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minutes meeting date 2026-01-05 · fetched 2026-09-09 · 11124 characters · read by OCR, check numbers against the source · official file · plain text
Monday, January 5, 2026
Page 1 of 7
JEROME COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Monday, January 5, 2026
PRESENT: Ben Crouch, Chairman
Charles Howell, Vice Chairman
Art Watkins, Commissioner
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
Meeting convened at 9:00 am.
Commissioner Reports
Commissioner Watkins – Commissioner Watkins stated that he toured the new courthouse in
Twin Falls. He then attended the open house and farewell for Don Hall. Then he attended the
rotary meeting. There was a presentation from Bill Bridges regarding the Snake River Parks
board.
Commissioner Howell – Commissioner Howell stated that he was able to meet with some
constituents. He attended the open house and farewell for Don Hall. He also toured the new
courthouse in Twin Falls.
Commissioner Crouch – Commissioner Crouch stated that he toured the new courthouse in Twin
Falls. He also attended the open house and farewell for Don Hall. He attended the rotary
meeting. The presentation was from the Snake River Canyon Parks board. Then he had an
interview with Bill Colley.
Intermountain Gas at Airport
Marty Luhr was present.
Marty stated that he has someone from Intermountain Gas who wants to meet with the
Commissioners. They are looking to add natural gas at the airport. He wants to know about what
would need to happen to have this individual come in. The Board stated that Marty would just
need to have this individual reach out and schedule a time to do a presentation. The Board also
suggested that the airport board meet with the individual first before coming before the
Commissioners.
He also wanted to discuss the purchase of a new snow blower for the airport. He stated that the
previous one no longer works. There is one at Valley Co-Op that he found was the cheapest
option he could find in the area.
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the expenditure of $1,350 for a brand
new snowblower out at the Jerome Airport. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins.
The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Monday, January 5, 2026
Page 2 of 7
He stated that they are looking to start billing for the new year. There are still two individuals
who have not paid for last year. The Board suggested that there should be a letter sent out from
the prosecutor’s office to try and have these individuals pay.
GIS Monthly Report
Mark Reyes was present.
Mark gave an update on the GIS department. He stated that he continued to work with the Snake
River Parks board to get updated signs posted. He has worked with the city to continue to update
the maps that he has. Then he worked to look up the traffic report for the intersection of
highways 93 & 25.
Fair Board Interview
Chris Dugan and Amanda Worthington were present.
Chris was present for an interview regarding the fair board. Chris stated that he is a dairy farmer.
He moved here 20 years ago to farm in the area. He has been involved with 4H and FFA since he
was a kid. His kids are also involved in those programs. The interview continued with questions
posed by the Board.
Capital Improvements Discussion
Amanda Worthington was present.
Amanda stated that she received a couple of quotes for two capital improvement projects at the
fairgrounds. The first is regarding three light poles that were blown over in a bad wind storm a
few weeks prior. The total bid is $15,085.00. Part of the project should be covered through
insurance once the fairgrounds meet their deductible. The cost she is looking for with this project
is $10,000. The other project is to replace the piping near the grandstands. She stated that the
piping is full of tree roots and that it continues to flood in some areas and not getting enough
water to other areas. The bid for this project totals $9,656.60.
Commissioner Howell moved to approve the Farmore Standley bid to replace the
main irrigation line at the fairgrounds in the amount of $9,656.60. Seconded by
Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Discussion: The expenditure will come out of the Commissioners capital fund.
Commissioner Watkins moved to approve the $10,000 for the fallen light poles
that need to be replaced at the fairgrounds. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch.
The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Discussion: The repairs are necessary due to wind damage.
Meeting recessed at 11:38 am.
Meeting reconvened at 1:15 pm.
Monday, January 5, 2026
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Executive Session per Idaho Code 74-206(1)(b) for Personnel
Cy Lootens and Jesse Vallez were present.
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 1:16 pm and ended at 1:27 pm.
Juvenile Probation Monthly Report
Mario Umana, Amanda Worthington, and Marianne Schiewe were present.
Mario gave a report on the juvenile probation department. He stated there are a total of 84
juveniles on probation. There were 11 new cases during the last month. There was a total of 4
cases closed during the last month. The department received a total of $514.00 in fees over the
last month. He went to the Idaho Youth Challenge Academy graduation. There were eight kids
from the area who graduated. He wanted to discuss the van that their department uses. He wanted
to give it back to the county to use but needs to have some repairs done on it first before he does
so. The quote he received for the work totals $988.10. One of the other vehicles that they use
needs new tires. He received a quote for the tires from three locations.
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the repairs for the blue van, not to
exceed $1000, and new tires for the gray Ford Edge in the amount of $995.00.
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.
Fair Board
Amanda Worthington and Mariann Schiewe were present.
The Board wanted to continue their discussion regarding the appointment of members to the fair
board. The Board reviewed the individuals who had interviewed for the fair board positions and
the members who are up for reappointment.
Commissioner Crouch moved to appoint Chris Dugan and Jeri Ahrens to the fair
board for a four-year term, and Chris Dunn to the remainder of a three year term.
Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Monday, January 5, 2026
Page 4 of 7
Discussion: Gus Peterson will be fulfilling the remainder of his term which will last
three years. Chris Dunn will be fulfilling the remainder of Mariann Schiewe’s three
year term. It was determined that although people serve willingly and faithfully on
the board at length that it is good practice to give others a chance to serve as
well. Based on that Marianne was thanked for her services and will not be
reappointed.
Tax Cancelations (3 Scoular, 1 Darigold)
Mark Swenson, Cy Lootens, and Tevian Kober were present.
Mark stated that he has four tax cancelations, three for Scoular and one for Darigold. The three
that are related to Scoular were not entered in correctly after the BOE decision in July of 2025.
Due to the values not being correct the properties were not tax appropriately. The total to be
canceled for each parcel is $718.75, $2,663.54, and $30,735.92.
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the corrections indicated by the
assessor for the parcels for Scoular and their tax cancelations based on what
should have been updated from the BOE decisions in July of 2025, in the total of
$34,118.21, for parcels RPJ53500010010, PPIND535001002, and
PPIND535000022. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with
a unanimous vote.
Discussion: Not everything was corrected on the parcels after the BOE decisions
which led to the issues of being overtaxed on the specific parcels.
The one parcel for Darigold he is not fully sure what led to the issue. The only thing he could
find was that the pollution control exemption was not applied properly to the parcel. This parcel
was not a part of the BOE from 2025. The exemption increased the property value by over
$3,400,000. The total to be canceled is $45,890.07.
Commissioner Howell moved to approve the tax cancelation for Darigold in the
amount of $45,890.07, for parcel number RPJ1366001006A. Seconded by
Commissioner Crouch. 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 7 of the minutes.
Monday, January 5, 2026
Page 5 of 7
Read and Approve Minutes
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the minutes from 12/22 and 12/23.
Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Legal Counsel
Legal counsel was not present for their time with the Commissioners due to conflicts with court
schedules.
Meeting adjourned at 3:16 pm.
________________________
______________________________
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
A. Ben Crouch, Chairman
______________________________
Charles M. Howell, Commissioner
______________________________
Art Watkins, Commissioner
Vv
Statistics for Commissioners
11/24/25- 01/03/26
Juveniles — 84
Total New Probationers — 11
o Juvenile-0
o Diversion—-11
Total Closed Probationers — 4
o Juvenile-0O
o Diversion-4
Total Fees Paid — $514.00
o Juvenile — $36.50
o Diversion — $84.00
o Annex—5$393.50
Monday, January 5, 2026
Page 6 of 7
BUDGET TOTALS
DEPARTMENT PAYROLL ACCT PAY GRAND TOTAL
1|CLERK $ 42,521.20 |$ 623.18|$ 43,144.38
zassessoR [$s zotar| ts — azar.
3/TREASURER TS 7676.71) LS 7676.71 |
4|HUMAN RESOURCES | $ 3,302.30 $ 3,302.30
6|CORONER $1,019.22 $ 1,019.22
{O)SUILOING & GROUNDS WA's —Botae |S ——TOSSEZTS —To.023-06
11/EMERGENCY MANAGEMEN]$ 2,120.00] |S 2,120.00 |
13/EXTENSIONAGENT [$3,776.30] TS 3,776.30 |
14[DATAPROCESSING | $__—8,004.81|$ 8,451.52 |$ 16,456.33 |
15[ELECTIONS TCS
16|CHARITY $ :
eIgeNERAL +5 66,880.38 |$ 2,215.54|$ 69,095.92
21|PLANNING & ZONING $ 14,489.79 $ 14,489.79
gigs] 2202.80] | 2 20000}
29|GENERAL FUND RESERVE $ :
SEAN $ _7,038.53|$ 7,038.53
9,387.59 | $ 197,58
4(SHERIFF S'S 87.787.21|$ 10,817.08 |$§ 96,604.69
S|SHERIFF-DETENTION —s|$_95,952.00|_ | S$ (95,952.00 |
6/ADULTPROBATION | $_—10,448.00/$ 10.00 $ 10,458.00 |
7/PROSECUTOR | $31,250.02 $ 123.59 $ 31,373.61 |
8[PUBLICDEFENDERS =[| | CSC
Q|JUVENILE PROBATION |$_ 12.619.70| | $12,619.70 |
18/GENERAL JUSTICE | $_ 135,347.33] $ 29,638.23 $ 164,985.56 |
$ 373,404.26 | $ 40,589.50 | $ 413,993.76
S|VETERANS MEMORIAL | | ST
6|DISTRICT COURT § 10,518.34 $ 11,820.24
EAR | 10885 8 $10 885.55
9|CAPITAL FAIR $ :
‘f]EALTH DISTRI ———[
15|ELECTION CONSOLIDATION § 3,333.36 $3,333.36
ZO|REVALUAION | § 21.507 90] | sa sore
23|SOLID WASTE g :
zafORT -——
27WEED | SO
29]AMBULANCE | TCS
38|WATERWAYSBOARD | |S
38/(WATERWAYS SHERIFF) | | CSC
39|BROADBAND GRANT FUNDS
41|BOND REDEMPTION
48|AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN
1
Sub Total
$ 53,117.51
$ 604,721.71
$
$
1,349.6
61,326.7
41) 44 | 69
3 467.14
2 43
54
666
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