Valley County staff set tentative November move to Cascade Annex; discuss mail, IT, furniture and parking

Valley County officials and department staff on Sept. 11 laid out operational details, timing and remaining tasks for moving several county offices into the Cascade Annex at 700 South Main, targeting a weekend move in early November and a Nov. 3 relocation for the motor-vehicle office (DMV), county staff said.

County leaders said they will keep current mail screening at the courthouse, ask departments to pick up their mail from courthouse boxes, and separate inmate/sheriff mail from general county mail. Staff also reviewed an October window for the new Internet circuit and said they would schedule IT moves several days after the circuit is installed. The group discussed furniture orders, a moving plan that could use Idaho Correctional Industries (ICI) crews, parking-lot repairs that will require an engineering plan and an RFP, and signage and security access at the new facility.

The discussion matters because the move affects public-facing services (DMV, building and planning), internal operations (accounts receivable, filing and records), and safety/logistics (mail screening, parking and access) at a time when staff want to minimize service interruptions.

Most immediate timing and IT details

County staff cited a vendor email reporting a planned circuit installation on Oct. 20 and recommended scheduling the physical move five to seven days after that installation to allow for any delays. Ron Butler, who sent the email update referenced in the meeting materials, wrote that the vendor had scheduled circuit installation for Oct. 20 and recommended a move-in date five to seven days later; meeting participants proposed Nov. 3 as the tentative DMV move-in date to the annex.

Staff said IT ports and data wiring already have been pulled into the annex space and that an IT team member (Jeremy) will complete final patching and testing once walls and finishes are done. The county will coordinate the timing so IT equipment is moved after the circuit is live, and the group discussed allowing at least a week between circuit activation and the physical move.

Mail handling and security

DeFord (identified in the meeting as clerk/treasurer) opened the operational discussion by proposing that current mail-collection and screening procedures remain in place: mail would continue to be collected and delivered to courthouse security for inspection; if no suspicious items are found the courier would distribute to departmental boxes and departments would retrieve their mail from those boxes. Multiple staff raised concern about inmate mail handled by the sheriff’s office and asked that inmate/sheriff mail be routed or separated so county departments do not receive it mixed in with regular county mail.

Staff noted the post office’s rules about pickup times and discussed whether a single county office (for example, the treasurer or clerk) should continue to pick up and run county mail rather than creating duplicate pickup points at multiple locations. The group agreed to follow up with the clerk’s office and the postmaster to confirm delivery rules and whether the county’s address should change for delivery purposes.

Moving, furniture and packing

Staff reviewed which desks, chairs and filing systems will be moved and which will be supplied or built for the annex. Several desks and partitions are being provided by Idaho Correctional Industries (referred to in the meeting as “Idaho corrections” or ICI); staff said those units will be installed in advance if scheduling allows. Departments were asked to inventory desks, chairs and filing needs, and to send those lists to Terry, who will coordinate furniture orders and the moving schedule.

The group agreed to buy moving boxes and painter’s tape so staff can begin packing early; attendees said those incidental costs will be paid from the county’s ARPA account. Staff also discussed labeling and packing protocols (painter’s tape, sharpie labels, boxes of different sizes) and advised teams to purge or identify long-term storage items that should be moved upstairs rather than into the annex’s active workspace.

Use of moving crews and timeline

Meeting participants discussed using Idaho Correctional Industries crews to install partitions and potentially to perform the move; Cindy Thorpe (the ICI contact in the record) was identified as the vendor contact who could confirm lead time and whether the crews would move and assemble desks. Staff also discussed local moving companies or ad-hoc crews as alternatives if scheduling or availability prevented using ICI. The county proposed staging most back-office moves the weekend before DMV’s move: a strong plan discussed was moving building and planning offices on a Saturday–Sunday and scheduling DMV and IT moves for Monday, Nov. 3, to allow IT staff to complete computer and system setup.

Parking, site work and next construction steps

Staff reported the parking lot at the annex will need repair and a contractor must remove and replace asphalt in areas used for DMV vehicle arrivals. Greg Taxley of Crestline Engineering (mentioned in the meeting) will prepare drawings and specifications so the county can issue an RFP to bid the parking work; staff noted the RFP and construction schedule may push final paving into spring if the work cannot be completed before winter.

Security, badges and public access

The annex will have card readers at the top of the stair and a front-door badge system. Staff discussed locating a security desk near the main entrance, signage to direct customers to building and planning or DMV counters, and whether to provide frosted internal windows or a single conference room with privacy blinds for confidential conversations. The county will convene a security panel (involving the sheriff’s office and other stakeholders) to finalize the security layout and staffing plan.

Next steps and responsibilities

Terry will act as the county point person to coordinate moves, furniture orders and vendor contacts; departments were asked to prepare lists of desks, chairs, filing and other purchases. The clerk’s office was asked to follow up with the postmaster and confirm delivery options and whether the county should change its official mailing address. County staff will confirm ICI lead times with Cindy Thorpe and will confirm the Oct. 20 circuit installation and the Nov. 3 tentative DMV move with the vendor contact who provided the circuit update.

Timing remains conditional on final construction completion, the Internet circuit activation, and contractor availability for parking repairs and large furniture deliveries. County staff said they will advertise the move date once those items are confirmed.