Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kootenai County commissioners approve jail‑pod change order, IT subscription switch and a slate of consent items
Summary
The Kootenai County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 25 approved a $56,000 change order to make a jail pod build‑out ADA‑compliant, a two‑year Databank subscription retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025, and a series of routine administrative items including payables and personnel overlap authorization.
The Kootenai County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 25 approved a series of administrative and operational items, including a $56,000 change order to make a jail pod build‑out ADA‑compliant, a two‑year Databank subscription agreement retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025, and a formal 30‑day termination notice for the county’s existing credit‑card processor.
The board’s action on the jail project came after Building and Grounds Director Jeff Fuller described the first change order for the Sletten construction contract as necessary “to bring the sidewalks and concrete up to compliance for ADA compatibility.” Fuller told commissioners the work also includes abandoning a north‑side employee parking gate that he said has caused traffic backups on Dalton Avenue; that gate will be relocated to Cooney North, and future gate access will be restricted to Dalton Avenue and southside Government Way accesses. Fuller said the change order is about $56,000 and that a $36,000 permit savings leaves roughly $20,000 drawn from contingency.
Why it matters: the work alters pedestrian access around the Public Safety Building and triggers use of contingency funds in an active jail construction project. Fuller described the scope change as driven by the City of Coeur d’Alene’s ADA slope requirements for sidewalks.
On information technology, county staff presented a subscription agreement with Databank for on‑base support. The contract, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025, is for a two‑year term; staff said the new arrangement combines subscription license fees, maintenance and vendor support and will save the county “over $3,300 in 2 years” while providing improved support. The board voted to approve the Databank agreement.
The board also approved a formal termination notice for the CardKnox credit‑card processing contract used by Community Development. Deputy Operations Director Craig Davidson told commissioners the item was to provide the 30‑day termination notice and that “your new subscription’s already in place.”
Other routine business approved included consent calendar items, weekly payables and jury panel payments, an assignment of an airport lease to add a spouse as co‑lessee, two county resolutions to classify and destroy inactive inmate medical records, and an appointment to a technical leadership advisory group.
A personnel item drew public comment and clarification. Building and Grounds staff requested a temporary overlap so a full‑time employee could train a replacement; staff said an employee with 21 years’ service was retiring effective that day and the request was to keep the full‑time person on for two additional weeks for training. A resident, Brandy Chapman, pointed out the agenda language read “adding another full time position,” which she said did not reflect the actual action. Commissioners agreed to clarify the action; the board took a revised motion to approve the two‑week overlap rather than a permanent new position and agreed to cure the agenda wording on next week’s consent calendar.
Votes at a glance - Approve minutes and consent calendar items 1–4 and 7–13: motion passed (Commissioner Eberlein: aye; Commissioner Duncan: aye; Chair Metari: aye). - Payables for the week of February 2025 in the amount of $909,485.03 and jury panel payments of $3,362.38: motion passed (Eberlein: aye; Duncan: aye; Chair Metari: aye). - Databank on‑base subscription agreement, retroactive to 01/01/2025 (two‑year term; projected savings ~ $3,300 over two years): motion passed (Eberlein: aye; Duncan: aye; Chair Metari: aye). - Termination notice for CardKnox credit‑card processing contract (Community Development): motion passed (Eberlein: aye; Duncan: aye; Chair Metari: aye). Davidson stated the county’s new subscription is already active. - Consent to assignment of airport lease AAL to add Linda Koppum as co‑lessee: motion passed (Eberlein: aye; Duncan: aye; Chair Metari: aye). - Resolutions 2025‑15 and 2025‑16 to classify inactive inmate medical records and authorize their destruction per Idaho Code: motion passed (Eberlein: aye; Duncan: aye; Chair Metari: aye). - Change order No. 1 for jail pod build‑out with Sletten (ADA compliance, gate relocation/abandonment; approx. $56,000): motion passed (Eberlein: aye; Duncan: aye; Chair Metari: aye). - Approval to allow a two‑week overlap for a senior maintenance operator for training (Building & Grounds): motion passed after clarification and revised motion (Eberlein: aye; Duncan: aye; Chair Metari: aye). - Appointment of Dave Brown as Kootenai County representative to the Technical Leadership Group: motion passed (Eberlein: aye; Duncan: aye; Chair Metari: aye).
What’s next: the board directed staff to place a clarifying consent calendar item next week to reflect that the maintenance action was a temporary overlap rather than a permanent new position. Several items pulled from the agenda (items 5 and 6) were rescheduled for correction and will return next week.
