Sentinel Media records · public agendas and minutes, text only, refreshed nightly from each body's own site · not a newspaper
minutes meeting date 2026-02-02 · fetched 2026-09-09 · 12509 characters · read by OCR, check numbers against the source · official file · plain text
Monday, February 2, 2026
Page 1 of 6
JEROME COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Monday, February 2, 2026
PRESENT: Ben Crouch, Chairman
Charles Howell, Vice Chairman
Art Watkins, Commissioner
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
Meeting convened at 9:05 am.
Commissioner Reports
Commissioner Watkins – Commissioner Watkins stated that he went to the rotary meeting. There
was a presentation from St Lukes. He then attended the public health meeting. He attended the
IAC legislative meeting virtually. Then he attended the IAC conference. Later he attended a New
Years party for the county employees.
Commissioner Howell – Commissioner Howell stated that he attended the southern Idaho solid
waste meeting and the mid snake river water resource committee meeting. Paul from the state
water association attended the meeting to discuss funding for the year and water issues in the
area. Paul also stated that they are working to alleviate water calls in the eastern side of the state
regarding surface water. There were some discussions regarding new subdivisions and how
water should be created for new homes. Construction will start out at the Jerome transfer station
this year for a new dumping site, as well as updating the building there. There was a discussion
regarding recycling at the meeting and how they may redo this service going forward. Later he
attended a tour of the new armory and readiness center for the National Guard. Then he attended
the IAC conference.
Commissioner Crouch – Commissioner Crouch stated that he attended the IAC conference. He
attended the rotary meeting. He attended the juvenile probation meeting. During the meeting
there was a review of the quarterly statistics. Then he attended the IAC legislative meeting. He
reached out to a couple of communications companies about their services. Later he helped to set
up for the New Years party and attended the event later that night.
Extension Office Monthly Report & Pickup Shell Quote
Steve Hines was present.
Steve gave a report on the extension office. He stated that he attended several meetings over the
last two months. There were several events held for the FFA and 4H children. The members of
his office also held several events for kids from the boys and girls club.
He received a couple of pickup shell quotes. The differences in price are not very big. They
would be installed before leaving from the store. The pickup itself came in below the amount
budgeted for the pickup. He wanted to use some of those funds to purchase the shell.
Monday, February 2, 2026
Page 2 of 6
Commissioner Watkins moved to approve the bid from ARE for the amount of
$3,800 for the truck shell and work on the pickup. Seconded by Commissioner
Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Pivot Near Hazelton Airport Runway
Mike Jurak, Ralph Kinchelow, Marty Luhr, Kent Atkin, Brandon Buckway, Ryan Christensen,
Kacie Buhler, and Flo Ghighina were present.
Mike stated that there is a unique situation going on with the Hazelton airport. There has been a
lot of state and county money used to have the Hazelton airport created into a very nice
functioning airport. There is an individual who is wanting to put in a pivot at the end of the
runway to farm the area by the end of the runway. He feels that having the pivot put down is
going to ruin the airport. There has been a large improvement done recently to this airport that
has also further increase the functionality of the airport. He stated that there could be a chance
that this section of land could be purchased to protect the airport. The Board stated that if there is
a route to go through purchasing the property that it would be something to look into.
Quarterly Jerome 20/20 Report & Executive Session Per Idaho Code 74-206(1)(e) for
Consideration of Preliminary Negotiations Involving Matters of Trade or Commerce
Camille Barigar and Larry Laub were present.
Camille provided a quarterly update for Jerome 20/20. She stated that she has taken over tax and
payroll functions for the group. This is saving Jerome 20/20 a good amount of money. She has
been working with a web development group to try and update the website for Jerome 20/20.
The company does a great job of search optimization so people can find the website easier. She
stated that she has done some research regarding a grant for rural development for region four.
The Board stated that they think this would be a great idea to pursue. She will be attending
several other conferences during the year. She also received a scholarship to attend a conference
for economic developers. During the last few months she has continued to tour different
industries in the area to get a better feel for them.
Commissioner Howell moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code 74-
206(1)(e) for Consideration of Preliminary Negotiations Involving Matters of
Trade or Commerce. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed
with a unanimous roll call vote.
Executive session started at 11:15 am and ended at 11:32 am.
Vending Machine Discussion
Larry Laub was present.
Larry stated that he moved here over 30 years ago. He came to work with the Kings department
stores. He now does vending machines as his business. He currently owns the small candy
machine in the administration offices building. He is looking to bring in another machine that
Monday, February 2, 2026
Page 3 of 6
would have candy and drinks that he can make available in the building. He brought two pictures
of different types of vending machines that he could bring. He normally doesn’t do agreements
but felt like he should with the county. He has brought a basic agreement for the Commissioners
to review.
Meeting recessed at 11:44 am.
Department Heads Luncheon
Cy Lootens, Mark Reyes, Gary Taylor, Matthew McGregor, Eli Bair, Nina Lagle, Kacie Buhler,
Jesse Vallez, Tanzy McCool, Mark Swenson, Amanda Worthington, Sam Beus, Marion Umana,
Andrea Gonzalez, Angie Bridge, and Kirsten Hartley were present.
The Board thanked everyone who came and attended or helped with the county party. The Board
wanted to see if there are any suggestions about the county party for next year. There were
comments made that the timing of year was nicer, to not compete with the holiday season. There
was also a suggestion to start to plan earlier and have more activtyies for the holiday season.
There was another suggestion made to eliminate the up-front charge somehow so people will feel
more at ease with attending.
The Board discussed the paid time off (PTO) and emergency sick leave (ESL) process and how
excess PTO was rolled over into ESL instead of being paid out. The Board wanted to see what
everyone felt about the situation and the process and how it can be tidied up. The Board stated
that if anyone had suggested changes to the employee handbook to let them know.
