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minutes meeting date 2026-02-23 · fetched 2026-09-09 · 29092 characters · official file · plain text
BOCC Feb 23 2026 Public Hearing FREMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES February 23, 2026 Present for the meeting were: Commissioners Blair Dance, Rick Hill, and Mark Chandler Also attended by: Clerk Meredith Mattingly, Deputy Clerk Kim Fletcher, Civil Attorney Blake Hall via Zoom Commissioner Dance called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance. Treasurer Lori Beard RE: Tax Cancellations – action item; America 250 – action item; Bids for Shrubbery Trimming – action item Ms. Beard presented the tax cancellations for the month of January 2026 in the amount of $2,726.31. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the tax cancellations for the month of January 2026 in the amount of $2,726.31. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Ms. Beard discussed the America 250 events this summer. She would like to know if the Commissioners would like to plan anything or not. Commissioners feel we should plan to do something and would like to know the dates we need to plan for. Ms. Beard stated many places have been doing events since last July. Some haven’t started until this year. Jan Neish stated Blackfoot also has an anniversary this year and discussed the events they are doing to coincide with the America 250 celebrations. They will be having events until September. Also, across the state, communities are signing declarations to display in the Capitol rotunda. Commissioner Hill recalls St. Anthony City Mayor Powell attending a meeting to ask if we would like to collaborate in an event with them for the America 250 celebrations. Commissioner Dance stated we could have a discussion with him again, as well as the City of Ashton. We could discuss with the Fair Board about using the fairgrounds for events. Ms. Beard will also reach out to the Chamber of Commerce to see if they would also like to collaborate with some events in the next year. Ms. Beard presented bids for trimming the shrubbery in the courthouse flowerbeds. Spruce It Up - $610 Straight Line - $500 Swiss Precision - $500 Swiss Precision is a local company. The commissioners like the price and also like that the company is local. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to accept the bid from Swiss Precision in the amount of $500 to trim the shrubbery around the courthouse. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Deputy Clerk Kim Fletcher RE: Commissioners Index Books – action item Ms. Fletcher discussed whether or not to continue maintaining the Commissioners index books. These books have been maintained for decades and are kept in the vault in the Clerk’s office. After the minutes are taken and approved by the Commissioners, she indexes any action items they’ve made in those meetings into these books so people can find them if they want to. For older minutes (pre-2000’s) it was necessary to keep the books because we didn’t have computers to be able to keep things documented and searchable. Her question is really multilayered. First is a storage issue. We’re running out of room in the vault. Room could be made, but it would have to be thought out and would be a project, but it could be done if the Commissioners felt she needed to keep maintaining the books. The second is cost. She wasn’t here when the last book was ordered, but she was halfway through the current book, so she ordered a new one, and it cost nearly $800. The cost will likely only go up. The third is redundancy. She uploads the minutes to Municode after they are approved by the Commissioners, and they are searchable by anyone online. They are also stored and backed up on our server. The only reason anyone might need the index books is if they aren’t computer people and don’t know how to do a search online themselves, but a records request can always be made at no cost to them. Ms. Fletcher would like to know if the Commissioners would like her to keep maintaining the index books, or if it is something that can be retired because of the stated reasons. She feels they have been maintained partly because of tradition, but the only index books that have really ever been touched are the ones that pre-date 1980. The newer books haven’t been touched, but she will keep doing it if the Commissioners feel it is necessary. IT Manager Josh Warnke stated they are stored electronically in 4 places, so they are able to be searched that way. It really isn’t necessary to keep the index books in hard copy. Clerk Mattingly had a discussion with some of the other Clerks at IAC. One of them didn’t know what she was talking about, and a few of the others stated they don’t maintain them anymore because they do them online. Blake Hall stated Idaho Code requires the Clerks to maintain an index for Commissioners minutes so we may not be able to stop keeping the books, so Clerk Mace wasn’t necessarily keeping them because of tradition, but because the law dictated it. It is possible that an online index may fill the requirement, and he is happy to work with Clerk Mattingly to learn if this is a possibility, but he recommends waiting to make a decision before we find out if that is enough or if we need to keep the books. Commissioners feel the books look really neat, but they are a lot of work and agree the storage and redundancy are issues that could both be cleared up if the minutes are searchable online. They also agree with Mr. Hall that a decision should wait until we know more about whether or not we can stop maintaining the written record. Commissioner Hill made a motion to table a decision until we know whether or not we are able to change the policy about the index books. