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Board to hear report on ITD dwellings

In their own version of a State of the Union or State of the State address, ITD staff members will give a State of the House(s) presentation to the Idaho Transportation Board next week.

The monthly business meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the auditorium at Headquarters.

According to administrative policy, staff members must report to the board annually on the status of state-owned dwellings. The department owns 10 houses, three bunkhouses, and 32 trailer pads. The department also owns an apartment at Johnson Creek Air Strip that is used seasonally.

ITD provides or rents state-owned dwellings to employees in situations where the department’s best interests are served. In some instances, employees reside in a state-owned dwelling as a condition of their employment. These locations include Reeds Bar and Powell in District 2, Riddle in District 3, and at the Johnson Creek Airport.

The department also rents dwellings to employees at a reduced rate. The fair market rental value was determined six years ago with appraisals completed by right-of-way staff. Each year the rent and reductions are compared for reasonableness with dwellings owned by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation and U.S. Forest Service.

Additionally, ITD owns eight trailer pads and three houses at rest areas. Rest area maintenance contracts require the contractor to be available for daily conferences and on-call for emergencies 24 a day, seven days a week. Providing state-owned living quarters is part of the consideration of the maintenance contract.

Other business topics

Governor’s budget recommendation
ID staff will summarize Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s FY08 budget recommendation for ITD. He recommends continuing the GARVEE program by issuing $264 million in bonds for the next fiscal year. (See separate Transporter story.)

However, the governor made no recommendation on which routes to be funded in the program and he urged the legislature not to identify the projects either. Gov. Otter withheld endorsement of ITD’s revenue proposals, pending demonstration the department “is operating efficiently, using the best practices available today, and actively engaging industry in its efforts.”

Gov. Otter does not recommend funding the change in benefit costs, general inflation, salary equity adjustment, the Aeronautics equipment request, or transferring funds from the State Highway Account to the State Aeronautics Fund. He is recommending non-standard inflation on items beyond the normal inflation rate such as paint, beads, asphalt, and fuel and also recommends a 5 percent change in employee compensation (CEC) based on merit.

All-terrain vehicle crossings
Recent changes to Idaho Code allow ITD to designate locations on state highways where unlicensed all terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motorcycles may cross. Because the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) has authority and expertise regarding ATVs and motorcycles, ITD has consulted worked collaboratively to establish procedures for these crossing.

At the board meeting, staff members will request board approval to proceed with the process recommended. Organizations will complete forms requesting approval of crossing locations. ITD will consult with IDPR in determining those locations. If a crossing is approved, costs associated with installing signs are outside of the highway right-of-way will be the responsibility of Parks and Recreation; ITD will be responsible for signs within the right-of-way.