Meeting reconvened at 1:15 pm.
Tax Cancelation
Nina Lagle and Sabrina Henderson were present.
Nina stated that she has a tax cancelation. She is presenting on behalf of an individual who wants
to stay confidential. This individual would qualify for a VA exemption. He missed the deadline
for applying for the exemption by 29 days. This individual wants to see if there is any way that
there could be something waved for the taxes for 2025. The Board wanted to confirm with legal
counsel first if they can approve the cancelation with the person remaining confidential.
Sheriff Department's PTO/ESL Payout and Forms
Troy Tolman, Jesse Vallez were present.
The Board wanted to discuss the forms that would be used for the PTO/ESL payouts. The Board
discussed having a form that both the employee and department head would need to be signed
first. Jesse stated that the handbook currently says that the hours would be paid out if the
individual qualifies. If there was something for them to sign it could be for keeping track of
approval. The Board wanted to discuss the individuals who were paid out and if they had signed
Monday, February 2, 2026
Page 4 of 6
a form approving their payout. Troy stated that there was something that was signed for a few of
the individuals during the last week, and that there was something signed by the larger portion of
employees awhile ago. Jesse stated that she put together a form that would give the employees
the option of a payout or to roll the hours into ESL. The form states that it would be voluntary
and up to the choice of the employee.
The Board wanted to discuss whether a form would be necessary if the handbook states that it is
policy to pay out employees. Jesse stated that if there is something in policy the individuals
would not necessarily need to sign something for a payout, but maybe sign something if they do
want to roll it over into ESL. The Board asked if there should still be something to sign in case of
emergency payouts so the individual who is paid out can not claim the payment was for
something else. Jesse stated that that could be an issue if it is not clearly established before the
payout. The Board suggested that there would not need to be any paperwork that would need to
be signed for a normal payout, but that the individual who gets paid out would need to make sure
to notify the department head so they are aware of the upcoming expense for budgetary
meetings.
Read and Approve Minutes
Commissioner Howell moved to approve the minutes from 1/20 and 1/26.
Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Sign and Approve Claims
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the claims as presented by staff.
Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
To see an image of the report please see page 6 of the minutes.
Assessor’s Office & Emergency Management Credit Cards Discussion
Cy Lootens and Mark Swenson were present.
Cy stated that he was made aware of some issues with county credit cards. One was for Kirsten
who used the clerks credit card and put it over its limit. This led to parts of peoples stay at the
conference being paid out of pocket. He also had a discussion with Mark that his office would
appreciate receiving one to be able to prevent individuals paying out of pocket for these times.
The Board wanted to see what could be done with direct bill to avoid this issues in the future.
The Board also stated that they would not be against having credit cards given to these
department either.
Monday, February 2, 2026
Page 5 of 6
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the raising of the clerks credit card by
$500 to help with covering stays for hotels at conference events. Seconded by
Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Commissioner Crouch moved to go into executive session per Idaho Code (1)(b)
for personnel. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a
unanimous roll call vote.
Executive session began at 3:08 pm and ended at 3:17 pm.
Meeting adjourned at 3:25 pm.
________________________
______________________________
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
A. Ben Crouch, Chairman
______________________________
Charles M. Howell, Commissioner
______________________________
Art Watkins, Commissioner
BUDGET TOTALS
DEPARTMENT PAYROLL ACCT PAY GRAND TOTAL
1[CLERK $42,750.88 2,600.89[$ 45,351.77
2ASSESSOR :
3|TREASURER
4|HUMAN RESOURCES . $3,302.30
5|COMMISSIONERS
6|CORONER
22 [3%
10|BUILDING & GROUNDS MAI
11/EMERGENCY MANAGEMEN| $ 2,120.00 | $ 240.83[$ 2,360.83
‘S|EXTENSION AGENT
14|DATA PROCESSING $ 6,004.83|$ 15,80997|$ 23,814.80
16|CHARITY $ _1,000.00[$ 1,000.00
(B[GENERAL | s~zrrreav| s—arzaa5 [$3,207.68
21
2zigis CS 20280]) 2,202.80 |
29/GENERALFUNDRESERVE| | TS
ian se sak]
30|VETERANS es
4
5|SHERIFF-DETENTION $ 105,116.47 |$ 28,812.84 [$ 133,929.31
6|ADULT PROBATION $ 10,448.00[$ 6,308.18 |$ 16,756.18
7|/PROSECUTOR $ 33,723.19 | $
9| JUVENILE PROBATION $ 12,619.70 | $ 1,120.89 | $ 13,740.59
ub Total (Justice Fund) $ 371,255.66 | $ 79,518.79 |$ 450,774.45
S|VETERANSMEMORIAL | | CSS
10,463
8,095.
6|DISTRICT COURT $ 8,560.55 1903.2 5
7|FAIR $ 8,095.70 70
485.00 | $ 34,208.19
w
9|CAPITAL FAIR
11)/HEALTH DISTRICT
15|ELECTION CONSOLIDATION $ _2,346.75|$ ——173.60|$ _ 2,520.35 |
20
23/SOLIDWASTE |
2aqyTORT,
27|WEED -
29/AMBULANCE -
£469
38 | WATERWAYS BOARD $
36 WATERWAYS SHERIFE——[ [3
39| BROADBAND GRANT FUNDS $
1
48|AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN | |
ub Total $ 39,484.43 |$ 115,587.85 | $ 155,072.28
GRAND TOTAL $ 544,264.40 |$ 265,131.08 | $ 809,395.48
Text is extracted by machine from the official file linked on each page; the official file is the record. Sentinel Media, LLC.