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Jan Neish RE: Archiving Zoom Meetings, and Screen Sharing– action item Ms. Neish discussed archiving zoom meetings for people who can’t attend them in person. She feels the Commissioners would have the ability to reach more people if the meetings were archived so people who work during meeting hours could watch it later. She also discussed the possibility of screen sharing things that are on the big screen onto the Zoom so people who aren’t in attendance would be able to see what is happening on the big screen; people at home are only getting half the picture. She watches many meetings throughout the week and there are other places that screen-share successfully. She feels that people who don’t get the whole picture will often start filling in the blanks, and their interpretations are not always correct. Mr. Hall stated our current open meeting law doesn’t require us to maintain an electronic record of our meetings. It only requires us to maintain written minutes. It would require a policy decision by the Commissioners to make that requirement. The previous legal advisor didn’t want that. If they chose to change the policy, they would be required to permanently maintain the electronic and written record, which would also require a lot of storage. Mr. Warnke stated part of the issue the previous council had, and the reason for our policy, was the conflict between video versus the written record in court. Civil Attorney Dina Sallack-Windes didn’t want there to be a conflict and felt the written record should always take precedence. Commissioner Dance feels we are compliant with the existing law. Once we move the line, someone else wants us to move the line again, and we have enough to do already. Ms. Neish feels if they adjusted the line by 2 days so more people could catch their meeting, they would be falling in line with more counties that are opening up to reach more people. Commissioner Hill wonders why the written record isn’t enough. Ms. Neish stated that Ms. Fletcher does a wonderful job with the record, but she feels the discussion between the Commissioners is important and that is what the people want to hear. They want the context and details and those aren’t always documented in their entirety in the written record. Mr. Hall isn’t comfortable setting a time limit on the issue because once this is opened up, he feels it is a permanent record and we would have to maintain it permanently. Commissioners Hill and Chandler agreed with Mr. Hall and felt our current policy shouldn’t change in regards to archiving the meetings. Mr. Warnke stated we also run our meetings through YouTube. He doesn’t know how their storage works or what it would cost. So far, we have been able to do it cheaply, but we also haven’t been storing anything. We would have to talk to other counties to find out their cost for storage. Ms. Neish asked again about the screen sharing and if it would be difficult to set that up. Mr. Warnke stated it could be done a couple of ways. One would logistically be more difficult and would require zoom to be shut off and restarted and could cause delays in the meetings, but the other would be simply to get another camera that could be flipped on from Ms. Mattingly’s computer when needed. The cost for the camera would only be a couple hundred dollars. Commissioners tabled this discussion for a future meeting. They would like to talk to other counties and find out how they are handling their meetings, archiving, costs, and why some of them that were broadcasting and archiving their meetings no longer are. Blackfoot Communications RE: Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(f) – action item Commissioner Dance made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to IC 74-206(1)(f) To communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated. The mere presence of legal counsel at an executive session does not satisfy this requirement; at 10:13 a.m. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken with Commissioner Dance voting “Aye”, Commissioner Hill voting “Aye”, and Commissioner Chandler voting “Aye”. Commissioner Dance declared the meeting open at 10:26 a.m. Public Hearing RE: Teton View Surveying Zone Change – action item Teton View Surveying Zone Change Fremont County Courthouse/Commissioners Room February 23, 2026 10:50 AM Present for the meeting were: Commissioners Blair Dance, Rick Hill, and Mark Chandler Also attended by: Clerk Meredith Mattingly, Deputy Clerk Kim Fletcher, Civil Attorney Blake Hall via Zoom, Planning and Zoning Administrator Tom Cluff, Planning and Zoning Planner Dusty Rigby Commissioner Dance called the hearing to order and welcomed those in attendance. He also introduced county employees in attendance. Commissioner Dance explained the purpose of the hearing and asked if any of the Commissioners have a conflict on this hearing. Commissioners have no conflict. Commissioner Dance asked Clerk Meredith Mattingly if the hearing had been properly noticed. Clerk Mattingly stated that it had. Mr. Cluff stated the public notice was correct, but it was unfortunately put on the agenda incorrectly and we only put the zone change on the agenda, so the Commissioners may need to table a decision today, and then wait until next week when the comprehensive plan map change and zone change can both be on the agenda. Mr. Hall stated the Commissioners can amend the agenda to reflect both items, so decisions can be made on both items today. Commissioner Dance amended the agenda to include the comprehensive plan map change and the zone change as action items to bring the agenda consistent with the public notice that was published. