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Commissioners Meeting

minutes meeting date 2026-09-28 · fetched 2026-10-13 · 10920 characters · read by OCR, check numbers against the source · official file · plain text

Monday, September 28, 2026
Page 1 of 6
JEROME COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Monday, September 28, 2026
PRESENT: Ben Crouch, Chairman
Charles Howell, Vice Chairman
Art Watkins, Commissioner
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
Meeting convened at 9:08 am.
Commissioner Reports
Commissioner Watkins – Commissioner Watkins reported that he went to the fire extinguisher
training put on by the county. Then he attended the rotary meeting. He also attended the Jerome
20/20 meeting. During the meeting there was approval of the new officers and by-laws.
Afterwards he went to the ribbon cutting for the Shoshone Falls overlook. Then he attended the
airport appreciation event. Later he went to the Idaho Association of Counties (IAC) annual
conference. He attended the rotary fundraiser event.
Commissioner Howell – Commissioner Howell reported that he went to the Jerome 20/20
meeting. Then he attended the ribbon cutting event for the overlook site. He had an interview on
the radio and discussed ongoings in the county. Then he came into the county building to help
with signing some catering permits. Later he helped with signing checks for SIRCOMM. He
really enjoyed the meetings that were held during the IAC conference. He attended the
Republican Central Committee meeting. Afterwards he attended the Magic Valley Cattle
meeting.
Commissioner Crouch – Commissioner Crouch reported that he attended the fire extinguisher
training event. Then he attended the Jerome 20/20 meeting. He also attended the overlook ribbon
cutting event. He attended the Republican Central Committee meeting. Then he helped with
picking up the cooking trailer for the airport appreciation day and attended the event. Later he
attended the IAC conference. Then he attended the rotary fundraiser event. He also worked on
some employee evaluations.
ETS Jerome County CPF Budget Review Update
Staff present: Matthew McGregor, Daniel Bickar, Cy Lootens, and Tracee McKim
Public present: Scott Linsley, Chad Larsen, and Jacob
Scott stated that the previous time that they had presented was to give an update on the status of
the project. He is presenting today to go over the grant matching portion and what is needed to
close out the grant. The grant was initially going to close at the end of the year, but he has
requested an extension to go into 2027 if needed. He has given the Board a spreadsheet of what
has been paid so far and what is still needing to be paid in match amounts. The amount that is
left over for the county to match is $107,246.13. Jacob stated that there has been work done to
work with IT and find anything that was used in building out the counties data center. Those are

Monday, September 28, 2026
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able to be used towards the grant match amount that was still outstanding. Another thing that
ETS has been working with the project is to create redundancies in case there are any cables cut.
Executive Session Per Idaho Code 74-206(1)(b) for Personnel
Staff present: Matt West
Commissioner Crouch moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code 74-
206(1)(b) for personnel. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed
with a unanimous roll call vote.
Executive session started at 11:00 am and ended at 11:54 am.
Meeting recessed at 11:56 am.
Meeting reconvened at 1:20 pm.
Commissioner Howell was absent due to personal matters.
Presentation on Energy Siting Issues Specific to Jerome County
Public present: Aaron Menenberg, Thea Wickersham, and Kiana Zisla
Aaron stated that he appreciates the time of the Board to present more information on energy
facilities. He is going to have a presentation today on a paper created to the specific issues that
face Jerome County. This paper is regarding energy facilities and how these facilities may
impact specific items and resources in Jerome County. The paper has been drafted by Tetra
Tech. Thea stated that she has been a part of the local area for a long time and even grew up on a
farm in Idaho. She has moved over to working in natural resources as an adult. Kiana stated that
she has lived in Boise for a long time now but was not born and raised in Idaho as Thea was. She
has a large focus on natural resources and renewable energy. She has done a lot of work in the
northwest portion of the United States and work on different projects.
Thea reported that main purpose of the paper that was created is to discuss whether energy
facilities can be built into the area in a feasible manner. There will be sections of the paper that
will discuss the different aspects of Jerome County and how energy facilities can affect the
entirety of Jerome County. She then discussed the different concerns that are commonly
discussed with energy facilities and other concerns that would be applicable to the area. Then she
discussed the use of water for different facilities during both the construction and operation
stages. The use of water in the local area was also discussed and how the use of water would
affect the area. She stated that with the facilities using little water it would not affect the ground
water available in the area, and that this water could even be brought in from other areas.
Next Thea presented on the different sections of soil in the county and what areas would be
considered prime farmland. Then she discussed the impact of noise from the facilities and when
the facilities would produce noise during the day. Afterwards she discussed the impact on roads

