New Prosecuting Attorney; Idaho Power Lawsuit
On Monday, December 16th, the Adams County Commissioners met for their second monthly meeting. District 1 Commissioner, Joe Iveson, was not present.
County building inspector, Kody Williams, had updated bids for work on the Legion Hall for the commissioners to consider. The commissioners approved the flooring bid so they could get going with the work. After this, they had a call from resident Mark Colafranceschi, who was wondering if the commissioners had made any decisions regarding his complaint, which they had not yet. Williams said that if Colafranceschi wanted to, he was welcome to appeal the Building Department’s decision, but that there was a separate process for an appeal.
Dave Herold, with the Weed Department, asked if one of his employees could use the Ford Ranger Truck for his commute to New Meadows. He told the commissioners he thought this was appropriate because the original job description was for a position in Council, not New Meadows, and he also said the truck needs to be driven more. Commissioner Viki Purdy was skeptical. She said that they didn’t let anyone else use a county vehicle. Commissioner Daren Ward also thought that if they didn’t offer that service for any other county employee he would have a hard time doing it for one person, but he thought they should talk again when Commissioner Iveson was back.
Next arrived Meredith Fisher, with Planning and Zoning. Fisher said she had a meeting recently about Brundage that went really well, and she also tried to clear up some confusion regarding sanitary restrictions being lifted on a plat. Another resident will be on the docket in January for boundary line adjustments. Fisher also said she would be going to a FEMA meeting tomorrow.
Then there was a public hearing for a variance application. The Planning and Zoning board had recommended the variance for approval and the commissioners went with that and motioned for approval without conditions.
Steve Shelton, with Solid Waste, said he’s been looking at forklifts. They talked about a few he was interested in. He also updated the commissioners about Brundage, who wanted to beef up their recycling program. They want to borrow some of the county’s containers, fill them, and bring them back full. The county already owns the containers. Shelton said they will be housed inside and he told Brundage they will need covers for transport.
Adam Balderson with Road and Bridge, arrived next, followed by Mesa resident Fran Ogden. Ogden said she has lived on Highland Lane in Mesa since 1980, and when she moved there the county would plow the road. There were some concerns in 1987, but the commissioners at that time wrote her a letter saying that they would continue maintaining the road the same way. They stopped in 2014. Ogden said they didn’t mind at the time because they were going to Arizona for the winter. However, recently her husband suffered some serious injuries and is not able to do it anymore, and she is concerned about being able to get out and take him to doctors appointments. She is asking that the county go back to plowing the road as per the 1987 agreement and has signed a hold harmless agreement for the county. The commissioners asked Balderson if it would be problematic and he said no. The commissioners approved the request. They also discussed the other request for snow plowing, but wanted to wait until Commissioner Iveson was back to make a final decision on that one.
Balderson said that the Oregon Department of Transportation has reached out about wanting to do work on the Oxbow Bridge. They want Adams County to help pay for it and want their approval. There has been controversy about who is responsible for maintenance of the bridge, Idaho Power, Idaho Department of Transportation, and Oregon Department of Transportation are all involved. The commissioners thought they needed to arrange a meeting between all the interested parties and discuss it, and Balderson said he would try to set one for January.
Sheriff Ryan Zollman was sick and vacated his time. County Prosecutor, Chris Boyd, came in to talk instead about the probable new prosecuting attorney, Peter Donovan, whom he was very excited about. The Adams County Republican Central Committee sent an email saying that they interviewed Donovan and were recommending him. Boyd advised the commissioners on some legal technicalities for appointing him, as he will not immediately be a resident of the county. Donovan will have to be a resident before the next election, however, if he wishes to continue. Clerk Sherry Ward confirmed in an email that she expects that Donavon will be sworn in on January 13th.
After this, the commissioners approved several liquor licenses, and then opened a hearing for another variance application. Meredith Fisher, with Planning and Zoning, returned for the hearing and read the Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law for the variance application. Planning and Zoning recommended denial because the request did not meet the conditions for a variance, which she listed out. The commissioners agreed with the findings and motioned to deny the application, although they both added that they hated to tell people where they could and could not build on their own property. They mentioned that perhaps it should go on a list of ordinances that needed to be revisited and possibly changed in the future.
After lunch, the commissioners returned to join a Zoom meeting with other county commissioners and taxing districts to discuss the results of a recent lawsuit. Idaho Power filed a lawsuit against the State Tax Commission for the years of 2019 and 2020. Idaho Power had contested the assessment of their operating properties, and said it was not consistent with other similar utilities, specifically the railroads. The claim was originally dismissed in district court but it was appealed and the Idaho Supreme court reversed the decision. Adams County Clerk, Sherry Ward, said it was her understanding that somewhere in the ballpark of $150,000 needed to go back to Idaho Power from Adams County. During the Zoom meeting, they said the judgment will affect almost every Idaho county and every taxing district within those counties. They have two years to pay it back, and are allowed to do a separate judgment levy to come up with the funds. A judgment levy is not subject to the 3% cap. The commissioners were all extremely disappointed in the results, but did not discuss it at length after the meeting.
