County
ACHD Commish “On The (political) Road Again”
January 7, 2009 
Sara Baker, the new ACHD Commish took the oath of office today and set the tone for her agenda during her remarks.
She offered an olive branch to local governments saying, “No longer can we have jurisdictional squabbles. We all live and drive in this county.”
She has long been a critic of the ACHD as being too powerful. Wednesday she proclaimed,
“ACHD is, in effect, a service agency to the general purpose governments. The “committed to service” logo on the shirts and letterhead should mean just that.”
A long running feud between ACHD and the Settlers Canal District was also a topic for the new Commish: “ We cannot expect to spend another $1.6 million or so just on legal fees on top of the over $2 million we have already spent. We must come to a mutual solution outside of the courtroom. This will allow us to spend the money on projects that will benefit drivers or bicyclists or pedestrians – not high priced lawyers from both sides. I believe I have a solution and I’ll be bringing it up at a commission meeting very soon.”
Finally, she even talked about roads of all things when she said, “We must look to the “drivability” of our roads as well as the “engineeredness” of the roads. This means accelerating the changing of existing signals to smart signals, putting in permissive left turn greens and constructing a right hand turn lane at every new intersection.”
You can e-mail SARA BAKER at: [email protected]
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Jan 7, 2009, 7:51 pm
An ACHD commish who’s showing some common sense? Is that legal?
Jan 7, 2009, 10:58 pm
Settler’s Irrigation deal is the same thing that is going on with Pioneer Irrigation in Caldwell. The attorey for both districts is Scott Campbell. The lawyers have siezed on the Clean Water Act of 1972 and are making hay all over the country. What has gone on for well over a century is now deemed illegal and cause to clog the courts. Think Spotte Owl and the endangered species act.
Mr. Campbell is concerned with E. coli bacteria in the run off and waste from household pets as an issue. Forget about the water runnig off a dairy or other barnyard as this stream flow is sacrosanct.
It will be interesting to see how ACHD and the City of Caldwell try to reach some form of compromise and keep Mr. Campbell from litigating this into the next century. I wish ACHD and Caldwell luck in their quest to moderate this dispute out of court with Mr. Campbell.
Jan 8, 2009, 10:08 am
Times have changed since we first started paving roads and water crops via canals. The irrigation districts are protecting their customers(farmers) from any foreign contaminates. Food safety and security are paramount in today’s litigious world. Many major foodservice and chain grocery stores are requesting farmers keep records of water test. It will be only a matter of time before those request turn to requirements for potable water for irrigation only.
Jan 8, 2009, 6:06 pm
I love the proposals (permissive left turns, right hand turn lanes etc)! I just hope they’re actually implemented,our street system is so frustrating to navigate and deal with lights and lanes that are counterproductive.
Jan 8, 2009, 6:50 pm
For the irrigation companies to use the clean water act as a manipulation tool is pure hog wash.
Only moron judges would buy into that. The irrigation water from the lower Boise River is probably some of the most polluted water in Idaho. Most of the irrigation water in summer has been used at least 7-8 times. This water is used to irrigate crops in Canyon County. The Idaho legislature lets diaries and feed lots off the hook every time.
Wait till you see your bill when the Nampa and Settler irrigation companies want to pressurize the system like Pioneer did in Caldwell. So they can sell more water to developers.
Jan 8, 2009, 7:51 pm
Shane, I’m going to do my best. But please call the other commissioners and tell them to go along with the ideas. They’ll say they have been, but it never hurts to remind them that they need to do better.
Jan 9, 2009, 7:55 am
Quick! Someone call Satan and let him know that de-icer is on sale at Lowe’s!!
We have an elected official that is proposing logical efforts over at ACHD and continues to interract with citizens after the election!
Maybe this mess can be cured after all! Thank you Sara!
Jan 9, 2009, 4:43 pm
One commissioner with common sense does not make up for 4 more with very little.
Jan 9, 2009, 5:00 pm
Sara, hope you stay in the fight against moronitude!
Yours in the struggle,
Dog