Bonner County budget workshop: staff win small increases, pursue grant to replace inefficient Parks truck

Bonner County elected officials and Parks and Waterways staff on Tuesday discussed a series of modest changes to the department’s draft budget, including a $1,000 restoration to the Garfield Bay campground-host contract, an added $1,000 for vehicle fuel, a proposal to set the trash line at about $1,200 and creation of separate cleaning-supplies lines for Garfield Bay and Bonner Park West.

The changes are meant to stop what staff described as “leakage” from recurring operating lines while officials pursue a grant to replace an aging Parks truck that staff say is costly to operate. Staff also moved money between existing maintenance and contract lines to pay a seasonal cleaner and to make spending traceable by park.

Staff presented line-by-line details to the Bonner County commissioners and requested several small adjustments to the Parks and Waterways budget. The most immediate, agreed-upon items included restoring the Garfield Bay campground-host line to roughly $9,000 to cover host weeks cut this season; adding about $1,200 to the county’s garbage/trash account to reflect historical usage and occasional overflow charges; and increasing vehicle fuel by $1,000 after staff reported unusually high fuel spending this season.

Parks and Waterways staff described how garbage costs for two park locations have averaged about $980–$1,080 in past years and said overflow charges — extra fees when a dump site is full — have pushed costs higher in some months. Staff recommended setting the annual trash budget nearer $1,200 to avoid shortfalls.

On vehicle costs, staff said they have already spent about $4,200 this calendar year on fuel and asked for a $1,000 bump to the fuel line. The department also explained a longer-term problem: an older GMC Kodiak 4500 service truck used to tow the department boat gets roughly three miles per gallon and requires premium fuel, making routine operations expensive. Parks staff said they applied in January for a grant that would supply a newer tow vehicle (a roughly $70,000 vehicle was mentioned in the workshop) with a county match in the low‑tens of thousands; staff described the potential match to the county at about $21,000 if the grant is awarded. Commissioners said they want to stop the ongoing drainage of the operating budget while the grant outcome is pending.

Staff proposed a new, recurring equipment‑acquisition approach: a $50,000-per-year allocation for five years to buy tools and vehicles (skid steers, mini‑excavators, a suitable crew cab truck) so the department can maintain existing facilities rather than rely on large grant projects. Commissioners asked for more detail and signaled interest in continuing that discussion in a follow-up meeting; no formal decision was made on a multi-year equipment plan.

Campground host pay and cleaning-supplies lines drew extended discussion. Staff said Garfield Bay’s host contract dropped from about $9,000 to $8,000 this year, in part because two weeks were cut; hosts are typically paid about $500 per week and the 2024 contract covered roughly 119 days at about $75 per day. Commissioners agreed to reinstate the line to roughly $9,000 so the department can contract for the expected weeks in the next fiscal year.

Staff also sought to create separate cleaning-supplies lines for each park to improve traceability. Parks staff reported spending about $1,800 on cleaning supplies last year across parks but could not allocate precisely how much went to each site because purchases had been drawn from general maintenance lines. After debate about vandalism and usage patterns — commissioners noted Garfield Bay is used heavily, with multiple permanent restrooms, while Bonner Park West is smaller and has had recurring misuse — the county’s preliminary approach is to assign about $1,000 for Garfield Bay cleaning supplies and $500 for Bonner Park West for the coming budget year, with a promise to revisit figures after a full seasonal cycle.

Waterways staff asked that a regular cleaner’s pay be moved from a maintenance line into a contracts line so the position and spending are visible. Staff planned to shift money from miscellaneous and sign lines into the new contracts line; commissioners asked for documentation of the proposed contract amount and line-item detail before final adoption.

Other topics included signage and navigational markers tied to a pending navigation‑lights grant; commissioners asked staff to itemize likely signage needs and costs so the budget can reflect required match or county responsibilities if the federal or state grant proceeds. Several commissioners also suggested operational options — from increased monitoring to temporary closure of bathrooms or use of portable toilets — if vandalism and misuse continue to drive up costs.

Next steps: staff were directed to update the budget spreadsheets to show the agreed transfers (restore the Garfield Bay host line, add the cleaning-supplies lines, move the cleaner’s pay into contracts and add modest fuel and trash cushions) and to meet with Commissioner Corn and other commissioners for a follow-up. The vehicle replacement remains contingent on grant awards and a county match decision; staff asked commissioners for guidance on appetite for a multi-year equipment-acquisition program and for follow-up meetings to finalize numbers.

The workshop closed with an agreement to reconvene on outstanding details and to work with county procurement and finance staff on the line‑item changes before the next formal budget hearing.