Commissioners end Challenger Pallet debate but homeowners say it’s not over yet
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RIGBY — After missing a deadline to obtain permits that would allow Challenger Pallet and Supply to continue operating, the company applied for them during a meeting Monday and the case is now considered closed.
Challenger was ordered to file for conditional-use permits for unpermitted buildings by Sept. 6. In a move that enraged homeowners, county commissioners decided not to pursue any action against the company despite missing the deadline and only agreeing to apply for permits on two of their unpermitted structures.
During Monday’s meeting, commissioner Fred Martinez asked the commission to go into an executive session to discuss what course of action should be taken against Challenger Pallet.
“I want, personally, something to be done,” Martinez said. “Whether our laws … be enforced or that we red-tag. We have to do something — unless Mr. Hegsted … has brought something to the table to resolve this issue that he can come forward and present at this time.”
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Challenger Pallet and Supply Owner Tad Hegsted and other company representatives were in the meeting but declined Martinez’s invitation to come forward.
While the commissioners were in executive session, Hegsted and his colleagues crossed the courthouse hallway to the Planning & Zoning offices where they appeared to file for permits.
The act was confirmed when the commissioners exited their executive session.
“We are informed that Challenger Pallet has agreed to come in and file for permits on structure number two and structure number four,” Jefferson County Commission Chairman Brian Farnsworth said.
Structure number two was described as the building next to the green sawdust collection bins and structure number four is the building that houses the kiln.
Farnsworth explained Challenger is applying for standard building permits, despite the fact that the structures were already built and the letter that demanded the company apply for permits specified Challenger needed to apply for “conditional-use permits.”
Conditional-use permits require a public hearing before being issued. Building permits do not.
Forstalling further comment from the homeowners, Farnsworth ended the discussion regarding Challenger Pallet and moved on to the next item on their agenda.
“We have beat this horse to death,” Farnsworth said. “They have agreed to file for permits. We’re going to move in that direction.”
What’s next?
The county commissioners are “encouraging” Challenger to apply for a conditional-use permit for the green sawdust collection bins. They did not specify if there would be any consequences if Challenger chose not to do so.
The homeowners said they may file a complaint with the Idaho Bar Association against Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Butikofer because he did not file misdemeanor charges against Challenger for violating the county’s nuisance ordinance and misconduct the homeowners believe Butikofer has committed regarding the issue.
Residents requested a special counsel to look into the issue but after Challenger agreed to apply for the two permits, the commissioners announced they would not seek additional legal input.
Snake River Estates Home Owners Association President Tom O’Riley said he is going to file a complaint against Butikofer and the commissioners with the state attorney general.
The DEQ is also investigating Challenger’s kiln which is used to heat and dry pallets along with killing insects and bacteria. This allows Challenger to sell the pallets as “food grade” without chemically treating them.
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The reason DEQ is concerned about the kiln is because heating wood in that manner can cause it to release gasses known as Volatile Organic Compounds.
“We requested the documentation for emissions from their pallet drying operation,” Idaho Falls DEQ Air Quality Analyst Roger Sauer told EastIdahoNews.com. “That’s just a process where we let the facility turn in what their emissions are and then we run it through a verification process.”
Sauer said Challenger has submitted those documents and they are currently being verified at the state DEQ office.
“We’ll just continue, at this point, trying to get the county to enforce the law,” O’Riley told EastIdahoNews.com. “We cannot understand why the law is not being enforced.”