Monday, September 28, 2026
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and traffic during the building and running of the facilities. Then she discussed the life
expectancy of different energy facilities.
Training Software/IT Purchases
Staff present: Matthew McGregor and Daniel Bickar
Matthew stated that he was approached by a company that offers IT training. The platform that is
offered can help to teach skills to employees. He is hoping that this will help with training all of
the IT staff to learn more and be ready to take on all of the tech that the county has. The other
item that he wanted to discuss was regarding a training meeting that is going to take place at the
start of October. He is wanting to attend with some of his staff. The training would be over a
three day period.
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve up to $2,000 to attend the training at
Rexburg, as well as the $2,760 for the stormwind training software on a one year
agreement. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a
unanimous vote.
Matthew then discussed the recent purchase of a laptop for the fairgrounds. He is looking to have
an anti-virus provided for the new laptop that the county has. He wanted to confirm with the
Board before he goes forward with offering the purchase of the software.
Approval of November 3rd General Election Polling Places
Staff present: Cy Lootens and Ryan Treanor
Cy stated that he is presenting the polling places for the upcoming General Election. By law the
places are to remain the same as the primary election that took place earlier in the year. The
Board reviewed the polling locations.
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the polling places for the November 3rd
general election. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a
unanimous vote.
Commissioner Howell was present.
Misdemeanor Probation Monthly Report/Executive Session Per Idaho Code 74-206(1)(a)
for Hiring
Staff present: Andrea Gonzalez, Jesse Vallez, Tracee McKim, and Carli Petruzzelli
Public present:
Andrea gave a report on the misdemeanor probation department. She stated that there was a total
of 34 new cases during the previous month. A total of 46 cases were closed. The department
received a total of $13,970.70 in total fees. She also discussed the option of opening some other
days for drug testing.

Monday, September 28, 2026
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Commissioner Howell moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code 74-
206(1)(a) for hiring. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with
a unanimous roll call vote.
Executive session started at 3:43 pm and ended at 4:05 pm.
Executive Session Per Idaho Code 74-206(1)(b) for Personnel
Staff present: Jesse Vallez and Carli Petruzzelli
Commissioner Crouch moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code 74-
206(1)(b) for personnel. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed
with a unanimous roll call vote.
Executive session started at 4:06 pm and ended at 5:10 pm.
Read and Approve Minutes
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the minutes. Seconded by
Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Sign and Approve Claims
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 6 of the minutes.
Indigent Matters
Commissioner Howell moved to approve the indigent claims as presented.
Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Idaho Office of Emergency Management 2025 Subrecipient Award Agreement
Commissioner Crouch moved to sign the Emergency Management 2025
subrecipient award agreement. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion
passed with a unanimous vote.
Approval of Contract with Sawtooth Correctional Medicine

Monday, September 28, 2026
Page 5 of 6
Commissioner Crouch moved to sign the agreement with Sawtooth Correctional
Medicine. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a
unanimous vote.
Meeting adjourned at 5:16 pm.
________________________
______________________________
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
A. Ben Crouch, Chairman
______________________________
Charles M. Howell, Commissioner
______________________________
Art Watkins, Commissioner

BUDGET TOTALS
DEPARTMENT PAYROLL CCT PAY TOTAL
42,512.46
7

BUILDING & GROUNDS MAI 9,100.001$ 8,925.49

EMERGENCY MANAGEMEN 2,120.00| ~~! 120.

EXTENSION AGENT $ 3,776.30 2,991.60 6,767.90
$

CHARITY 1,500.00 | $ 1,500.00
PLANNING & ZONING $ 14,380.28 $ 14,380.28
eis 220.80} [5 — 220080
GENERAL FUND RESERVE $ -
VETERNS |
SHERIFF-DETENTION $ 93,380.00 | 3 35,116.54 |3 128,496.54
UBLICDEFENDERS | | C~d SC
_9[JUVENILE PROBATION _|$__12,619.68|$ 1,873.59 |S 14,403.27 |
-i8[GENERAL JUSTICE | $_49,157.02|$ 2,365.79 [$ 51,522.81 |
| [Sub Total (Justice Fund) $ 290,103.82 | $ 61,456.98 |$ 351,560.80
|_5|VETERANS MEMORIAL _ | |

| So
-_6[DISTRICT COURT $6,550.35 307.83|$ 8,954.18
P7FAIR CdS 18,070.54] TS 18,070.54
|_9|CAPITAL FAIR ee ee

| 11|/HEALTH DISTRICT

| So;
45|ELECTION CONSOLIDATION $§ 2.346.75| 4|S 2,346.75
20/REVALUATION $ 15,657.83 |$ 879.44|$ 16,537.27

a
24|TORT

27|WEED

| AMBULANCE |
38

—
39

| 1
2]
| 3]
4
5
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11]
EE)
14|DATA PROCESSING 7,841.61 29,874.84 |$ 37,716.45
ee ane SUEY 3,468.70|$ 3,468.70
|
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WATERWAYS BOARD

RAND TOTAL $ 471,621.94

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