Jerome County | minutes | meeting 2025-09-08 | Commissioners Meeting source: https://www.jeromecountyid.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09082025-1551 Monday, September 8, 2025 Page 1 of 9 JEROME COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Monday, September 8, 2025 PRESENT: Ben Crouch, Chairman Charles Howell, Vice Chairman Art Watkins, Commissioner Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk Meeting convened at 9:00 am. Commissioner Reports Commissioner Watkins – Commissioner Watkins stated that he went to the South Central Community Action Partnership to sign checks for them. Commissioner Howell – Commissioner Howell stated that he did an interview on the radio with Bill Colley. He attended a fundraiser for Governor Little. He received a call from Lisa Crestwell regarding the damage done to the Ifarm during the fire. She was reaching out to see if there was a fire report. There was a discussion regarding the equipment and where it was located for the fire. Commissioner Crouch – Commissioner Crouch stated that he worked with Tiger Zone for the catering for the employee luncheon. He attended the Frontier Community Development board meeting. They discussed employee compensation during the meeting. Extension Office Monthly Report Steve Hines was present. Steve gave a report on the extension office. He stated that the members of his office worked with the fair week. He has also worked on prepping the first set of plots for the farm demonstration. He worked on a cover crop demo to go over with farmers in the area. The members of his office worked on their civil rights review. Commissioner Crouch moved to go into executive session per 74-206(1)(b) for personnel. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous roll call vote. Executive session started at 10:07 am and ended at 10:25 am. Maintenance Monthly Report Brent Culbertson was present. Brent gave a report on the maintenance department. He stated that he received a permit for the equipment shed they are planning to build at the sheriffs office. He is working to lay it out and have the project started. He is also working to get the permit for the new sign that will be placed Monday, September 8, 2025 Page 2 of 9 in front of the sheriffs office. He has been working to put up the decorations in the new office spaces in the Jerome Administration Offices. Fair Board Decision Joshua Mani, Amanda Worthington, Chris Barber, Sam Verret, and Mariann Schiewe were present. The Board discussed the events that were previously presented on about the incidents that took place during the fair. The Board wanted to discuss whether to remove the member of the fair board or to retain them on the board. Commissioner Watkins stated that he feels like giving people a second chance. He feels like the individual was put into the position on short notice and had a lot to learn in a little time before the fair. He read through the letters that were submitted by the fair board members and other individuals regarding how they feel about this individual. Commissioner Howell stated that he feels like the situations were taken way out of hand. He didn’t reach out to anyone that was at the incidents at the fair until he came to present to the Board to see what they wanted to do. Then he reached out to those individuals to have them come in and present on what happened. He feels like the individual had multiple chances during the fair, and that with multiple issues during the fair that it exceeds the multiple chances. He feels like there are issues with the conduct that was shown especially while in the role of representing the fair board. He quoted the information given from the individuals involved about the improper conduct of this fair board member. He stated that with all the information received and the interview of the individual that he would not be in favor of reappointing the individual. Commissioner Crouch stated that he had an issue with how many individuals stated that Josh was unprofessional during these events. He also felt that it was unprofessional of the individual to curse while they were presenting on the events from their point of view. He likes to give individuals second chances for the most part, but that he feels with all the overwhelming statements that he would not feel comfortable renewing this individuals position on the board. He also feels that the way this individual presented themselves shows the way that things may have gone while these incidents took place. Sparklight Internet Quote Matthew McGregor, Eli Bair, and Cy Lootens were present. Matthew stated that the sparklight sales group reached out to him. The county is currently paying $701.89 a month for the services and the sales group offered to lower the monthly amount to $332.81 per month. He is looking for approval to sign the new agreement to continue to provide services to the Jerome Administrations Office Building. Monday, September 8, 2025 Page 3 of 9 Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the new Sparklight contract for primary internet services. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Discussion: The new contract is much cheaper and will lower the monthly cost by over half the current amount. Matthew stated that he received a quote for Microsoft 365. This would allow the county IT to add and remove accounts under the licensing route, instead of having to ask ETS to be able to do this. This would also reduce implementation time of new appliances with updates to Microsoft services. Matthew also printed off the current results from the Martha and Marys Pantry as the Board requested. He also brought the paperwork to sign for the state IT apprenticeship program. He stated that the position would be funded completely by the state. Meeting recessed at 11:50 am. Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for newly renovated area in the Jerome Administration Offices Building Kevin Thibault, Scott Remore, Cy Lootens, Jeri Wilson, Mark Swenson, Tracee McKim, Nina Lagle, Windy Jay, Tevian Kober, Mark Reyes, Mike Seib, Sam Beus, Shayne Nope, Matthew McGregor, Mike Pohanka, Camille Barigar, Jesus Mendez, Dan Chatterton, Eli Bair, Barry Biesen, Andrea Gonzalez, Jill Howell, Susan Pohanka, Valerie Swenson, Kacie Buhler, Ryan Christensen, and other members of the public were present. Commissioner Crouch gave some of the history regarding the Jerome Administration Offices Building. He also went over the history of the old jail space and when it was constructed. He stated that the Commissioners realized that the space needed to be renovated to allow for new offices for some of the county departments. Kevin Thibault stated that he was approached by the county regarding the renovation project. He felt excited to be able to work in the area that he grew up in, and to add the new offices that the county needed. Scott Remore from Core Construction stated that he was very grateful to work on the project. He felt very grateful to work with the individuals involved with the renovation. He was also proud to have the project come in under budget, and thanked everyone for the hard work they put in to complete the new area in the building. Commissioner Crouch gave a description of what was included with the new remodel. He showed where the new IT, DMV, and treasurers offices were located. He stated that they are also very glad to have the ADA compliant bathrooms included in this project. The Board feels that the renovation turned out very nice. He discussed that there will be some changes that will come to increase security to the building to make sure to provide a safer space for all employees and members of the community who will come to the Jerome Administration Offices Building. Monday, September 8, 2025 Page 4 of 9 Meeting reconvened at 1:15 pm. Fair Electrical Bill – Capital Improvements Amanda Worthington and Marty Luhr were present. Amanda stated that she received bills for the electrical contractors that came out during the fair for their reviews. There were several surprises that came up with the electrical during the fair. She stated that some of the work that was done was written off by the contractor as a donation to the fair. She wants to check if she can use the capital funds for the fair to use towards the outstanding electrical bills. Commissioner Howell moved to approve the expenditures out of the Commissioner capital improvement for the fair in the amount of $8,615.86 for the electrical repairs. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Hangar Payments Discussion & Airport Monthly Report Marty Luhr was present. Marty stated that he received a bid for weed spray to spray the gravel parking lot. He stated that he does not have the amount in his budget currently, but that he would be able to do that in the new fiscal year. Commissioner Crouch moved to use clear lakes products to help with clearing the weeds in the airport gravel parking lot. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Marty stated he had a few individuals who have not paid their hangar lease for a few months now. He wanted to know what the next step would be. The Board stated that they would need to take this to the legal team and have them draft a letter for those individuals. He also has several people who have not paid for weed spraying at the airport. The Board stated they would have legal draft a letter for that too. Sanchez Subdivision Final Plat Review Brett Thompson, PJ McGuire, Bev Macfee, and Ryan Christensen were present. Monday, September 8, 2025 Page 5 of 9 Brett stated that the country villa estates is located at 400 S and a quarter east. There are two lots located in that subdivision that are owned by the Sanchez family. They want to vacate the line that is currently separating the two lots. This way they can split the lots east to west instead. There is a home that is crossing the current lot dividing lines. With the current dividing line being vacated it would allow the home to stay on the current parcel and create a new parcel that the home would not overlap onto. He stated that this is the reason that they are looking to create the new subdivision plat to be able to create the new parcels. The country villa estates subdivision would remain the same and only the two mentioned plots would be changed. Ryan stated that Brett covered most things. This is for updating some issues with the current lot lines. He stated that there were a few changes to the lot sizes, but he believes that this is due to the current survey being more accurate than the previous ones. The Board stated that they have no objections to the final plat after reviewing the hearing minutes and the staff report. Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the final plat for the Hernandez- Sanchez subdivision. