Meeting Minutes
January 28, 2019

Attendees

Staff and Guests

Welcome and Introductions

Mayor Stear welcomed everyone to Kuna and Enrique’s Mexican Restaurant. He welcomed new Ada County Commissioner, Diana Lachiondo to the Partnership.

Open Discussion

Annual Planning Meeting

Bill indicated that he had heard from all but a few of the members. April 5, 12 and 18 were the days that fit with most everyone. After discussion it was decided to hold the planning meeting on April 12 from 9am – 3pm. He suggested holding it at the Nampa Civic Center.

Bill asked people to think about topics and route suggestions to him. He indicated he would like to leave at least half of the time for open discussion.

John mentioned the Air Quality Board has an Director opening and they will be discussing next steps for the Board over the next 60 days.

Legislature

AIC foster’s their relationship with the legislature with a few key stakeholders. Senator Jim Rice is the Chair of the Local Government Committee in the Senate. This committee has traditionally been the backstop for legislation that comes out.

Crisis Center Funding

Tammy had heard the funding for Crisis Centers might go away.

Tom said the frustration has been, the Crisis Centers that have been set up to date have not generated additional funding according to the original plan. The one in Canyon County already has a funding mechanism set up so that after the initial 2 years of State funding, they have contributions committed from Cities, Counties and the hospitals to name a few sources. John indicated the one in Ada County does not have alternative funding set up.

Diana mentioned in Ada County, the Allenbaugh House services have been linked to being becoming Medicaid eligible. If that happens, Ada County can then free up some services to the Crisis Center.

Medicaid Expansion

Representative Wood has a proposal that would take out the indigent fund levy but would not remove the statute. This puts counties in a bind because things like involuntary mental health services would still be part of the county obligation.

Tom said there he has heard a couple different things in this regard. One would be to alter the Sales Tax Revenue formula to pay for Medicaid.

Annexation of Farm Ground

Representative Kirby sent out an email asking about the pros and cons of HB 25 (Annexation of Ag Parcels 5 Acres or Greater, Owner Consent Required). Nathan said, for small cities that a surrounded by ag land, he thinks it is a death nail. He doubts they could get written permission to allow for annexation unless the farm was purchased by a developer.

John said that AIC is not opposing this legislation. There is no practical impact. On face value it takes some authority away from cities. But there are other remedies for the landowner through another section of the code.

The one to watch has been introduced by Rep. Zollinger (HB 128).

Chloe’s Heart

Joe introduced Julie Lesmeister, the Founder and Director of Chloe’s Heart. Chloe’s Heart was named after her daughter who was born with a heart condition. When Chloe was 8 years old, she indicated she wanted to be able to give a Christmas gift to every child in the hospital.

At that point, friends and family rallied together and raised $1,700 for the cause in the first year. They put together a nonprofit organization and the following year they raised $17,000 to give children in the hospital a gift for Christmas. This last year they bought toys for St. Luke’s and St. AL’s and a Hospital in North Dakota where Chloe was born.

Joe said that Chloe is the sweetest little child you could ever hope to meet. It is very humbling for him to see a child that cares that much and wants to give to other children. He asked the members if they have any ideas that would be helpful to them, please do not hesitate to contact them.

Tammy asked if they have worked with the American Heart Assn. They have booths available at their Go Red for Women even in February. Julie said they have been in contact with the American Heart Assn. and are working with them on a few items.

Boise River Enhancement Network (BREN)

Michael Homza indicated they are a network of people that live, work and play in the Boise River watershed dedicated to promoting the ecological enhancement of the river.

They are here to offer their support to Treasure Valley communities and to solicit support that the TVP members can provide them. In the spirit of collaboration, they bring a wide variety of experts to issues on the Boise River.

Tamsen Binggeli said the BREN was established in 2011 after a workshop called “Boise River – Vision to Reality” which was attended by approx. 160 people. There were a couple main issues that came as a result of the workshop 1) The Boise River is impaired. With the growing population of the valley, there is more and more pressure being put on the river and its resources. 2) There is a need for a watershed group to focus on enhancement issues and to create an enhancement plan.

Shortly after they were formed, they were able to get a grant from the Bureau of Reclamation to develop an Enhancement Plan.

The Enhancement Plan describes the status of the river, the key issues and potential enhancement solutions and is a collaborative approach among stakeholders. The main issues along the river are.

Channel Confinement. The river is pretty much confined to its channel, primarily due to the development along the river. This limits the extent of the riparian area along the river. A complex system would have lots of wood, rocks and side channels where fish can hide and rest.

Temperature, sediment and phosphorous pollution. She indicated we are all familiar with these issues. They are active in advocating for sprinkler and drip irrigation and for increasing vegetation and trees along the river to keep the temperature of the river cooled during the hot summer months.

Invasive Species. There has been a big problem with invasive species along the river and they have been working with flood control districts and others to address this problem.

Nathan asked if the group has been in contact with ITD at all. The reason he asked is the Hwy. 95 bridge just east of Parma was acting as a Dam during the high-water flows during the spring two years ago. They have been talking about replacing that bridge when really all they must do is excavate about 3-4 feet of the gravel bar which is in the middle of the river. Tamsen indicated they do have a representative from Flood District 10 on their coalition but haven’t really been active at addressing this issue.

Phil Bandy said one of the things they try to focus on is education. They have an outreach program where they hold meetings and float trips to help educate stakeholders along the river. They also try to be a catalyst for increasing the scientific expertise on issues associated the river.

They offer their group to the members and staff of the Treasure Valley Partnership. They are able to help with a wide variety of issues that come up with regard to the River.

John moved to approve the minutes and financial report, Nathan seconded. Motion approved.