County Looking for New IT Solution
On Tuesday, November 6th, the Adams County Commissioners met at the Adams County Courthouse. All commissioners were present. First on the agenda was county building inspector Kody Williams, who discussed with the commissioners potential repairs to the Legion Hall and Exhibit Hall. They decided to accept a bid for flooring but put the rest on hold. They decided they would use some of the funds from the Forest Service as they came through for repairs. They also discussed the ordinance Williams was working on and changed some wording. Williams said there was no way to measure a safe amount of mold, so they took the part about mold out. Next a public hearing will be set for the ordinance.
Channel Sanderson and Patrick McMahon, from Council Computers, came in with a proposal for services. They presented the commissioners with a list of the services they were able to offer. They said they currently do work for the Council School District, Two Rivers Clinic in Weiser, and the city. They started two years ago and are growing. They thanked the commissioners for considering them and proposed a six month contract to try them out. “We’re in town, we’re local, and we can be here at a moment’s notice,” said Sanderson.
Next came Meredith Fisher, with Planning and Zoning. The commissioners discussed with her the land that would be going up for sale from the city and getting appraisal values on the lots. The county is considering purchasing one of the lots and doing a partial swap with the city for land near the clinic. She also discussed a variance application that was recommended for denial due to there being an alternative building site, the letter from Brundage saying they were up and running, which she said was very spartan, and rockpits.
Steve Shelton, with Solid Waste, was not able to make the meeting, but commissioner Daren Ward gave a quick update and said the pond liner was in, but they would have to wait until spring to put the sand layer in. It sounded like they might also have to wait until spring to put the fence in, which was somewhat worrying to the commissioners.
Adam Balderson, with Road and Bridge, said he received a phone call from CAT that they have a loader that is a lease return from McCall and were wondering if Adams County was interested. They set interview times for the open Road and Bridge positions. Commissioner Ward noticed that they had a current county employee who had put in for one of open jobs and he said that he would rather see current employees in good standing promoted then hiring new people.
After this, Lisa Schneider came to talk about the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge. She said the 100 and 200 mile will both have finishes at the Wye. There will be no 300 mile this year because of fire damage along the trail. Many bridges were burned out. The 200 is still a qualifier for the Iditarod. Set up will be Feb. 2 and takedown Feb. 5th. In the future, they are also looking into a backup route that goes between Yellow Pine and Stanley in case there isn’t enough snow.
Next, Bill Hearold and other residents from Little Weiser Rd came to discuss issues they have been having with the Forest Service. For years their winter access has been through a Forest Service road where there is an artifact site so they were previously only allowed to use it during winter. However, after the Lava Fire the road was decommissioned and the Forest Service moved some large boulders to block access. Hearold said they never received notification, and there was no NEPA act filed, and Council District Ranger, Jeff Jones, has not been responding to them. They are concerned about the boulders blocking emergency access, especially for the children that live up there. The Forest Service told them they couldn’t even take a horse and wagon up the road. In the past they have only used it for winter travel because they respect the artifact site. The alternative route is much longer on much more Forest Service road and becomes very difficult to travel during the winter. The commissioners were sympathetic and said they would do their best to get something worked out with the Forest Service. They recommended Hearold come back next week when the Forest Service would be there so they could all discuss it. The commissioners also thought they would request a list of decommissioned roads and trails from the Forest Service. Sheriff Ryan Zollman came in then, and also stated that he was angry about the roads and that their access was really being limited due to all the decommissioned roads and trails.
There are 20 state inmates and three county. Sheriff Zollman said they are currently short on staff. There were two unfortunate deaths in Indian Valley on Thursday, a husband and wife were found deceased in the house. Zollman said it was good to have the new Undersheriff and his experience with homicide to help them rule out foul play. Zollman said they have had several vehicle fatalities as well. “It’s been a rough fall so far.”
Commissioner Daren Ward thanked Zollman for his help catching the person responsible for the theft at the Thrifty Shoppe. This had been upsetting to Ward as the Thrifty Shoppe was “the one store in town that gives everything back to the community.” Sheriff Zollman said it turned out to be the same suspect from the burglary at the Recycle Center.
Next, Keith Markley came to talk about election codification and having paper ballots to back up elections. He proposed an ordinance saying that Adams County shall maintain paper ballots in all elections and any electronic voting equipment shall require either a paper ballot or a paper receipt. The ordinance shall not be used to prohibit electronic voting equipment but to maintain a paper trail. Commissioner Joe Iveson said that technically this is how it already is done here, but they do want to maintain this. County Clerk Sherry Ward said that she liked this better. They discussed how things went with the recent election, how they need more volunteers to help count, and ways to speed up the process as the county grows. Markley said his main concern was that they maintain a paper trail. Everyone agreed this was a good idea and they decided to set a hearing for the ordinance.
After this, they canvased the votes for the November 5, 2024 election.