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Approval for Power of New Data Room Discussion Kevin Thibault and Matthew McGregor were present. Kevin stated that they are waiting on the switch gear for the new data room. To start running the correct power for the equipment they need to install the new transformer. The Board wanted to see about the ability to resell the transformer to be able to recoup some of the cost. Kevin stated that he can look into that and get back to the Board. Commissioner Crouch moved to move forward with the expenditure of $12,500 for the expense of a transformer so the rest of the remodel can be up and ready to go. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Discussion: The Board is hoping to recoup some of the cost of the purchase by hopefully reselling the transformer. Sign and Approve Claims Monday, September 8, 2025 Page 6 of 9 Commissioner Watkins moved to approve the claims as presented by staff. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. *To see an image of the report please see page 8 of the minutes. Idaho Counties Risk Management Program (ICRMP) Bryan Craig was not present for his time with the Board. Misdemeanor Probation Monthly Report & Comp Time Payout Discussion Andrea Gonzalez was present. Andrea gave a report on the misdemeanor probation department. She stated that they received 28 new cases. They closed out 32 cases during the last month. The department received a total of $15,683.66 in fees. They received a total of $3,909.53 in probation fees, $8,374.13 in u/a fees, $3,400.00 in scram/GPS fees. She stated that she wanted to see if the members of her department are ok to be paid out for the comp time that they have earned throughout the year. She wants to have this paid out before the new fiscal year so it would not impact the upcoming budget. The Board agreed that the comp time can be paid out. The Board also wanted to make sure that the office would be fully staffed to help cover time and prevent comp time build up in the future. *To see an image of the report please see page 9 of the minutes. Read and Approve Minutes Commissioner Howell moved to approve the minutes from 09/02 with amendments. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Signing of County FY 2025-2026 Budget Sheriff George Oppedyk, Tracee McKim, Cy Lootens, Steve Hines, and Mark Swenson were present. Tracee stated that county’s budget increased by seven cents per hundred thousand in property value. There was a judgement that was included in this year’s budget that created the increase. Cy stated that the county is requesting a foregone amount to be included in the county’s budget request. The foregone amount requested is $100,004.00. The total amount that was taken from taxes was $11,086,937.00. There is an amount to be pulled forward in the total of $6,047,558.00. The amount of revenue is $9,917,708.00. This would put the total budget at $27,052,203.00. The increase from the previous year is approximately $2,500,000.00. Monday, September 8, 2025 Page 7 of 9 Commissioner Crouch moved to approve resolution 2025-50 for the foregone amount, and resolution 2025-51 for the fiscal year budget for 2025-2026. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Signing of Ambulance FY 2025-2026 Budget Cy Lootens and Tracee McKim were present. Cy stated that they have the ambulance budget for the Board to review. There is a foregone amount to be brought forward, as well as the upcoming fiscal year budget. The total forgone amount is $7,481.00. The total budget for the ambulance is $837,809.00. There is currently $30,000.00 in cash on hand and $30,032.00 in money other than taxes. The net from taxes would be $777,777.00. Commissioner Howell moved to approve resolution 2025-52 and 2025-53 for the foregone amount for and the ambulance fiscal year budget for 2025-2026. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Meeting adjourned at 5:33 pm. ________________________ ______________________________ Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk A. Ben Crouch, Chairman ______________________________ Charles M. Howell, Commissioner ______________________________ Art Watkins, Commissioner BUDGET TOTALS DEPARTMENT CLERK ASSESSOR TREASURER HUMAN RESOURCES COMMISSIONERS 30/ VETERANS PAYROLL ACCT PAY GRAND TOTAL $ 20.30 | $ 20.30 CORONER | TE -d BUILDING & GROUNDS MAINT. $ _1,588.37|/$ 1,588.37 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT $ - ee ee ee $ 63,474.80 $ 63,474.80 $ 5,264.65 $ 5,264.65 $ 265.00 | $ 265.00 9 $ 01.89 | $ 901.89 48|AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN a(SHERIFF $3,545.90 |$ 3,545.90 5/SHERIFF-DETENTION 18,379.35 | $ 18,379.35 S{ADULT PROBATION. [sates att 7|/PROSECUTOR $ - s[PuBLIC DEFENDERS ——| 1s —sasso[s —aasso0) 9| JUVENILE PROBATION 621.76 | $ 621.76 ialGENERAL JUSTICE ——[ [ss entt [sate 3JAIRPORT B04;$ 118.04 6|DISTRICT COURT. 7337.01| $ 1,337.01 i Q|CAPITALFAIR | CCS e 11|/HEALTH DISTRICT $ 22,154.19 |$ 22,154.19 15/ELECTION CONSOLIDATION $ - 20/REVALUATION $ - 23|S0LI0 Waste |} 3 24 $ - 2 Wee 29|/ AMBULANCE $ - 35| WATERWAYS BOARD ——[ | 3 38/WATERWAYS SHERIFF 3 Sub Total $ $ 23,609.24 23,609.24 471) 49 | 49 | 69/69 $ - |$ 127,157.13 127,157.13 August Statistics 2025 Cases New Supervised Cases: 28 FEE’S Total Number Probation Fees $3,909.53 Supervised Probation: 407 U\A Fees: $8,374.13 Court Compliance: 204 Scram/GPS: $3,400.00 DUI Court: 11/13 DV Court: 37 TOTAL FEES: Unsupervised Probation: 178 $15,683.66 Warrants 211 Closed Cases Total: 32 Monday, September 8, 2025 Page 9 of 9