County Commissioners - 9.16.22

The County Commissioners third meeting in September was marked by a handful of contentious talking points. The Commissioners began working down the list of action items, approving a refund for over appraised land. The commissioners also notably approved a consultant agreement with Moreton and Company, approved a $7,230 bid project to resurface the acrylic coating on the courthouse, approved the number of ballots to be provided for the county’s upcoming November election, and accepted an IPSCC grant providing just over $600k to the county.

The commissioners also heard from department heads who by and large provided positive reports. Mitra Mehta-Cooper of Land Use and Development thanked the Commissioners for their ongoing support, acknowledged expected backlog in her department, and thanked the Commissioners for their patience and understanding. She cited the influx of development to Elmore County due to projects such as the new Micron development proposed in Boise that would trigger an uptick in Elmore County residents.

In news on dumping, the Commissioners called Andy Dodge of Precision Tree on the record to address their concerns regarding his alleged dumping of restricted by-products. He responded defensively and claimed that he had not participated in any such illegal dumping, though he also stated that he was unaware of whether or not the restricted waste that was dumped was by-product of his company’s work. Regarding illegal dumping in Pine, a first ticket was finally written and a court date given to an individual who was found illegally dumping waste.

In what was perhaps the most notable portion of the meeting, representatives Pat Momont and Barbara Petty met in-person with the County Commissioners to address concerns held by the Commissioners that led to the denial of signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Idaho to host an extension office in Elmore County.

An expounded and more detailed timeline of the events leading up to, and following this can be found in the article titled “Elmore County Commissioners name Stipulation for MOU with U of I”.