BCL receives insurance extension

BONNERS FERRY — The Boundary County Library has received a three-month extension of insurance coverage from Idaho Counties Risk Management Program.

ICRMP, or the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, is a member-owned carrier created by Idaho local governments to provide property and casualty insurance for public entities. The carrier provides all insurance coverage for BCL. The city of Bonners Ferry, Kootenai County, Bonner and Boundary counties and other jurisdictions also use this carrier.

In a unanimous vote, the board of ICRMP granted the library 90 days to rectify policy and administrative weaknesses that led to the original decision to cancel insurance coverage for the library as of October 2022, BCL board members wrote in a press release.

Board chair Bob Blanford and former director Sandra Ashworth traveled to Boise on Sept. 13 to plead the case before ICRMP and successfully negotiated this extension, with the possibility of continued coverage if ICRMP sees improvement in the 90-day period.

The board of the Boundary County Library would like to thank ICRMP for this extension and for putting faith in them to continue working to put the library back on solid footing.

The board would also like to thank the small staff of the library that has remained to keep the doors open and continue to serve the patrons of the Boundary County Library despite the unprecedented recent struggles the library has endured.

"As we bid a fond farewell to the employees that could no longer justify continued employment at the library, we would also like to thank them for their long and selfless service in the face of adversity," board members wrote. "As the Boundary County Library seeks to rebuild staff, administration, policy and public trust in one of our most treasured institutions, we ask the public for patience and understanding as we move forward."