Kootenai County commissioners approve series of construction contracts, equipment purchases, FAA grants and leases

Kootenai County commissioners on May 27 approved multiple routine and project-specific items, including construction and design contracts for county facilities, purchases for elections and the treasurer’s office, two Federal Aviation Administration grant actions for the airport, and a lease termination and new ground lease for airport property.

The board voted 3–0 on each item during a meeting that opened with a brief public-comment period in which a resident reported follow-up information about a neighboring county’s small bus fleet and training funding.

Key approvals

- Justice Building HVAC: The board awarded the low responsive bid for HVAC equipment at the existing Justice Building to Apollo Mechanical for the base bid plus alternate 1, a total of $571,932. Director Jeff Fuller said $435,000 had been budgeted in FY25 and that commissioners earlier approved placing an additional $200,000 into a fund-balance bucket; Fuller asked the board to formally assign the extra $200,000 to the project when the contract is presented.

- Corner remodel (construction manager/general contractor selection): The county selected a top-ranked construction manager/general contractor to lead the design and preconstruction phases for the corner remodel. Staff explained the RFQ ranking was close among firms; the record variably identified the recommended firm as "Geno Construction" and listed "Juno Construction" on the solicitation. Staff and the project architect recommended the local firm identified in the record; commissioners approved moving forward with the design-phase contract and later returning for a guaranteed maximum price.

- Coroner remodel design contract: The board approved an architect services contract with H2A Architects for the coroner remodel for $109,500 plus approximately $4,500 in reimbursables to cover travel and incidental costs. Staff previously paid $9,000 for concept work and said this contract funds the full design phase.

- Courtroom lobby seating: Commissioners approved ordering beam-style (airport-style) seating from Modern Office for the lobbies outside the new Justice Building courtrooms; staff said the chosen seating was a cost-saving alternative to wooden pew-style benches.

- Election services invoice: The board approved payment to K and H Integrated Print Solutions for absentee ballot mailing and test ballot printing for the May consolidated election in the amount of $24,751.10. Asa Gray, elections manager, presented the invoice.

- Remittance scanner and software: The board approved purchase of a remittance scanner and software license with AQURIT (vendor spelling from record), which staff said can process about 60 checks and stubs per minute. Chief Deputy Treasurer Jill Smith said the county had budgeted ongoing license fees in FY26 and that the county expected roughly $2,500 per year in ongoing costs; she said the scanner would allow faster posting of payments and reduce lost interest earnings.

- Temporary employment contract: Commissioners approved a 2025 temporary employment contract with Express Employment Professionals; staff noted the vendor reduced markup on worker pay and did not raise fees in the updated agreement.

- FAA grants: The board approved AIP-063, an FAA airport-improvement grant for FY25 totaling $496,968; staff said the award covers projects including taxiway Alpha rehabilitation design, an aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle acquisition, and design work for taxiway Charlie. The county’s cash match was listed as $13,078.11 from fund 30. Commissioners also approved a request to submit a grant amendment for AIP-058 to recover additional runway rehabilitation costs; the amendment request was for $98,480 with the county portion about $5,471.11, and staff noted an approved FAA amendment must be received before additional match funds are booked.

- Airport leases: The board approved termination of ground lease AAL2000-090 following the tenant’s death and approved a new ground lease AAL2025-900 with Soper Living Trust for an expanded area at current lease rates; staff said legal counsel recommended the paperwork approach following the lessee’s passing.

Roll calls for each motion recorded three affirmative votes and no dissent.

Public comment

Ron Hartman used the public-comment period to report that Shoshone County had inherited a three-bus transit fleet and was providing $30,000 for training; he said that information was provided by Shoshone County Commissioner Jeff Zimmerman on a phone call following an earlier meeting remark.

Ending

Most approvals were routine spending and implementation steps; several projects (corner remodel and Justice Building HVAC) will return to the board with contract documents or guaranteed maximum prices for final approval, and the FAA amendment remains pending FAA approval before additional county match is booked.