Sentinel Media records · public agendas and minutes, text only, refreshed nightly from each body's own site · not a newspaper
minutes meeting date 2026-10-05 · fetched 2026-10-18 · 10539 characters · official file · plain text
POWER COUNTY COMMISSION Page 1 of 3 SPECIAL SESSION MINUTES Monday, October 5, 2026 POWER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Meeting Minutes Commission Chambers 543 Bannock Ave. American Falls, ID 83211 www.powercounty.gov Monday, October 5, 2026, 8:01 a.m. I. CALL TO ORDER The Board of County Commissioners met in special session Monday, October 5, 2026, and called the meeting to order at the hour of 8:01 am, in the Commission Chambers of the Power County Courthouse. II. COMMISSIONERS/STAFF PRESENT: Commissioner Chris Fehringer, Chair Commissioner Kryst Krein Commissioner Jason Povey ABSENT: None STAFF: Sharee Sprague, Clerk Mariano Villa, Deputy Clerk OTHER PARTIES PRESENT: Jacob Taylor Laura Snow Ed Tyson Brad Rogers III. AGENDA A. NOTICES/REPORTS 1. Request for Proposal’s – Mosquito Abatement: The Commission discussed the proposals received for mosquito abatement services. The proposals were reviewed, with consideration given to experience, local knowledge, customer service, responsiveness, and overall qualifications. The Commission also discussed the potential use and cost of drone services. Following discussion, the proposals were generally considered comparable. A final decision is expected to be made at the next regularly scheduled meeting. 2. Personnel: No discussion or action was held for this item. 3. Commissioners Business as Needed: No discussion was held for this item. B. MOTIONS: 1. Agenda: A motion to approve the special agenda for Monday, October 5, 2026, was presented by Commissioner Povey with a second by Commissioner Krein. Following audible call of the Board, motion unanimously carried. 2. Request for Proposal’s – IT Services: Prior to discussion of the IT services proposals to ensure transparency for the Board and the public, Commissioner Povey made disclosures of prior relationships with both Vendors which was read into the record. POWER COUNTY COMMISSION Page 2 of 3 SPECIAL SESSION MINUTES Monday, October 5, 2026 The Board discussed the IT services proposals, including staffing, availability, documentation, ticketing, cybersecurity, and overall cost. Differences in staffing levels and the ability to provide additional support during significant incidents were discussed. The importance of transparent ticketing, project status updates, and thorough documentation was emphasized to ensure continuity of services. The vendors’ approaches to cybersecurity and access to specialized expertise were also reviewed. Differences in pricing for services, backup, hardware, and travel were discussed, with overall cost and service value considered as part of the evaluation. Following review and discussion, a motion to award Sollus Information Systems submitted proposal for IT services for the County was presented by Commissioner Krein with a second by Commissioner Povey. Following audible call of the board, the motion unanimously carried. The disclosure will be attached to the meeting minutes as exhibit A. 3. Building & Grounds: The following items were discussed under building & grounds; 1. Snow Property Update: Property Manager Launa Snow reported a water line failure at the fairgrounds rental house caused by a corroded galvanized pipe and a shorted electrical wire, though a temporary fix has restored service. Pumpco will permanently replace the line and wire with poly pipe in conduit for $3,164.05 (6–7 hours of work), while the shared airport well remains unaffected on its own separate service. Following discussion, a motion to approve Pumpco fixing the waterline to the airport rental house, and to pay out of 01-17-0499-00, was presented by Commissioner Povey with a second by Commissioner Krein. Following audible call of the board, the motion unanimously carried. A demand check was authorized. 2. Shared Office Space: The Sheriff and Clerk provided an update on proposed office sharing of the old public defender’s office. Clerk Sprague reported that they had reviewed the area collectively with IT Director Brad Rogers and believe sharing the space will work well. Clerk Sprague reported that they believe they will need to move the counter back to better early voting privacy and create a smaller workspace to process voters. The parties advised that the Sheriff's office will use the front space and share the space with the Clerk's office for early voting (approximately six weeks a year) and the back office will be dedicated to elections for secured storage of election equipment with limited access to that room. The primary concern was ensuring proper security and privacy is exercised during early voting operations but both the Sheriff and Clerk reported they thought they could resolve any concerns. Clerk Sprague clarified that it would be best to use the space as is for the upcoming early voting set to begin the 14th to get a better feel for any remodeling needs. By consensus, the Commissioners authorized the Clerk to begin using the space for early voting. Sheriff Kendall agreed to hold off moving part of his security team until after the election. 