Enterprise The Idaho
Oneida County's News Since 1879
Malad City, Idaho
County Growth
January 6, 2022 |Vol. 142 No. 01
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2021 YEAR IN REVIEW
One of the major issues throughout 2021 was the prospect of county growth. While the influx of new residents into the valley hasn’t been massive, it has been noticeable. School enrollment numbers have rebounded from 2020, and suggest a growing younger population. Housing developments have become a subject of discussion at Planning and Zoning meetings, and have intersected with a new Development Code put into place by the County over the course of the year. A distinction between different types and sizes of subdivisions created some growing pains for developers looking to bring new housing possibilities into the valley. Among them, the subdivision proposed by Brad Hess on Highway 38 became the focal point of discussions about the approval process for what are termed “major subdivisions” (a lot with more than 4 splits from the original parcel), as opposed to “minor subdivisions.” Over the course of the year, the process itself, as well as the effect of the City’s “Impact Zone” became major points of discussion. The “Impact Zone” refers to the area
outside the city limits where the city anticipates growth moving forward, which affects the zoning approval process for both the city and the county. As a result of the confusion experienced while transitioning from the county’s older Development Code to the new one, the city and county have planned to meet more frequently to discuss the current state of the Impact Zone and other zoning issues. Growth also made itself felt in the City itself, as the property south of the City Park also became a topic of discussion, with a number of proposals for its future use. Currently, there are several possibilities for development under consideration. The City’s Wastewater facilities are scheduled to be updated and expanded, as is the county’s trash collection, which will now become a multi-county endeavor under the IDAWY shared landfill out of county. As the year ends, a number of projects—most immediately the renovation of Bannock street—which had been proposed and developed over the year are ready to begin or near completion after the winter ebbs, allowing for construction.
State of the County The following reports were submitted by county individuals in charge of the various departments under the purview of the County Board of Commissioners. ASSESSOR’S OFFICE The staff in the Assessor’s office worked really hard this year to do our jobs and to keep up with the ever-changing needs of the county. We physically inspected about 20% of the parcels in the county. County wide, our overall values went up about 18%. Our improved values went up an average of 30-35%. We had 27 improvements (homes and buildings) put on our Occupancy roll for this year with a value of $4,413,120 being added to our total assessed value. There are several more homes and buildings being built. We had more deeds processed this year than usual as it seemed everyone was buying and selling property. In our Motor Vehicle department, we have shortened the time it takes to do our transactions in the new system the state developed. Although a lot of the bugs have been worked out, there are still some issues that are being resolved. We thank everyone for their patience with that. We also got the new Parks and Recreation system brought in to the office so that we can issue stickers again. Parks & Recreation have added a new 2-year sticker for recreational vehicles. We were excited to have Janet Hoskins join our
staff due to an open position. She is a great asset to the Assessor’s Office. 4-CASI FOUR COUNTY ALLIANCE OF SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO Brief overview of economic development in Oneida County: Over the last couple years there have been Idaho Gem grants that have benefited businesses in our county. Western Fabrication awarded a grant of $40,000 for upgrading power to their new facility. CJ's Travel Stop on exit 3, received a grant to improve the frontage road leading to their business. Economic development is challenging for rural communities and metro areas as well. As an economic development organization, (4 CASI) Four County Alliance of S.E. Idaho has been successful in supporting the local businesses and helping manufacturers and other businesses improve and expand, which means more employment of local residents, which increases our tax base. Sincerely Oneida County Clerk Overall, this past year has been good. My deputy clerks in the courts and in the auditor/recorder office have stepped up to the challenge of helping citizens in this new and changing enSTATE OF THE COUNTY On Page 2
Precipitation
Speaking of winter, last year’s January 14th issue reported on the low precipitation totals for 2020, which have already been beaten for 2021 without December fully reported yet…though not by much. 2020 had a final precipitation total of 12.33 inches, while 2021 reported 13.18 excluding December (the unofficial precipitation number for December is 1.75 inches). Considering the snowfall over the last several weeks, it’s likely that the total will end up being above the Mean precipitation for the valley since 2001 of 14.33 inches. The increase isn’t enough to radically change the outlook for this year in terms of water storage, but it’s worth noting that there is an increase, rather than a decrease. A temperature forecast for 2022 has not been released by the National Weather Service yet, but last year’s totals are in, and if you thought it was hotter you weren’t imagining it. The average temperature over 2021 was 48.7, up from 47.4 the prior year, but not as high as the stand out years of 2015 or 2000, with average temperatures in the 50s. July was 2021’s hottest month, with
a temperature average of 76.5, and the coldest month was January, with a 26.4 average. The latter seems likely on its way to repeating itself, as temperatures have so far been extremely cold the first few days of the year.
Fires
With cold at one end of the spectrum, high summer temperatures represent the other, and with them, the perennial threat of wildfires. Wildfires across the region played a big part in the air quality of the valley during many of the summer months as the US experienced one of the worst fire seasons on record. Large fires in Oregon, California, Washington, and northern Idaho filled our part of the state with weeks worth of constant, low-lying smoke. In July, the Governor declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard to aid firefighters in Idaho and surrounding states. By the end of August, the fires had mostly died down across the west, but surely promise to return with the hot weather. 2021 YEAR IN REVIEW On Page 3
State of the City By Mayor Joan Hawkins In the spring of 2022, construction will begin on the new Malad City Wastewater System. The process has been long and arduous. The City is grateful for their engineers, JUB, under the direction of Alan Giesbrecht and Jon Farrell. The JUB team also includes Matt Uranga, a lagoon and land application expert. The superintendent and crew noticed problems at the present lagoons as early as 2010. In 2015, the City received a planning grant by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Since then, JUB has investigated the system and developed a plan for the City. Building a new system is expensive. In working with DEQ, and in looking at all of the alternatives, which included trying to “fix” the present lagoon system, JUB has developed a plan that will meet the needs of Malad City for the future – and which the mayor and council believe is the best plan for the City. However, infrastructure cannot just be built and then ignored. To keep a system viable, it must be upgraded and improved consistently to follow federal and state guidelines and to continue to meet the needs of the citizens. Sewer rates had to be dramatically raised in order to pay for the system and for the future operation. We understand that this is a burden for many of our citizens; however, after conducting a rate study and following guidelines of Rural De-
velopment, the rate increase was not as much as initially expected. Because of the pandemic, the cost of construction materials increased considerably. The low bid was $3,000,000 over the projected cost. Rural Development has committed funds, and there is still a chance of a further grant from the Army Corps of Engineers. At this time, we don’t know how much of the $3,000,000 will be grant funds and how much will be a loan that will have to be paid back. We are hoping that another raise in rates will not be necessary to pay for this system. In any event, the City will raise rates slowly over the years so that another large increase should not have to be requested. Even so, it is impossible to see into the future. We are planning as best we can, with the information that we have, and the mayor and council have tried to be cognizant of the financial and physical well-being of our citizens. The new system will take two years to complete, including construction and seepage testing. In the meantime, the City will continue to use the old lagoons and systematically bring in the new system. On a brighter note, the City was awarded grants by the Idaho Department of Commerce and the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation for a new reSTATE OF THE CITY On Page 8