ag, but if they protect ag, they take farmers rights away, so where is the line? Commissioner Ward thought they should consult with attorney True Pearce as he had some experience in this area. “To preserve someone’s property rights we have to take away someone else’s property rights,” said Ward, “all of us are huge property rights people, that’s well known. “Finding that balance is very difficult and Ward thought they needed some legal advice before deciding on anything.
Iveson thought they should leave the original verbiage regarding the over 40 acres at one time, because they haven’t had very many problems with it but they might be opening up a huge can of worms if they take it away and cause all sorts of unforeseen issues. Fisher agreed “We trade a hypothetical problem for an even bigger problem.” However, the commissioners did decide to change the verbiage to 40 acres or over instead of over 40 acres. “I think it’s the most logical thing we can come up with that doesn’t screw everybody over,” said Commissioner Purdy.
The commissioners went through the other proposed changes and made some minor edits. Some of the material they decided should really be part of a policy handbook instead of the subdivision ordinance. Fisher said she would make the edits and bring the commissioners the revised version for next week, and if they approved of it then they would send it to legal for review.
