Jerome County | minutes | meeting 2026-09-17 | Commissioners Meeting source: https://www.jeromecountyid.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09172026-1708 Thursday, September 17, 2026 Page 1 of 3 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 Page 2 of 3 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 Page 3 of 3 ________________________ ______________________________ Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk A. Ben Crouch, Chairman ______________________________ Charles M. Howell, Commissioner ______________________________ Art Watkins, Commissioner