Sentinel Media records · public agendas and minutes, text only, refreshed nightly from each body's own site · not a newspaper
minutes meeting date 2026-04-13 · fetched 2026-09-09 · 21147 characters · read by OCR, check numbers against the source · official file · plain text
COMMISSIONER MEETING OF April 13, 2026 The Caribou County Commissioners met in regular session on April 27, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Those in attendance were: Mark Mathews, Commissioner Chair Bryce Somsen, Commissioner Marty McCullough, Commissioner Jill Stoor, Clerk Doug Wood, Prosecutor Sharlene Simons, Deputy Clerk Kevin McLain, Road & Bridge Kya Simmons, Public Safety Rowdy Larkins, Maint. & Building Helen Barker, Parks & Recreation/P&Z Angie Mendenhall, Treasurer Maggie Mann, SE Idaho Public Health Wilma Robertson, GIS Contracting Cody Brower, Judge Aaron Cook, Assessor Mayor David Pristupa, City of Grace Vaughan Rasmussen, Public Health 6" District Steven Barker Dow Barker Kristen Wedertz Travis Busk Mike & Debbie Walquist Greg & Irene Torgesen Val Gibson Jessica J Fuechsel, SEIPH Maggie Mann, SEIPH Leslie Talbot, SIPH Tammi Crosbie SIPH Ross Carroll Tom Calton, GIS Wilma Robertson, GIS Gimi Somasiri, SSHS, BPA Lane Harris, SSHS, BPA Cassi Cook, SSHS BPA Jake Poulsen, Keller & Associates Richard Senn Cooper O'Neil Jason Curtis Brooks Jensen Matt Whiting, Kenneth Sartin Jim Frandsen Pacen Austin Brandon Hall, The Idaho Enterprise The meeting opened with Marty McCullough leading the pledge of allegiance and prayer. Kevin McLain, Road & Bridge: Kevin mentioned they are blading out North today. Most of the lower roads are done. e They are working on the chloride truck. They are adding a spray bar on the back to keep the material on the road better. He ordered 3 loads of mag chloride and they are sitting out in their tanks. Teton County is going to add a new emergent product this spring and Kevin will be going up to watch. e He said that the chips are almost completed for the Smoky Canyon Road to be chip sealed this summer. e Eagle Rock Blasters came to give a quote to do another blast out on the same pit. a TT TT a ET SE TNT TE aE EL Ee Se TR Ser Commissioner Minutes 04-13-2026 Page 1 He was going to take the crusher to the Stauffer pit but will keep it where it is at if he can get a new blast. A lot of what they have stock piled right now will be going to the Turner Loop Road. He went and looked at the Grace pit but it will take a bit of dozing to get where the material is. The crusher needs fixed and he received a $15,000 bid for this. Kevin talked to Brian who owns the ground and on the stacker belt he would build a piece that would blend the gravel better and he would build it for just the materials. Western States will be coming to look at the front end of one of the road graders. Regarding the truck that he is deleting, the ECM is on ground freight to get here. Commissioner Somsen shared contact information on someone that might be able to sell a delete kit. Jake Barfuss talked to Kevin and mentioned that the first part of May will be the High School Rodeo and he asked if they could use the water truck. Kevin told him that wouldn't be a problem. They have all the equipment out of the show barn and they hauled down the skid steer for Rowdy to use. Kevin mentioned that there is a company wanting to lease equipment to him. He wondered about renting a drum roller from Western States and the board agreed to do that. Commissioner Somsen talked to people about the bridge at the conference. He gave Kevin the contact information. He then asked about the crusher and if Kevin has figured out what it is costing to crush the gravel. Commissioner Mathews asked about leasing the crusher and if it would be cheaper. Commissioner Somsen asked about the shed here in Soda and Kevin is still working on this. Kya Simmons, Public Safety: Kya shared they are sending one EMT from Bancroft to ISU for the advanced training that will be starting next month. Commissioner Mathews asked about the metal stairs at the Event Center. It is in but it is still needing to be firmed up. Rowdy shared that it has been fixed. They have updated their by-law and policies, procedures, and regulations. The last update was done in 2012. Concerning the website logo, she has submitted it and is waiting for their department to get back with her on it. Rowdy Larkins, Courthouse Maintenance/Building Dept: Commissioner Mathews asked about the Event Center floor and if it is getting better. Rowdy thought that once he gets the cleaner on it he is hoping it gets better. Some places the cement is flaking off outside the Event Center on the North side. Jill received a letter from Direct Communications saying they have not received payment on a bill. Commissioner Somsen made a motion to convene an executive session pursuant to I.C. 74-206 (f) at 12:03 p.m. