Sentinel Media records · public agendas and minutes, text only, refreshed nightly from each body's own site · not a newspaper
minutes meeting date 2026-10-06 · fetched 2026-10-25 · 10046 characters · official file · plain text
October 6, 2026 This regular meeting of the Jerome City Council was called to order by Mayor Barber at 5:30 p.m. The meeting was also held by teleconference, conducted via Zoom, and was made available to all members of the public in a format that allowed all participants to hear the meeting, including all deliberations by members of the Council and other speakers addressing the council, whether in person or via virtual connection, and to comment if so desired, all of which was noted in the agenda, email, and notices at council chambers and on the city’s website. Present: Mayor Christopher Barber, Councilman Jason Peterson, Councilman Bryan Craig, Councilman Dale Ross, and Councilwoman Jeri Ahrens. Also present were staff members: City Clerk Bernadette Coderniz, Legal Counsel Ted Larsen, Public Works Director Jon Caton, City Engineer Tyson Carpenter, Wastewater Superintendent Brad Henry, Building Official Kortnie Kent, Finance Director Ross Hyatt, Accounting and Budget Manager Lori McCrae, Planning and Zoning Manager Ida Clark, Human Resources Director Esmeralda Chavez, IS Director Carlos Hernandez, Fire Chief Mike. Harrison, and Police Captain Dennis Clark. City Administrator Mike Williams was excused. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Barber led the audience in recitation of the pledge of allegiance. INVOCATION: An invocation was given by Pastor Gary Terrell with the Freewill Baptist Church. CONSENT CALENDAR: Those items contained in the consent calendar are as follows: 1. Approve the minutes of the September 15, 2026 regular meeting 2. Approve the following payments: • Davidson Sales & Engineering – Bio Tower and Clarifier feed Pumps, $233,614.00 • GSE Construction – Bio Tower repairs, $23,500.00 Councilman Craig made the motion to approve the consent calendar as presented. Second to the motion was made by Councilman Peterson. After consideration, the motion passed unanimously by the following vote: AYES: Councilman Ross, Councilwoman Ahrens, Councilman Craig, and Councilman Peterson. NAYS: None. FINDING OF FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: Ms. Clark stated Idaho Code 67-6535 requires that approval or denial of an application be based upon express standards and in writing as “reason statements,” and the City identifies them as “Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law.” She spoke of the public hearing for an annexation application held on July 7th and the continuation hearing on September 15th. The reasoned statement for the denial was included for the Council’s review, and Ms. Clark explained that this evening’s action would be to approve the statement as factual but that further discussion on the annexation request itself would not be permitted. She further stated that Council could review the reason statement and advise of any information that was incorrect. Councilman Ross made the motion to approve the Findings and Conclusion of Law on the application of the Conger Group. Second to the motion was made by Councilman Peterson. After consideration, the motion passed by the following vote: AYES: Councilman Ross, Councilwoman Ahrens, and Councilman Peterson. NAYS: None. Councilman Craig recused himself from the vote as he was not part of the original discussion. PRECISION ENGINEERING LLC PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT: Mr. Caton spoke of the reconstruction project on E. Yakima awarded to Extreme Excavation and stated the Notice to Proceed had been issued. He further spoke of the intersection of Yakima and Lincoln that needed to be revisited carefully to consider the signal configuration, conduct a safety analysis, and consider the need for right of way acquisition. Mr. Caton stated staff believed it would be best for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) interchange project to be completed before beginning work on the intersection considering its close proximity to the interchange. Mr. Caton spoke the agreement with Precision Engineering to be involved in construction observation and noted they designed the concrete section from Lincoln to Tiger. Upon inquiry by Councilman Peterson, Mr. Caton stated the interchange work is nearly complete and landscaping should be completed by year end. Upon inquiry by Councilman Craig, Mr. Caton stated there would be guides for navigating the new interchange. Mayor Barber inquired about weed control at the interchange, and Mr. Carpenter stated weeds would be sprayed and removed. Regarding maintenance, the agreement with ITD states the City will be responsible for maintenance upon completion of the landscaping work. Councilman Craig spoke of curbing at the interchange, and Councilwoman Ahrens confirmed the agreement with Precision Engineering to support the construction of Yakima was presented for approval. Councilman Craig made the motion to approve the professional services agreement