3. Printer: Clerk Sprague advised that the large plat printer would need to be relocated from the back office to allow for appropriate secured storage of the election equipment. The parties discussed alternate placement. Clerk Sprague agreed to look at some alternative locations and report back to the Board. 4. Postage Machine: Commissioner Povey suggested moving the postage machine to a central location between the Clerk's and Assessor's offices. Clerk Sprague stated her office will accommodate whatever direction the Board decides, in discussion with her team, she was presented with some concerns about moving it out of her office. Clerk Sprague noted that her staff uses the machine most frequently, is responsible for administrative management and someone would need to be available when the postal POWER COUNTY COMMISSION Page 3 of 3 SPECIAL SESSION MINUTES Monday, October 5, 2026 service delivers mail and therefore, the Clerk’s Office prefers its current location. Clerk Sprague explained that the postage machine area in the front of her office is accessible to all employees and generally access beyond the that area is respected by those that access the postage machine and restricted notices have been provided where needed. Clerk Sprague advised that the concerns to access reported to the Commission in her presence were related to inability to access the postage machine during closed office hours and advised that she does not feel it is appropriate for anyone to be in another office when they are closed. By consensus, the Commission agreed to discuss postage machine placement in a smaller, focused meeting with those directly affected. 4. Board Updates: • Granite Peak (Commissioner Povey): Now that the agreement is signed, outreach will begin immediately, though it was uncertain whether it would be ready for Monday. • Migrant Council (Commissioner Povey): Commissioner Povey states that he signed a community leader sponsorship letter for Cecilia Lopez, who will handle coordination underneath. The program relates to healthcare and ensuring migrants have access to needed resources. • BOR / Old Town Road (Commissioner Krein): Commissioner Krein states that a new road is being put into Old Town by the marina. A casual mention of RV spots led to Commissioner Krein indicating BOR would potentially fund such development. Commissioner Krein states that he will bring this item back up for the next meeting. • FY27 Economic Development Professional Grant Agreement and MOU: Following review from legal counsel, a motion to approve the FY27 Economic Development Grant agreement and MOU was presented by Commissioner Krien with a second by Commissioner Povey. Following audible call of the board, the motion unanimously carried. V. ASSESSMENTS/CONCLUSIONS: 1. Next Meeting: The next regular session for the board to meet is slated for October 13, 2026. 2. Adjourn: Having no further business to come before the Board, a motion to adjourn was presented by Commissioner Krein with a second by Commissioner Povey. Following audible call of the Board, motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 9:27 am. The foregoing minutes were approved by the Board of County Commissioners during the Regular Board Meeting held October 13, 2026. ATTEST: MARIANO VILLA, Deputy Clerk __________________________________ COMMISSIONER FEHRINGER, Chairman Mariano Villa Jr. Before we discuss the lT proposats, I want to disctose my prior professionaI relationships with both respondents so there is no question about where I am coming f rom. I have worked with Brad and the Soltus team since around 2010, and I atso worked for So[us for about a year in 2016. I know their team we[[ and have firsthand experience with how they work, how they document things, how they handte escatations and projects, and how they support their c[ients. They are atso the County's current lT providel so I have seen their work here f irsthand. I do not have any ownership, financiaI interest, current employment relationship, or other financiaI stake in SoLtus. I also have a tong history with Computer Arts, or CAl, where Jonathan Huse previous[y worked. I used CAI as an lT provider f rom about 2004 through 2010 white I was at Madison County, and then again from roughLy20l2through 2O14al PowerCounty HospitaL District. That gave me a lot of exposure to their staff , their service mode[, and the way they handted day-to-day lT support. Through that relationship, I got to know Mr. Huse professionatly and have a high tevet of respect for his technicat abitity. I have atso recommended him to others when they have asked me for lT hetp or recommendations. I also have firsthand experience with the cybersecurity expert avai[abte to SRCS. What I do not have is the same firsthand experience with the rest of the current SRCS staff , so for that part of their team I am retying more on what was submitted in their proposal and through this RFP process. I am disctosing atL of this because I want the Board and the pubLic to understand my prior experience with both vendors. My scoring is based on the pubtished RFP criteria, the proposats that were submitted, the ctarification process, and my firsthand professionaI experience where it is retevant. EXHIBIT A - Commissioner Povey IT Disclosure
Text is extracted by machine from the official file linked on each page; the official file is the record. Sentinel Media, LLC.