Ireland will run to reclaim commissioner's post

Calvin Ireland has announced his intention to seek to regain his seat on the Elmore County Board of Commissioners.

Ireland, a Republican, served one four-year term on the board, then was defeated in the last election by Democrat Connie Cruser, who rode an organized opposition to the commissioners' dairy decisions into office.

"She's a nice lady," Ireland said, "but I want my job back."

Prior to serving on the board of commissioners Ireland had been a member of the county Planning and Zoning Commission for nine years.

Ireland anticipates that major issues he expects to see come up during the next term will focus on law enforcement, garbage collection in the county, road development, and more agricultural issues, "not just dairies."

"I'd like to see more energy production, such as windmills" for the county, Ireland said, "and improved Idaho Power transmission lines to areas of the county short of power."

Ireland said he'd also like to work on getting more public involvement in the commissioner's decisions. "Not just the hot-button issues. The day to day issues are just as important, maybe even more so, than the hot-button issues," he said.

Ireland believes his experience and understanding of the county are important. "I think I did a good job and I think I can do so again," he said.

There are a lot of issues he believes need to be addressed.

"Recreation is a big thing in Elmore County. We get a lot of people coming in from Boise to enjoy the opportunities available here. I think they should pay for some of it, the roads, trash collection. I opened a dialogue (when he was commissioner) with Ada County about doing something to help, and they were receptive, but it sort of dropped off the radar" after he left office.

He believes it is important to improve city-county relations. Mountain Home, he noted, is one third of the county, "and nobody from the county is attending city council meetings. I think we should be there to listen and answer questions. We should be involved."

Ireland said when he served as a commissioner he felt that he had been a positive force in helping bring a "more professional" ambulance service to the county. He admitted it didn't save a great deal of money, but the quality of care and training available today is much better than it was before.

Ireland also is upset over what he calls the timeliness of decisions by the commissioners. "When I was a commissioner if an issue came before me I tried to resolve it in a timely manner.

"You may not like the answer, but you'll get one. You won't be kept hanging on. People come in with a problem, they need an answer. They're owed an answer."

A wind power ordinance, he said as an example of timeliness, is needed, but "it's taken 14 months of non-action to happen."

The new CAFO ordinance being proposed by the county, he said, looks a lot like the one he helped develop, except it adds an extra half mile of separation between any confined animal feeding operation, such as a dairy, and residential development.

Ireland also sees increasing infrastructure stresses on the county as the population grows, especially in areas like Mayfield, where roads and police protection are inadequate, he believes.

"We need more road deputies. We don't have enough right now," he said. "It takes too long for a deputy at one end of the county to get to the other end when they're needed."

Ireland sees explosive growth coming to the county as more and more developments are proposed, especially in the western end of the county, "and we're going to have to have the infrastructure in place to deal with it. Improved roads and more deputies are just the beginning."