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minutes meeting date 2026-09-17 · fetched 2026-10-13 · 6123 characters · official file · plain text
Thursday, September 17, 2026
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JEROME COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Thursday, September 17, 2026
PRESENT: Ben Crouch, Chairman
Charles Howell, Vice Chairman
Art Watkins, Commissioner
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
Meeting convened at 5:45 pm.
Taxing Districts Levy Certification (L2)
Staff present: Cy Lootens and Tracee McKim
Tracee stated that what is being presented is the official levy amounts from the taxing districts in
the county. The amounts being shown are the rates that they have approved for the upcoming
fiscal year. This is being presented for approval by the Commissioners so it can be formally
approved.
Commissioner Crouch moved to accept and approve the county levies for
Jerome County levies for the fiscal year 2026-2027 and to authorize Cy to sign.
Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Presentation on the Three Stages of Energy Projects (Construction, Operations, &
Decommissioning) (To Be Held in the Jack Nelson Room, Room 306)
Staff present: Ryan Christensen
Public present: Pravina Khadka, Connie Kincheloe, Ralph Kincheloe, Brett Thompson, Lynda
Bruns, Adrienne Dunham, and Katy Riker
The Board wanted to thank everyone for attending. This meeting is just for the sake of obtaining
information. The Board does not support or back this information and just wanted to be able to
help everyone to obtain some more information on this topic.
Aaron introduced himself to everyone. He is a part of the Renewable Northwest group. He wants
to thank everyone who is attending. There were going to be some other colleagues of his in
attendance but there were some issues with their flights to where they were not able to attend. He
is looking to present on the information on the process of an energy facility from the start of
creating a position to decommissioning it. The presentation is not for any specific location but
just to give a more specifics on this process. If anyone is interested he would also go over some
information on the general topic of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). There was a
previous group who went over this, but that he is willing to go over that some more if anyone is
interested tonight.
Next he discussed the overview of a facility and how it is established. He showed how the
facility is placed and why each item would need to be included for the facility. The Board asked
some questions regarding the heights of the posts on the solar panels. Aaron discussed the
Thursday, September 17, 2026
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different sizes that could be created to allow for grazing of animals or shorter versions to reduce
costs. He stated that most facilities choose to go with lower posts just to lower overall cost of
creating the facility. Then he discussed the process of having the created energy sent into the grid
to provide power. One of the other items that is covered early in the process of creating the
overview is how to respond to fires that may come up and to work with local fire districts to go
over those plans.
The steps that are considered during the entire process of creating a facility is: land acquisition,
environment studies, permitting, construction, commercial operation, lifetime, and
decommissioning. Aaron then discussed the various practices for each step and the timelines that
can exist with these projects. The Board asked some questions regarding the use of water on
washing solar panels. Aaron stated that many of the panels in Idaho do not need to be washed
often. The panels are usually washed twice a year. There are no contaminants that are washed off
in this process, it is just dust build up. The current panels that are being used only have four
materials and they are all solid pieces that can’t really wash off or leak out. There were issues in
the past, but with the industry learning they moved to solid materials to prevent this issue.
Then he discussed the requirements for the company in charge of the facility to decommission
the project. This is something that is included in the full process of creating the project and can’t
be ignored. He also stated that it is a good thing to be included in the ordinance as part of the
process for approving a new energy facility. The Board asked about what could happen if
someone does not decommission the project in cases of bankruptcy or other unique situations.
Aaron stated that this can happen during the process, but that there are still insurances built into
the project to make sure that the decommissioning would still take place. With this section being
required before starting the project it will still take place even in these more unique situations.
The Board wanted to ask regarding some more specifics on BESS and the potential risks with
them. Aaron stated that he didn’t really go over that today since there was a different meeting
previously to discuss the specifics of those projects. He would be willing to go over them again
and discuss them more fully in another meeting. The Board then asked about the specifics of the
people involved in the new projects in Ada county. Aaron stated that there is a large work force
being used to install those facilities. He is not sure how long the project will take to complete
specifically but it should only be a matter of months instead of years. The Board then asked
about the fires that can take place with BESS and if it’s true that they have to be left to burn out.
Aaron stated that it is true that they have to be left to burn if that happens. The materials in these
are not the same as car batteries and are less likely to start on fire. With updates to these facilities
they are much less likely to start on fire. There are other fail safes that have started to be installed
to help prevent this issue.
Meeting adjourned at 7:18 pm.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
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________________________
______________________________
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
A. Ben Crouch, Chairman
______________________________
Charles M. Howell, Commissioner
______________________________
Art Watkins, Commissioner
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