Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part two, with part one having appeared in Saturday’s Tribune.
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GRANGEVILLE — Owners of large aircraft are now charged a fee to land at the Idaho County Airport, following a decision by Idaho County commissioners.
During the April 26 commissioners’ meeting, airport manager Mike Cook explained the need for the landing fee. He said that frequent use by large aircraft, like air tankers, causes wear and tear on the runway surface. Assessing a fee will allow the county to build up funds to use toward resurfacing the runway, according to a later statement by Cook.
Cook said charging a landing fee is the industry standard. In developing the fee recommendation, Cook said he looked at landing fees charged at comparable-sized airports with similar traffic patterns in Idaho, Montana and Arizona. He also discussed this with local Forest Service aviation staff.
The commissioners passed ordinance 72, amending ordinance 27, at their May 24 meeting. This imposes the fee “upon all aircraft of 12,500 pounds published maximum takeoff weight or greater.” The fee is $2 per each 1,000 pounds MTOW, according to the ordinance.
The landing fee doesn’t apply to small aircraft, defined in 14 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1, having an MTOW of 12,500 pounds or less. The ordinance also includes an exemption for air ambulance flights. The Idaho County commissioners may also exempt other aircraft by an approved motion.
Cook considers the $2 per 1,000 pounds a nominal fee. For example, a 16,000 pound air tanker (retardant plane) would be assessed $32 per landing. The assessment of the fee will be based on the aircraft’s recorded landings and billed monthly unless fees are paid at the time of landing.
How much money the landing fee generates each year will vary depending primarily on fire season activity. In addition to Forest Service aviation use, other large planes use the airport. Cook said he has notified major large plane airport users of the fees.
“It’s a way of spreading the cost around,” said Cook. He explained that the landing fee relieves Idaho County taxpayers of some of the airport costs.
— Norma Staaf, Idaho County Free Press, (Grangeville), Wednesday
Valley County OK with shed-dwellers, but buildings must be connected to sewer
People appear to be living in storage sheds in Valley County, which is fine as long as the sheds conform to health and safety rules, county officials said.
The county has received anecdotal reports of people living in storage sheds located near homes, Valley County Commissioner Sherry Maupin said.
The reports have come from citizens and from staffers of the Valley County Assessors’ Office who inspect properties to update their value, Maupin said.
“These are not ideal but may serve a purpose for local workers not able to find a home,” Maupin said.
The problem with using sheds as housing is their roofs may not be able to withstand heavy snow in the winter and they could be damaged by high winds, Valley County Building Department Director Annette Derrick said.
Portable toilets aren’t permitted to be used with these sheds, which must be connected to a central sewer or septic system before someone can live in them, Derrick said.
The county recently sent out notices to owners of 50 properties where occupied sheds were suspected. Most of the owners said their sheds weren’t occupied, but five owners promised to improve the sheds to meet county standards.
There has been no confirmation of anyone actually living in a shed, but Maupin suspects the practice is common. “I feel like the number is much higher (than 50),” she said.
There has been an increase in calls from property owners asking about placing more than one shed on their property to be used as housing, Derrick said. No formal applications have been submitted, she said.
County commissioners are planning to reduce the penalties for sheds that don’t conform to standards, Maupin said.
Failure to obtain a building permit is currently a misdemeanor with a fine of $300 per day, but commissioners want to make the offense a one-time civil penalty that could be waived if the owners agree to make improvements, she said.
The county won’t report apparent violators to the Valley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office until the new fines are adopted, Derrick said.
The county already allows some nonstandard housing in residential areas. “Tiny homes,” or homes as small as 400 square feet, are permitted.
The county also allows a second residence on a lot, such as an apartment above a garage, as long as it is connected to a sewer or septic system.
County commissioners have requested the prosecuting attorney’s office to draft a proposal to change the fines for occupied sheds that do not meet county standards.
Commissioners would be required to conduct a public hearing before adopting the new fines.
— Max Silverson, The Star-News, (McCall), Thursday
