P&Z, disaster services request new vehicles from BOCC

WALLACE –– Last week, the Shoshone County Commissioners met with the county’s Planning and Zoning Administrator Dan Martinsen to discuss purchasing new vehicles for both P&Z and the county’s disaster services department.  

According to Martinsen, with the expansion of P&Z to now include a building inspector/code enforcer, an additional vehicle is required. Meanwhile, the current truck used by disaster services is 20 years old, has had numerous repairs made on it, and currently requires additional work to make it safe.  

Martinsen presented the commissioners with three bids from area automotive dealerships, with bids for each vehicle ranging from $26,000 to $47,000.  

According to Martinsen, P&Z’s budget for 2024/25 included no money set aside for capital improvements, and they were asked to investigate grant opportunities to potentially cover the costs of additional vehicles.  

Martinsen explained that the bids he sought after were for mid-sized, super crew pickups that allow drivers to access the more remote areas of Shoshone County.  

The commissioners, who have been very careful about how the county spends any of its available funds asked Colleen Rosson, the county’s grant administrator, what processes needed to be done for them to use available grant funds to purchase the vehicles.  

Rosson told the commissioners that the county does have the funding available to pay for the vehicles in its remaining CARES Act grant funds.  

According to Rosson, the normal process is to simply take the lowest bids, unless there is a valid reason to consider the higher offers. In this case, the county has historically utilized Chevrolet and Dodge products, but the lowest bids they received were for Ford products.  

James Corning, who was recently hired as the county’s new building inspector/code enforcer, implored the county consider the nature of the job before simply accepting the low bid.  

“I’ve been in a couple inspection spots where I wasn’t sure I was going to make it up the driveway or out of the driveway,” Corning said. “And that’s just mud. We’re in the snow climate now and I’m doing all of the county’s inspections.”  

Corning’s concerns are valid. Cities are responsible for their own building inspections, not the county. So much of where Corning is working is in more remote areas where road maintenance and plowing are not prioritized.  

Rosson agreed with Corning and Martinsen, explaining that if the county is already equipped or familiar with working on certain makes of vehicles, that would constitute a valid reason to consider one of the higher bids.  

The commissioners tabled their decision until they had an opportunity to review the bids and further discuss their funding options with Rosson.  

    Martinsen