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Dance turned the time over to Planning and Building Planner Dusty Rigby to discuss the topic of today’s hearing Ms. Rigby stated Jeff Rowe from Teton View Surveying LLC is requesting the Comprehensive Plan Map Change first on this piece of property. The preferred land use is Rural, and he would like it to be changed to Commercial. Then he would like a zone change from the Rural Conservation Zone to Commercial Neighborhood Zone. The application number for the Comprehensive Plan Map Change is #25-090, and for the Zone Change is #25-045. ITD has plans to put an interchange in this area. This is a 13-acre parcel that is currently in a Rural Conservation zone. Since Commercial isn’t the preferred land use for the property, they must have the Comprehensive Plan Map changed before the Zone change can be done. The property is located where future commercial growth makes sense. P&Z held a hearing on January 20, 2026 and recommends approval of the Comprehensive Plan Map change as well as the Zone change. A copy of the draft minutes from their hearing is included in the packet provided to the Commissioners. Commissioner Dance asked if this change was just for the 13-acre property or if it included the separate 7- acre property. Ms. Rigby said no, it is only for the 13 acre property. Commissioner Dance stated that written comments would have to have been submitted to the County Clerk’s Office 8 days prior to the hearing. He asked Clerk Mattingly if we received any written comment. Clerk Mattingly stated we had not. Commissioner Dance explained the Public Comment portion of the hearing. Each person that has signed up to comment would be allotted 5 minutes to comment. At the beginning of their time, they will need to announce their full name and address for the record. Time will not be allowed to be given up and donated to other commenters. There will be no more public comment after this hearing. There may not be a decision made today, as the Commissioners are allowed 60 days to make a decision on this matter. Commissioner Dance opened the meeting for public comment. PUBLIC COMMENT: Jeff and Lisa Rowe, 2847 E 700 N, St. Anthony ID. Mr. Rowe stated they would like to zone their property commercial. They bought the property last year, and would like to plan for the future. In case something happens to him, she would have property she can work with. Their immediate plans for the property is to build an office for their business. With the new interchange going in, they feel it is a good opportunity to have commercial property to develop in that location in the future. Jeff Patlovich, PO Box 486, St. Anthony ID. Mr. Patlovich gave a brief review of his many years of experience in planning and zoning properties. He currently owns an Idaho land consulting company. He feels this is good long range planning for Mr. and Ms. Rowe. He agrees with staff and the planning commission, and he is here in support of Teton View Surveying. Commissioner Dance thanked everyone for the comments and their attendance. The hearing was closed at 11:14 a.m. by Commissioner Dance. Commissioners all stated they have a lot of faith in our Staff and P&Z Board. We received no written comment against these changes and they feel good approving them; the advanced planning makes sense. Commissioner Hill made a motion to adopt Resolution No 2026-09 Amending the Fremont County Comprehensive Plan Preferred Land-Use Map designation from Rural to Commercial. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Hill made a motion to adopt Ordinance No 2026-04 Amending the Fremont County Development Code zoning map from Rural Conservation Zone to the Commercial Neighborhood Zone, along with the Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision as presented by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Darrin Burrell RE: Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(b)(d) – action item Commissioner Dance made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to IC 74-206(1)(b) To consider the evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, or public school student; (d) To consider records that are exempt from disclosure as provided in chapter 1, title 74, Idaho Code; at 1:01 p.m. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken with Commissioner Dance voting “Aye”, Commissioner Hill voting “Aye”, and Commissioner Chandler voting “Aye”. Commissioner Dance declared the meeting open at 1:44 p.m. Clerk Meredith Mattingly RE: Paint and Carpeting bids for Clerks Office – action item Ms. Mattingly presented paint bids for the Clerk’s office. Noble Trade Construction – $4,237.00. This cost does not include labor, however they did include replacing the trim in TaGenn’s office to match the rest of the building, and will replace some of the damaged ceiling tiles in the kitchen. Little Odds and Ends – $16,850.00. This cost does include labor. They did the paint in the Treasurer’s Office. Commissioner Hill made a motion to accept the bid from Noble Trade Construction LLC for paint, ceiling tile repairs, and trim in the Clerk’s Office in the amount of $4,237.00. