• Commissioner Mike Lane was sworn in as County Commissioner from District 1. He replaces Doug Atchley who served two terms as commissioner. Commissioners are limited to two, four-year terms.
• Commissioner Don Suppes was elected by fellow commissioners to serve as chair on the board. Until recently, commissioners have rotated the chair position but Commissioner Mark Roeber declined, for the third time, to serve opting again for Vice Chair.
• Effective January 7, the County Commissioners’ Business Meetings will be held on the first and third Tuesday of each month, which is a change from previous schedule of the first and third Monday. Meetings begin at 8:30 am in Room 236 of the Courthouse. Newly elected Board Chair, Don Suppes, cited the need to better accommodate public notice in the event of an agenda change that might occur late in the week or over the weekend.
• Commissioners gave the planning department the go-ahead to handle an egg-storage warehouse development application off of HWY 92 as a minor specific development, bypassing the Planning Commission and the public meeting process. Commissioner Chair Suppes asked planning to be sure to clarify road access permitting questions, which were ambiguous in planning’s proposal. The applicant, Fairfield Specialty Eggs, purchased the property located halfway between Hotchkiss and Delta on Hwy 92 from Cox Enterprises (formerly owned by Kootenai Log Homes).
• Commissioners approved two additional TDS communications towers (50-plus foot poles with mounted dishes) in Cedaredge. Several residents complained to Commissioners about health and other concerns posed by electromagnetic field emissions from, what they termed as, outdated technology. Resident Dawn Sudmeier, who suffers from several unique health conditions, proposed moving the tower slated for placement close to her home a little to the north so that she might avoid some of the exposure. Her request was not discussed by Commissioners or TDS representatives who spent much of their time citing industry specifications describing low risks and unproven health dangers.