Hi Emma,,

Happy summer! I have a lot of information to share with you this month, so I'll get right into it.

Public Works works for you!

What do mosquitos, weeds, and road work have in common? Not only do they drive humans crazy, they also make for a busy summer at Bannock County Public Works.

Our Public Works department is in charge of Mosquito Abatement, Noxious Weed Control, and Road & Bridge maintenance. These three divisions operate at full force during the summer months. Let me tell you what they've been up to lately.

The Bannock County Mosquito Abatement truck is used for fogging campsites and recreation areas.

Mosquito Abatement

This division helps residents control and monitor mosquito populations on public lands and private property.

To prevent mosquitoes from breeding in water, we treat infected waters using backpack sprayers, hand-thrown briquettes, UTVs, and drones. The treatment can be effective for 30 to 180 days, depending on the chemical used.

For adult mosquito populations, we have a seasonal full-time employee who drives around to campsites and recreation areas in the middle of the night and sprays the area with a mosquito fogger. This has to be done at night because most non-target insects, like bees, are asleep or tucked away safely and won't be harmed by the fogging.

An essential part of controlling the mosquito population is monitoring it. Every week, the team traps a few mosquitos to find heavily infested areas and monitor for vector-borne illnesses like West Nile. If West Nile or another illness is found, we will notify the public in a news release (shameless plug to sign up for our news releases here).

If you have a mosquito problem on your property, our team can help find the source and treat infected water, but we can't provide barrier sprays to private property. The best way to prevent a mosquito infestation is to make sure you don't have any stagnant (or untreated) water on your property, including water troughs, bird baths, and swimming pools. For questions, give us a call at 208-236-7409.

An abundance of Dyer's Woad (above) has been seen all around Bannock County this year.

Noxious Weed Control

The Noxious Weed Control division identifies noxious weeds and determines the best way to manage them. This summer, they're especially busy mitigating the infestation of Dyer's Woad (pictured above).

Our team has treated all county properties, including roadways, using physical, chemical, biological, and mechanical methods.

Additionally, we've partnered with Hammond Helicopter to use their helicopter to treat county properties our team could not access via ATV and UTV -- like the McCammon Landfill, Virginia Pit, Myers Pit, and the Philbin gravel pits. We are also working with surrounding agencies to find ways to help mitigate this noxious weed across the county.

If you find Dyer’s Woad on your property, our Noxious Weed Control can provide information on how to treat it and what chemicals you can safely use to prevent further spread. Call our office at 208-236-7407.

Bannock County's grader flattens and smooths the dirt roads in the county.

Road & Bridge

With 466 miles of road to maintain, our Road & Bridge crews have a big responsibility.

This spring, they repaired guardrails and dirt roads, and now they're focusing on chip sealing more than 31 miles of paved roads in Bannock County (outside of city limits).

Chip sealing is when liquid asphalt is applied to seal the road. Then, a layer of chipped rock coated with asphalt is applied to protect the seal and help improve driver traction. Once applied, the chip seal protects the road from becoming brittle and losing its ability to bend and flex.

Chip sealing is expected to be complete by mid-July. Then, crews will move on to paving roads with a cold and hot mix overlay. This process layers fresh asphalt over a worn-out road to improve its condition.

You can see the 2024 road maintenance schedule here.

Please remember to pay attention to warning signs, lights, and flagger instructions to keep our road crews safe.

Don't forget about the Landfill's Summer Programs:

A Minute with your Elected Official

Commissioner Ernie Moser

This month, Bannock County Commissioner Ernie Moser tells us about three major projects happening in Bannock County this year.

Read about the upgrades happening at the Fairgrounds in Downey, the improvements to our ADA entrance at the courthouse, and a new facility for the children involved in the Youth Development Center.

Budget Process Update

In our last newsletter, I explained the county's budget process. Well, we are moving right along with crafting the FY25 budget.

In June, department heads met with the Clerk and Commission to present their budget requests (you can watch all of those on our YouTube page). On June 25th, the Commission and Clerk held a meeting to recap how those presentations went. You can watch that meeting here.

The next steps in the process are:

July 11 — Clerk proposes his recommended budget to the Board of Commissioners.

July 22-30 — Budget work sessions between the Clerk and Commission to make alterations to the Clerk’s recommended budget.

July 31 — The deadline for the Board of Commissioners to complete a proposed budget for publication for public review.

August 27 — The public hearing for the FY25 Budget will be held at 11 a.m. at the courthouse. At this meeting, the Board may vote to officially approve the budget or delay it until no later than the second Monday in September.

I'll have another update for you in our August newsletter; stay tuned!

Board of Equalization

Last month, property owners in Bannock County received their assessment notices, informing them of their property's current value for tax purposes. If they did not agree with their assessed value, they had the opportunity to speak with the Assessor's Office or appeal to the Board of Equalization.

Here's a breakdown of how the 2024 BOE period is going so far:

274 people spoke with the Assessor's Office, either in person or on the phone.

25% of those who spoke with the Assessor's Office were commercial property owners

48 people appealed their property's assessed value to the Board of Equalization

BOE hearings will continue until Monday, July 8. You can watch those hearings on our YouTube page. It's possible some appellants will come to an agreement with the Assessor's Office and cancel their hearing before the end of the BOE period.

I'll provide another update on this in next month's newsletter after the BOE period has officially ended.

Open Burn Ban

The National Interagency Fire Center predicts an above-normal potential for wildfires in Bannock County and southern Idaho this summer due to "fine fuel growth" and a dry June.

Please help prevent wildfires this summer by adhering to the county-wide burn ban. The ban starts on July 1st and will be in effect until October.

No open burning within a Wildland-Urban Interface

No fireworks within a Wildland-Urban Interface

No aerial fireworks anywhere unless for an approved professional display

No recreational fires - unless in a commercial gas or fire pit - within a Wildland-Urban Interface

See where Bannock County's Wildland-Urban Interfaces are using this map

If you have questions about the burn ban or fireworks, you should contact your local fire department or district.

Don't miss this:

ICYMI

In this picture, members of the Greater Interagency Fire Front gather to begin a training exercise to review a coordinated response to a wildfire.

During this training, Bannock County conducted a test of the Wireless Emergency Alert system, which sends text alerts to people in a specific area about an emergency and how to protect themselves.