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Ms. Mattingly has reached out to 3 flooring companies but has only heard back from a couple of them. She’ll present those bids when she hears back from the other company. Commissioners RE: Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(f) – action item Commissioner Dance made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to IC 74-206(1)(f) To communicate with legal counsel for the public agency to discuss the legal ramifications of and legal options for pending litigation, or controversies not yet being litigated but imminently likely to be litigated. The mere presence of legal counsel at an executive session does not satisfy this requirement; at 1:55 p.m. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken with Commissioner Dance voting “Aye”, Commissioner Hill voting “Aye”, and Commissioner Chandler voting “Aye”. Commissioner Dance declared the meeting open at 2:25 p.m. Planning and Building Administrator Tom Cluff RE: Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(a)(b) – action item; Approve Staffing Changes – action item Mr. Cluff introduced the new Planning and Building Planner, Kyle Kirkpatrick. Mr. Kirkpatrick gave a brief introduction to himself. He’s a retired Army Colonel and moved back to Rexburg to be near family. He wanted a job that would still allow him to serve the community and was able to apply with the county and come on as a Planner. He is excited for this opportunity. Mr. Cluff stated their front desk position has also been open for a while. With 5C transitioning right now, Janine Elliot approached him about filling the position and he has agreed. Normally, the position would be posted online, but since she is transferring over, we don’t really have a procedure for that other than for the Commissioners to grant their approval for the transfer. Commissioner Dance made a motion to approve the request to transfer Janine Elliot from the 5C employment base to the Planning and Building department. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Dance made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to IC 74-206(1)(a) To consider hiring a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, wherein the respective qualities of individuals are to be evaluated in order to fill a particular vacancy or need. This paragraph does not apply to filling a vacancy in an elective office or deliberations about staffing needs in general; (b) To consider the evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, or public school student; at 2:37 p.m. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken with Commissioner Dance voting “Aye”, Commissioner Hill voting “Aye”, and Commissioner Chandler voting “Aye”. Commissioner Dance declared the meeting open at 2:49 p.m. Parks and Rec Director Greg Grant / Noxious Weed Supervisor Bryce Fowler RE: Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(a)(b) – action item, Grooming Advisory Board Member Appointment and Reappointment – action item; Golf Course Advisory Board Applicant Review – action item; Split Full Time Employee Proposal (Weed and Parks and Rec) – action item Commissioner Dance made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to IC 74-206(1)(a) To consider hiring a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, wherein the respective qualities of individuals are to be evaluated in order to fill a particular vacancy or need. This paragraph does not apply to filling a vacancy in an elective office or deliberations about staffing needs in general; (b) To consider the evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, or public school student; at 2:51 p.m. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken with Commissioner Dance voting “Aye”, Commissioner Hill voting “Aye”, and Commissioner Chandler voting “Aye”. Commissioner Dance declared the meeting open at 3:09 p.m. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to appoint Donald Horack and Nan Pugh to the Snowmobile Advisory Board. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Dance made a motion to reappoint Bruce Ard, Bob Stantus, Bill Ruppel, and Kent Bateman to the Snowmobile Advisory Board. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Grant presented a list of applicants for the Golf Course Advisory Board for the Commissioners to review. Interviews will be done during our March 2nd, 2026 meeting. Mr. Grant and Mr. Fowler discussed splitting the cost of a full-time employee for Weed and Parks and Rec. The position would be for a groomer in the winter, and a weed sprayer in the summer. Budget-wise, Mr. Fowler has the funds in his budget for a full-time employee. Mr. Grant proposes taking the budget for 3 unfilled part-time groomer positions and converting those into 1 full-time position which should cover the needed salary for this employee. Commissioner Dance made a motion to approve, as presented, a split full-time position for trail groomer and weed sprayer with the appropriate salary for this position. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. 5C Director Kyle Gould RE: Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(b) – action item; Resolution of Closure – action item Commissioner Dance made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to IC 74-206(1)(b) To consider the evaluation, dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent, or public school student; at 3:18 p.m. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken with Commissioner Dance voting “Aye”, Commissioner Hill voting “Aye”, and Commissioner Chandler voting “Aye”. Commissioner Dance declared the meeting open at 3:39 p.m. Commissioner Dance made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 2026-10, in result of the 5 County Board of Directors voting to close the facility and cease operations on February 10, 2026, with facility operations ceasing on March 1, 2026; this was a split decision of the 5C board, with the abstaining counties being Clark County and Fremont County. Due to the joint powers agreement between 5C and Fremont County, having Fremont County act as the fiscal agent, the employees of 5C are also technically employees of Fremont County. As such, this resolution addresses their needs in conjunction with the joint powers agreement and with the cessation of operations. Therefore, this is a resolution declaring financial necessity; authorizing closure of the five county treatment and youth rehabilitation center, commonly referred to as 5C; providing for a reduction in force; and directing an orderly wind-up of operations. This is to take place with final distribution of payroll as identified in this resolution to be made March 12, 2026. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Public Works Director Brandon Harris RE: Last Chance WWTP Construction Admin Contact Amendment and Environmental Study – action item; 700N/Frontage Road Bridge Bid – action item; Excavator Rental Building Removal Mr. Harris presented an amendment to the contract for the Last Chance WWTP Construction Administrator. He introduced Camille and Kevin from Foresgren and turned his time to Camille to discuss the amendment. Camille stated the Last Chance treatment plant is going well. They will have it done by the end of this year. She gave a brief overview of what they are working on. She discussed the current contract with the county; they need some additional environmental clearance added to the contract. The scope includes the screening process the Forest Service would require. It also includes welding special inspections; it wasn’t included in their original contract because they didn’t know how much welding would be required, but they have a better idea now. This inspection is a requirement. We were granted contingency funds, so the funding for these modifications can be taken from the contingency. The total would be $30,100.00. Blake Hall has reviewed this contract and approved it. Commissioner Dance made a motion to approve the amendment to owner engineer agreement #2 covering the additional required inspections as outlined in the amendment in the amount of $30,100.00 for the Last Chance WWTP. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Harris presented a bid for the 700N/Frontage Road Bridge out by the golf course. This is a LLIB bridge. The county will need to purchase and install the bridge, but LTHAC will reimburse us. We put it out to bid and OldCastle responded with a bid of $151,547.49. We would be looking at construction in November. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the contract and proposal from OldCastle Infrastructure in the amount of $151,547.49 for the bridge on 700N. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Harris discussed removing a couple of buildings out at the stud mill that are falling down. We have been looking at contractors, but it will cost a lot. Road and Bridge could do the work for a lot less, and we can rent an excavator hammer for $18,000 for a month to help. Commissioner Hill feels this is a good option and we can pay for the excavator with the ARPA funds. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve Road and Bridge to rent the excavator hammer to do the demolition at the stud mill with ARPA funds. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Jake Eilander/Jake’s Tree Service RE: Bid for Tree Trimming at the Courthouse – action item Mr. Eilander asked how he would go about submitting a bid to trim the trees at the courthouse. Commissioners stated we would just need their contact information, and we can reach out to them when we are seeking someone to remove or trim the trees. Last year, we had a lot of work done on the golf course, but we currently aren’t looking to have work done. We will keep them on our list. Miscellaneous Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the claims for February 23, 2025 as presented. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the minutes from February 9, 2025 as presented. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the Junior College Application for the College of Eastern Idaho Spring 2026 academic year for Eimi Haro-Gutierrez. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioners signed a letter of support for the Fair Board’s grant for walking paths for the fairgrounds. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:08 p.m. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. There being no further business to come before the board the meeting was adjourned. _________________________________ Blair Dance, Chairman Fremont County Commissioner Attest: _____________________________ Meredith Mattingly, Clerk HISTORY Recorded by Min. 611907 Public Hearing 02-23-2026 on 3/2/2026
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