SANDPOINT — The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office has been approved to purchase a mobile app after being denied twice by county commissioners. The commissioners also approved the transfer of noxious weed funds and heard from multiple public commentors. 

Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler presented the Idaho Connect Agreement, an agreement to create and maintain a mobile app, for the third week in a row. The read-only app will allow officers to share updates of events in real time.  

The agreement was originally tabled twice due to uncertainties with the app’s privacy policy.  

“[The app] does not share, sell or mine data. The only data collected is anonymous use of information to help the Bonner County Sheriff's Office improve its services and ensure the app remains as useful as possible to the community, addressing key concerns,” Wheeler read from an email sent by the Sheriff Connect administration. 

The agreement will cost $8,467.25, with costs to be divided amongst the sheriff’s office, Bonner County Jail, Marine Division and Bonner Dispatch.  

The motion passed with unanimous approval with commissioners Brian Domke, Asia Willians and Ron Korn all voting in favor.  

Two agenda items were presented to the board by noxious weed director Chase Youngdahl. The two items were dependent on each other. For the first action item, Youngdahl sought approval to transfer $15,947 from one budget to another.  

The shifting of funds was requested to allow for Youngdahl to contract out summer work instead of hiring a seasonal employee. The change in personnel would run as a trial for one year and would require no additional funds.  

The first action item passed with unanimous approval from all three commissioners.  

The second agenda item requested the approval of a roadside spraying agreement of $45.19 per lane mile. Because the first agenda item was approved, Youngdahl was able to request the use of funds to pay a contractor the allotted amount per mile.  

The second action item passed with unanimous approval from the commissioners. 

During public comment, Jennifer Arn shared that Idaho House Bill 101 will be presented to the House Transportation and Defense Committee today, Feb. 26, at 1:30 p.m. The bill — a revision of Senate Bill 1258 — regards the abandonment of roads and public rights-of-way, according to a statement of purpose. According to the proposed bill, replacement public access must be provided before the abandonment is completed.  

Arn encourages community members to email Transportation and Defense Committee members before the slotted meeting time.  

“It would just show that public access is public interest for the state of Idaho,” said Arn. “We've lost so much already. We can prevent that from happening [by putting] those extra protections in right now. It is absolutely critical that we do this.” 

Committee member emails can be found at https://tinyurl.com/bp9k682m.