Commission awards land‑use appeal authority contract to Snow Caldwell Beckstrom & Wilbanks

The commission approved a land‑use appeal authority services contract after staff reported the previous appointee, Brian Pattison, was appointed a judge and an RFP produced a single respondent.

Shannon explained the county must have an appeal authority under state code to hear appeals related to development agreements, variances and similar land‑use decisions. "His name's Heath Snow," Shannon said when identifying the recommended representative from Snow Caldwell Beckstrom & Wilbanks. Commissioner Myers moved to accept the contract "as presented," and the commission voted unanimously to approve the firm and Mr. Snow as the primary appeals representative.

The firm will serve as the countys designated appeal authority; the contract rate was referenced in the meeting transcript as "$2.75 an hour" during a brief clarification by the attorney, but the contract document itself was reviewed by counsel before approval.