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Commissioner Somsen voted aye; Commissioner McCullough voted aye; Commissioner Mathews voted aye. The motion passed and the executive session began. Commissioner Somsen suggested ending the executive session at 12:27 a.m. No decisions were made. cma ki ae ell Commissioner Minutes 04-13-2026 Page 2 Dwight Lloyd, Weed Dept.: Dwight was not able to attend. Helen Barker, Parks and Recreation: Helen has been trying to find lawn care for the Sucker Trap and Oregon Trail and found High School students but the insurance and equipment are an issue. FTC Solutions does lawn care, and she brought in a bid from him. He is from Preston. One bid for $3850 includes pest control, tree cleanup mowing and equipment rental for both parks. $1750 would be the removal of old equipment. Weekly maintenance would be $700. It was agreed to contract with him. She will talk to him about repairing the vaulted toilet and get a contract ready. He would like to start as soon as possible. Concerning the pump house, she shared pictures of this and how the pump itself goes underground so accessing it will be difficult. They are thinking of redirecting it and installing a removable hose. This hasn't been used for a few years; she will present more at a later time. She shared ideas of what she would like to have done at the parks. She talked to Mark Stenberg about the reservoir and their plans. Not many showed at the meeting in February so he is thinking of doing away with the committee. They talked about the wake boats and maybe adding vegetation. A wake boat needs to be 500 ft from the shore line and 200 ft from that is ano wake zone. He was basically stating that there isn't an area for the wake boats to go anywhere. He is planning to put out signs for the no wake zone, speed limit and the rules for the reservoir. Commissioner Mathews asked who would enforce it. It sounds like they want the county to enforce this as this would be a bad look for them if they were to enforce it. Helen Barker, Planning & Zoning: Commissioner Somsen made a motion to enter into a Public Hearing for the Barker Rezone application at 10:31 a.m. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously and the hearing convened. Helen shared that Dow Barker is requesting approval of an amendment to the Caribou County Zoning Map. The Zone Amendment would allow a change from the AG-Agricultural Zone to the LDR Low—Density Residential Zone. The property in question is approximately 72 acres, located east of the City of Soda Springs, west of Highway 30 at the end of Gunnell Road, in Caribou County Idaho. She shared that a Planning and Zoning meeting was held on April 2, 2026 and at that time a motion was made to recommend approval: however, the motion did not receive a second and therefore failed. As a result, no recommendation was given. Dow spoke to the history of the ground. He then said that in 2016 Commissioner Somsen and Jayson Lower approached Barkers for a county landfill and when that didn’t go through, he then split it into 70-acre lots. He stated there is a need for people to purchase ground to build a home. He shared many people and business's that he has contacted concerning this. He shared that it would be split into 1 20-acre piece and 2 25-acre pieces. He asked everyone to visualize the city park and the lots he is asking for would be 4-5 times larger than the park. He thought it complies and is needed. Steven Barker is currently a school board chairman and shared information concerning the lack of finding staff due to limited housing and growth. He thought it would be beneficial and asked to allow this. a a Commissioner Minutes 04-13-2026 Page 3 Greg Torgesen, owns the property to the west of Gunnell Road. He encouraged the Commissioners to keep in mind allowing flexibility of land owners to use their property as long as keeping in mind zoning and safety issues. He also agreed with what Steven had to say. Kristine Wedertz spoke in opposition. Respectfully asking to turn this down and spoke of the following points: Ag preservation, Ag protection, Zoning ordinance, Infrastructure (referred to the Comprehensive Plan), Opposition for precedence. She then asked to deny the request. Mark Walquist owns property on Gunnell Road and wanted to echo completely what Kristine said. They purchased their property due to the parcel size. He stated they oppose this zone change Dow then spoke as a rebuttal. He stated that he was on the zoning committee when the comprehensive plan was approved. He spoke on private property owners’ rights. He doesn’t think this will change the integrity of the parcels. Commissioner Somsen suggested closing the Public Hearing at 11:09 a.m. on the Barker Re-Zoning. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Motion passed. Commissioner Somsen spoke of moving growth closer to the city. Commissioner Mathews said that currently the property could pass with a split of 2 pieces. He doesn't like the spot zoning of this and Commissioner McCullough agreed with Commissioner Mathews on the spot zoning. That issue was discussed further. Commissioner Somsen motion to approve the Barker Re-Zone. Commissioner McCullough passed on seconding the motion. Commissioner Mathews seconded the motion. Motion passed. Maggie Mann, SE Idaho Public Health: Maggie, brought Vaughn Rasmussen, Jessica, Leslie and Tammi. She is sharing what the board approved. Their budget hearing will be held on Thursday, 05/28/2026 at 9:30 a.m. at the Pocatello Office. They need a board member there. Maggie shared some statistics of the District including: FY2027 Budget Request 07/01/2026 — 06/30/2027; FY 2027 County Funding Request: Reasons Contribution Changed, (by county); Population and Market Value Changes; Fy2027 Proposed District Fund Use; FY2027 Budget