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minutes meeting date 2026-09-14 · fetched 2026-10-13 · 11341 characters · read by OCR, check numbers against the source · official file · plain text
Monday, September 14, 2026
Page 1 of 6
JEROME COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Monday, September 14, 2026
PRESENT: Ben Crouch, Chairman
Charles Howell, Vice Chairman
Art Watkins, Commissioner
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
Meeting convened at 9:01 am.
Commissioner Reports
Commissioner Watkins – Commissioner Watkins reported that he went to the rotary meeting.
There was a presentation on murals and statues in Jerome. Then he went to the Chamber of
Commerce luncheon and participated in the speed networking event. He attended the Snake
River Canyon Parks board meeting. He also attended the employee appreciation lunch for the
county employees. Then he went to the Mid Snake River meeting. A discussion was had during
the meeting about fire wise plants. Later he went to help sign checks for South Central
Community Action Partnership.
Commissioner Howell – Commissioner Howell reported that he attended the Chamber of
Commerce luncheon and participated in the speed networking event. Then he attended the
Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting. There was a discussion had about a survey being
done for Blue Lakes and Pole Line roads. He discussed that there was an announcement that
there will be a survey done for the gun range near 700 E.
Commissioner Crouch – Commissioner Crouch reported that he attended the rotary meeting.
Then he attended the fair board meeting. He attended the employee appreciation lunch and
helped cook.
Maintenance Monthly Report/ Evaluation
Staff present: Brent Culbertson
Commissioner Howell moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code 74-
206(1)(b) for personnel. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed
with a unanimous roll call vote.
Started at 10:01 am and ended at 10:13 am.
Brent gave a report on the maintenance department. He discussed the old public defenders
building and what would need to be done with the house to bring it up to ADA compliance. He is
working on a bid to have some landscaping done on the front of that building. The furnace in the
building also needs to be inspected to make sure that it is working properly before winter begins.
He also discussed a quote that he received to replace a compressor unit at the jail. The unit in
Monday, September 14, 2026
Page 2 of 6
question has had several issues in the past and Brent stated that if the unit keeps having issues
that he may look to replace the unit entirely rather than continuing to repair the broken parts.
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the expenditure for a new compressor
and the repair and labor costs02 for the repairs at the jail. Seconded by
Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Memorandum of Understanding for Extension Office Budget
Staff present: Steve Hines and Cy Lootens
Steve stated that he has brought the MOU to be signed that contains the budget for the extension
office. The Board reviewed and discussed the MOU that was brought forward.
Commissioner Crouch moved to sign the corporate agreement and MOU for the
extension office. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a
unanimous vote.
Planning and Zoning Monthly Report/Evaluation
Staff present: Kacie Buhler
Kacie gave a report on the planning and zoning department. She stated that during the previous
month there was a total of $23,820.30 received in revenue. During the previous month there was
a total of 101 inspections done. A total of 19.75 hours were spent on code enforcement. There
were 24 total records requests received. She also discussed the conference that she attended
during the previous week. There was a presentation regarding the loss of farm ground in the state
of Idaho and there was information provided regarding how much farm ground Jerome County
has lost.
Commissioner Howell moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code 74-
206(1)(b) for personnel. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion
passed with a unanimous roll call vote.
Started at 11:29 am and ended at 11:51 am.
Meeting recessed at 11:52 am.
Meeting reconvened at 1:15 pm.
Executive Session Per Idaho Code 74-206(1)(b) for Personnel
Staff present: Jesse Vallez and Amanda Worthington
Public present: Chris Dugan, Amy Smith, Steve Ricketts, Jeri Ahrens, and Chris Dunn
Monday, September 14, 2026
Page 3 of 6
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 1:15 pm and ended at 1:41 pm.
Commissioner Howell moved to do as discussed in executive session for
personnel. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a
unanimous vote.
Informational Update on INL & The Advanced Energy Consortium
Public present: Camille Barigar and Connie Kincheloe
Camille stated that the purpose of this meeting is for a follow up after submitting the RFI
regarding nuclear energy. One of the points was to learn more about this opportunity and to have
a presentation given on this technology. She wants to have these groups give all of the
information about this to the Commissioners directly. She has worked to get a meeting scheduled
with these groups and the Commissioners on October 26th at 1:15 pm. During that meeting the
companies will give updates on the technology and information about their companies. The
Commissioners will also be able to ask any other questions that they have to those presenting.
