Jerome County | minutes | meeting 2026-09-14 | Commissioners Meeting source: https://www.jeromecountyid.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09142026-1706 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 - 4/CLERK REASURER UMAN RESOURCES COMMISSIONERS CORONER BUILDING & GROUNDS MA MERGENCY MANAGEME m = 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 oA oF 69) 29 )469|.69 16,144.33 | ACCT PAY a 807.77 ) 44/54 oF ELECTIONS CHARITY GENERAL PLANNING & ZONING m ~~ ae | m =z o o = > @ m z = 74,253.40 14,380.28 6,115.63 4/4 2,202.80 | 14,380.28 300.00 2,502.80 VETERANS ub Tota eneral Fund P| | ml en] se | : m a > - 1 c = oO m m wn a < m wo x m a 5 Tl fs] m = m z = 2) z D . ‘a $93,401.26 $ $ 5 J 96 490 34 93,401.26 9 50 é A é 4905.6 $ ADULT PROBATION ROSECUTOR UBLIC DEFENDERS UVENILE PROBATION ENERAL JUSTICE ub Total (Justice Fund ETERANS MEMORIAL ISTRICT COURT AIR CAPITAL FAIR HEALTH DISTRICT LECTION CONSOLIDATIO REVALUATION SOLID WASTE $ $32,749.93 $12,619.67 $ 135,568.74 $ 374,252.34 10,716.72 15,712.59 3,433.64 See 8,328.03 | 21,889.08 | 423.58 3,514.12 502.03 $ $ 11,842.15 33,251.96 $12,619.67 135,568.74 $ 383,174.12 q 6.999 06 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 WATERWAYS BOARD 1 4 m mol z a im wo Oo c m s z ub Total GRAND TOTAL | 2 3] | 4 5 i) 10) 11 : 16) LQ = 3 mz) _9| 18) |_| i) _5| i) Z) 11) 15) E 29) 38 39) # | BROADBAND GRANT FUNDS es ee ee $ 58,824.95|$ 25,129.13 $ 628,617.29|$ 43,553.15 83,954.08 hid a aa ho = =~ o 1