with Precision Engineering, LLC for CE&I services for the Yakima Avenue (Lincoln to Tiger) Reconstruction Project for an amount not to exceed $151,060.00. Second to the motion was made by Councilman Ross. After consideration, the motion passed unanimously by the following vote: AYES: Councilman Ross, Councilwoman Ahrens, Councilman Craig, and Councilman Peterson. NAYS: None. TRANSMAP CORPORATION: Mr. Caton provided an update on the activities with TransMap and the potential to add on additional services. TransMap began to analyze the roads last year by collecting photos (360° photos) of data points, measuring cracks in pavement, and determining a pavement condition score for every road in the City. The data was stored in raw format to be added later to the Geographic Information System (GIS). Data collected included all distresses in the pavement and exact measurements of all pavement throughout the City. Mr. Caton provided a graph demonstrating the pavement condition score of each road and the condition of the roads as time passes. He spoke of scores and rehabilitation costs based on the condition of the roads, and indicated that a score of 100 would be new pavement (less than one year old). Upon inquiry by Councilman Craig, Mr. Caton stated the average score for roads within the City is 74 out of 100. Extensive discussion ensued, and topics included: condition of roads based on traffic; patterns in town and the potential need for a sustainable truck route; 70 center-line miles of roadway; segments of road in the pavement condition index (PCI); the interactive tool that allows one to select a road and see the photos and conditions; scores that determine priorities and how to proceed with rehabilitation i.e. chip sealing versus reconstruction; no subscription fee for the program; the budget to collect the data (approximately $40,000); the need to map out the roads again in the future; updating the information in the program (not recommended); adding new photos with improved scores; a list of the lowest PCI scores in the City and the potential for improved scores with repairs; some roads as urban renewal projects while others are in the master plan; some roads that could be better utilized as a gravel road; and, taking cracks and distresses into consideration when determining road conditions with measurements of width and depth. Mr. Caton reiterated the purpose of last year’s project was to gather the information and enter into the GIS inventory system, and he spoke of additional services that could be utilized to dive deeper into the needs of the City and respond accordingly. Mr. Caton stated the additional services were not budgeted and requested that funds be pulled from the streets fund in FY2026-27. Upon inquiry by Councilman Craig, Mr. Caton stated information like stop sign concerns and inconsistent routes could be further examined with the additional services. Upon inquiry by Mayor Barber, Chief Harrison stated the fire department currently had hydrant information on hard maps. Councilman Craig made the motion to approve additional asset data processing and GIS integration services with TransMap Corporation for $39,956.29. Second to the motion was made by Councilman Ross. After consideration, the motion passed unanimously by the following vote: AYES: Councilman Ross, Councilwoman Ahrens, Councilman Craig, and Councilman Peterson. NAYS: None. COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN IDAHO PAYMENT: Mr. Carpenter spoke of the new College of Southern Idaho (CSI) building and the opportunity to partner with them for street improvements that would increase connectivity on N. Alder between 1st and 3rd Avenues. CSI completed their portion of the road and then completed the City’s portion. Staff has recommended to reimburse CSI for those costs. Councilman Ross made the motion to approve payment to College of Southern Idaho for design and construction of Alder Street from 1st Ave to 3rd Ave project for an amount of $173,111.40. Second to the motion was made by Councilman Peterson. After consideration, the motion passed unanimously by the following vote: AYES: Councilman Ross, Councilwoman Ahrens, Councilman Craig, and Councilman Peterson. NAYS: None. COUNCIL REPORTS: Councilman Craig inquired about playground material at Shepherd’s Park (staff will research) and sidewalk that disappeared between the post office and depot building (Ms. Clark will provide information). He also thanked Mr. Carpenter and Ms. Clark for their efforts in communicating with businesses throughout the downtown projects and claim issues. Councilman Ross also complimented Ms. Clark on communicating with businesses. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: No department reports were given. ADJOURNMENT: There being nothing further to discuss, Mayor Barber adjourned this October 6, 2026 regular meeting of the Jerome City Council at 6:05 p.m. By: Mayor Christopher J. Barber Attest: Bernadette Coderniz, City Clerk
Text is extracted by machine from the official file linked on each page; the official file is the record. Sentinel Media, LLC.