She is also going to be helping to put on a screening event of a movie regarding the history of
INL on October 27th at the fine arts center at CSI. She invited the Board to attend. After the
screening there will be a panel to discuss the information in the documentary as well as to
answer any questions.
Donation Request for Students to Attend National Livestock Skill-a-thon Contest
Staff present: Katie Scheer
Public present: Gus Dugan, Will Lebsack, Stetsen Rice, and Lydia Jackson
Gus stated that they are here to present on behalf of their 4-H group that competes in the
livestock skill-a-thon contest. They are going to a national livestock skill-a-thon contest. Will
stated that in this process they will do a random scenario. The competition will be in November
later this year. Overall, the team that they were a part of placed first overall and therefore is
heading to nationals. They are looking for help with funding to be able to attend. The group has
done some other things to raise funds and is just looking for the final $1,500 to meet the overall
amount needed to attend.
Commissioner Watkins moved to approve the donation of $1,500 to 4-H group to
represent Jerome County in the Nation Livestock Skill-a-thon contest on
November 16th. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a
unanimous vote.
Monday, September 14, 2026
Page 4 of 6
Airport Board Member Appointment Discussion
The Board wanted to discuss the airport board members. One of the previous members resigned
from the airport board. The airport board had suggested to appoint Mike Jurak to the open
position. The Board stated that they would be in favor of appointing Mike Jurak to the open
position and have had favorable interactions in the past.
Commission Crouch moved to approve Mike Jurak as the new airport board
member to fill in the open position on the airport board that will expire on
12/31/2026. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
HR Training & Conference, Changes to HR Office, Executive Session Per Idaho Code 74-
206(1)(b) for Personnel
Staff present: Jesse Vallez
Jesse stated that she is looking to attend a conference that is coming up soon. She is looking for
approval of the costs to attend. She is also looking to have Carli Petruzzelli attend as well. The
cost is $215 per person. She is also looking to attend a training regarding background checks that
she is going to regarding post. The sheriff has offered to cover costs for one person and if the
other HR person goes then that would need to come out of her budget. This training is two days
and so it would also need to cover the cost of an overnight stay.
The other item that she is looking to discuss is that the office that she is in now is not sound
proof. She has noticed that any conversation in the office can be heard in the hallway. With the
potential of individuals discussing sensitive issues she would like to see some more sound
proofing added. The Board discussed that she should have Brent come and see what could be
done to increase the sound proofing of her office.
Commissioner Crouch moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code 74-
206(1)(b) for personnel. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion
passed with a unanimous roll call vote.
Started at 3:21 pm and ended at 3:40 pm.
America 250 Coloring Contest Winners
Staff present: Mark Swenson, Cy Lootens, and Jeri Wilson
Mark stated that he has brought in 3 of the 4 winners of the coloring contest that was held. The
winners have come for a picture and a prize. The winners were given a gift card to Walmart and
some other America 250 memorabilia.
Monday, September 14, 2026
Page 5 of 6
Read and Approve Minutes
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the minutes. Seconded by
Commissioner Watkins. 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.
Meeting adjourned at 4:19 pm.
________________________
______________________________
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
A. Ben Crouch, Chairman
______________________________
Charles M. Howell, Commissioner
______________________________
Art Watkins, Commissioner
BUDGET TOTALS
DEPARTMENT
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REASURER
UMAN RESOURCES
COMMISSIONERS
CORONER
BUILDING & GROUNDS MA
MERGENCY MANAGEME
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DATA PROCESSING
PAYROLL
$42,676.73
9,299.98
7,481.50
5,062.30
7,950.00
1,019.22
9,173.16
2,120.00
3,776.30
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74,253.40
14,380.28
6,115.63
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2,202.80 |
14,380.28
300.00 2,502.80
VETERANS
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$32,749.93
$12,619.67
$ 135,568.74
$ 374,252.34
10,716.72
15,712.59
3,433.64
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21,889.08 | 423.58
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$12,619.67
135,568.74
$ 383,174.12
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8,921.78
283.28 11,000.00
15,712.59
$22,496.13 22,496.13
3,433.64
22,312.66
TORT
AMBULANCE
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$ 628,617.29|$ 43,553.15
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