Funding Composition; County/State Public Health District Support -10 Year Lookback; Public Health Programs. She stated that they try to be careful of what to ask the county for. She asked if the county could support this budget of 1.4% increase totaling $ 131,725.00. Jill shared the anticipated cutbacks, especially with state funding; she did think that it might be possible. She would like to look closer at the budget before giving a solid yes. Commissioner Minutes 04-13-2026 Page 4 City/County: Mayor David Pristupa came to share that the bridge in Grace should be paved by the 20* of April. He shared that when Kim Spencer worked for the county, it was decided that Road & Bridge would chip seal about %2 mile section on Mingo Road and Burton Canyon subdivision. The Board said they would follow up on that. The subdivision can’t be done until the occupancy is higher and then the county will adopt the road. Commissioner Mathews shared that Mayor has been talking to canal lateral presidents on the first west lateral re- construction. They will be running a line beneath main street in the fall. Mayor shared that the Grace Highway is scheduled for mill and replacement asphalt in 2027. Commissioner Somsen asked if there were complaints on the parking at the Event Center. He said no and said they appreciate the support that it will bring to the community. Mayor spoke of the waste water project they have been doing. Wilma Robertson, GIS: Wilma and Tom wanted to find out current processes that are in place. They would like to be as transparent as possible. Tom shared the dashboard and how they have been handling the requests. He is asking where the data is, who is managing this data, and how to get it to a more centralized location for everyone to use. They want to make sure permissions to edit and change data are set for correct people. They walked through requesting a survey with Commissioner Somsen. (It was suggested to change that wording from survey to a request or work order). Wilma would like to meet individually with each Commissioner to see what their concerns are. Aaron had a concern about the addresses being given before they own the ground. Doug thought that the county may need an ordinance on this. Due to the addresses affecting so many in the county, including the Assessor, P&Z, Emergency Service, Inspector, Clerk and Sheriff, Tom felt that they all need to have input on addressing. This would need to be done through the ordinance process. Cody Brower, Judge: Judge Brower shared that he did meet with the 4-County Commissioners meeting recently. He shared that he likes to meet with the Commissioners at least once a year to talk about questions or concerns that they may have with the court. Jill shared that she just had a meeting with the District Court Clerks and the topic of law clerks and salary came up. They are looking at making some adjustments there. Jill mentioned that they pay her salary, but they are not getting feedback on what she does or the hours she is putting in and invited the judge to share that information with the board. Judge Brower shared that the law clerk has been putting her hours in digitally on an app. She is working full time hours with him. He said she is learning her job and has been assisting him with research. As far as her salary, it was recommended that Judge not take part of that because that would be a leverage of his judicial position. He thought that maybe this would be up to Jill. He shared that she is very pro-active and doing a good job. Commissioner Minutes 04-13-2026 Page 5 As far as the courtroom, he tries to treat people with kindness and respect and dignity because a lot of times people are there on their hardest days. He did share that the clerks here are doing a great job here and they treat people with professionalism. Discussion was held on the court office door; he shared that the door has been fixed. Cassi Cook, SSHS BPA: Cassi brought in students from the Soda Springs High School BPA in hopes of receiving a donation to go to Nashville, Tennessee for Nationals. Three students qualified to go to Nationals, Gimhana Somasiri, Lane Harris, and Bridger Dilworth. They have been trying to hold various fund raisers. Gimhana shared a cost breakdown estimating that it will cost each student $1572. Last year 3 students were able to go. Commissioner McCullough made a motion to donate $2000 to SSHS BPA for their Nashville trip from PILT. Commissioner Somsen seconded the motion. Motion passed Jake Poulsen, Keller & Associates, Zoom: Jake shared that they submitted a memorandum on the Kelly Toponce bridge. To summarize, he mentioned that he went out there with his hydraulics and bridge guys, looked at the bridge and took measurements and photographs. He thought the bottom line is, what ITD would consider failed just not a catastrophic failure. He said they are seeing movement from the structure. He mentioned that it is failed and could go at any time. Kevin brought up the box culverts and Commissioner McCullough asked if that would be a possibility. Commissioner Mathews asked how high the CFS are going through there typically. Jake mentioned that they would have to look at the hydraulics for that to be determined. He said that most bridges fail due to scour and this is what has happened with this bridge. Kevin asked about weight constrictions. Jake mentioned that it could fail catastrophically at any time. Estimated high-level cost is $2,260,000.00. Kevin will get the road shut down for now and he will keep working with Jake on this as well. Commissioner McCullough asked Jake to look at the cement at the North side of the Event Center. Commissioner Somsen made a motion to temporarily close the Kelly Toponce bridge that crosses the Portneuf as of the 14 of April. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Motion passed. Jill Stoor, Clerk Jill said the IT phone has been shut off; the phone is now transferred to Kya. The weed ordinance needs approval of wording to publicize a public hearing can be held in two weeks. She has been looking for a program where she can upload documents for the Board. She shared that we are already paying for Google and thought that Google Drive would be a new system to use instead of all the emails. She then shared how to access the drive. She will share the link to the new folder the Thursday before their scheduled meeting. Jill shared her struggles with the computers in the Commissioner room. She is looking into “Court in the Box.” She will get bids and try to have them for the next meeting. She would also like to purchase an iPad as well. She found Commissioner Minutes 04-13-2026 Page 6 an iPad and asked what Commissioner Somsen would suggest and he thought she should get the Pro with a keyboard. Commissioner Somsen made a motion to approve purchase an iPad Pro and keyboard for the Clerk’s Department for up to $1500. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Motion passed. e She mentioned the Kelly Toponce bridge, Jake will call in on that later today. e 4-County Alliance, she received an email from Molly asking for a support letter and requesting an additional $500. Prior years it has been $3000. Commissioner Somsen made a motion to approve $3500 per year starting FY2027 for 4 County Alliance. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Motion passed. e Jill will be sending out budget papers to department heads soon. e She has been receiving several phone calls on the Extension Office. Rowdy has allowed Casey to be in there and the 4-H has been doing classes there as well. Jill wanted the Board to know that she has been allowing people to use it. The Health Department has no interest in more room. It was suggested to talk to Melanie about cleaning it. e |daho Wool Grower sent a letter stating to re-nominate Jennifer Ellis as director from Caribou County to the District #4 Animal Damage Control Board. Commissioner McCullough made a motion to re-nominate Jennifer Ellis to the Caribou County District #4 Animal Damage Control Board. Commissioner Somsen seconded the motion. Motion passed. e Concerning the Event Center, Jill wanted to make sure everyone was in agreeance in holding the retention bill of $20,000. It was agreed. e Our application for the America 250 Grant has been approved for $2500. On the grant she suggested hats or t-shirts to throw out at the parade. Suggestions were made and Jill will look and get something ordered. e The Clerk’s Office received an interesting call about a private cemetery and the rules concerning that. Jill mentioned that at the 4-County meeting they learned that Bannock County was working up an ordinance to add to their code. Helen will talk with Doug concerning this. e Calendar: May 5 Persi is coming to Caribou County to do 3 different classes with employees. Beginning- not vested yet, Right in the middle of it, and Ready to retire. May 12, Budget Levy Training in Chubbuck. June 2-4 IACCA Annual Conference in Nampa. a ___________________________é__________________+} Commissioner Minutes 04-13-2026 Page 7 Road & Bridge Interviews: Commissioner Somsen made a motion to convene an executive session pursuant to I.C. 74-206 (a) at 1:37 p.m. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Commissioner Somsen voted aye; Commissioner McCullough voted aye; Commissioner Mathews voted aye. The motion passed and the executive session began. Commissioner Somsen suggested ending the executive session at 3:45 p.m. Commissioner McCullough made a motion to hire Jim Frandsen, Pacen Austin, and Matt Whiting for Road & Bridge. Commissioner Mathews seconded the motion. Motion passed. Other: Commissioner Somsen made a motion to amend the agenda to add an executive session pursuant to I.C. 74- 206 (f) during Rowdy’s time. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Motion passed. Commissioner Somsen made a motion to accept the agenda as amended for 04-13-2026. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Motion passed. Commissioner Somsen made a motion to approve the minutes of 03/23/2026 as presented, the claims approval report in the amount of $382,863.91 for 04/09/2026 and the payroll claims in the amount of $386,783.56 for 04/03/2026. Commissioner McCullough seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 3:47 p.m. The Caribou County Board of Commissioners will meet again on April 27, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. for regular meeting. Signed: Mark Mathews, Commissioner Chair Attested: Jill Stoor, Clerk pL the , Gui Seer Commissioner Minutes 04-13-2026 Page 8
Text is extracted by machine from the official file linked on each page; the official file is the record. Sentinel Media, LLC.