Jerome County | minutes | meeting 2026-09-28 | Commissioners Meeting source: https://www.jeromecountyid.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09282026-1712 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 Page 2 of 6 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 Page 3 of 6 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 Page 4 of 6 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 i) Et) 11] EE) 14|DATA PROCESSING 7,841.61 29,874.84 |$ 37,716.45 ee ane SUEY 3,468.70|$ 3,468.70 | 4 i) WATERWAYS BOARD BROADBAND GRANT FUNDS |48|AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN | | [SubTotal $49,533.57 | | RAND TOTAL $ 471,621.94