Jerome County | minutes | meeting 2026-02-02 | Commissioners Meeting source: https://www.jeromecountyid.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02022026-1602 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