Sentinel Media records · public agendas and minutes, text only, refreshed nightly from each body's own site · not a newspaper
minutes meeting date 2026-03-16 · fetched 2026-09-09 · 19627 characters · official file · plain text
BOCC Mar 16 2026 Regular Meeting FREMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES March 16, 2026 Present for the meeting were: Commissioners Blair Dance, Rick Hill, and Mark Chandler Also attended by: Clerk Meredith Mattingly, Deputy Clerk Kim Fletcher, and Civil Attorney Blake Hall Commissioner Dance called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance. Commissioners RE: Commissioners RE: Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(a) – action item; Appoint Planning and Zoning Board Members – 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; at 9:01 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 9:40 a.m. Commissioner Hill made a motion to appoint Eric Hauley and Colby Crapo as new commissioners on the Planning and Zoning Commission to serve for terms of 3 years. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Newdale City Mayor Chad Stevens RE: Newdale Polling Location – action item Mr. Stevens discussed using the Newdale City building for a polling location rather than having their community come into St. Anthony to the High School. In previous years, their polling location has been local to them and they would prefer that it stays there because it would be safer and more convenient for their voters. They have voters that travel long distance for work; travelling into St. Anthony would increase that distance. Idaho weather is unpredictable and they feel having a location closer to them would be better. They have offered their City Building as a polling location; it can be cleaned up for use in the future. Commissioner Dance stated we won’t be able to do anything about it for this election because of the time frame. Mr. Stevens looked into the state laws and we have until April 17th to have polling locations approved. Elections Clerk Bonita Sutton stated we approved our polling locations in last week’s meeting, and it has been submitted to the state. Commissioner Dance asked if that can be changed. Ms. Sutton said we may be able to change it. She would have to talk with the State. A question was posed as to why we made these changes, and is it due to cost. Commissioner Dance said no. Last year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints informed us their buildings would no longer be available to us to use for elections. They allowed us to use the buildings for the November elections because of the timing of their notice, but we were told we would have to find new locations for May. A statement was made that before Covid, Newdale had always voted in their city building; they don’t understand why they can’t go back to using their building again. They have a bathroom that is ADA compliant, and they feel enough parking to accommodate voters. Most people walk to vote, so parking shouldn’t be an issue. Their conference room should be large enough to accommodate everyone that comes to vote, as well as the voting equipment, if their meeting table is moved out of the way. Commissioner Chandler feels a lot of work has already been put into this election, so we should move forward with the locations that have already been approved, but we could look into a new option for Newdale for the November election. There are several options available for this election to allow people to vote even if they don’t want to drive into St. Anthony. All they would need to do is call the Clerk’s office. Commissioner Hill agrees with Commissioner Chandler. Commissioner Dance feels the City of Newdale should be able to vote within their city. He doesn’t want to create confusion with changing the location again, because we’ve already changed it for this election. He feels we should wait until the next election before we make another change. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to continue with the polling locations for the May elections, with the caveat that we look into moving Newdale closer to home in the November election. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. Commissioner Dance voted ‘Nay.’ The motion passed by majority vote. Jerry Browning RE: Paving a Portion of Old Shotgun Road – action item Mr. Browning discussed paving a portion of Old Shotgun Road in Island Park (Centennial Cove Subdivision). He would like to know what it would take to get 4 miles of that road paved with blacktop. There are several roads going into subdivisions that are paved, but this one isn’t. There are about 75 homes in the subdivision, and they are beautiful homes, but the road is a mess. He does appreciate the maintenance that is already done on the road, but there is enough traffic on the road, it needs to be paved. He looked up the construction on Yale-Kilgore road, which included the trail, and the cost of that project was about $21M. He feels this can be done, because it is a problem, and there is always a problem on this road no matter how much maintenance is done. He agrees the county probably can’t afford it, though he is confused about some portions of the budget. It seems we have excess dollars in some places that don’t seem like they are specifically dedicated to anything. He would just like to know if we can find a way, or someone to approach, to get the funding to pave the road. Commissioner Dance discussed the budget; we did have a sizable loss of LHTAC dollars which provides funding for road projects. These are state funds that we won’t be getting to fund projects this year. We do get some dollars from gas tax, but not enough to cover a lot of big road projects. One of the biggest things to realize is that the grant funding for our Sewer facilities are in that budget; all of those “excess dollars” really aren’t; they are already dedicated and we have to account for them. We are accused of having “slush money,” but we really don’t. Commissioner Hill stated we have other roads in the county that also need to be paved. We have 800 miles of road in the county that we maintain. Brandon Harris is trying to come up with ways to try to pave new roads, including this one. Unfortunately, the state is going to cut our funding again, after they’ve already cut it. Mr. Harris is looking for grants to try to get things done, and even with the funding cuts, the state has told us they will try to help as much as they can. Mr. Browning understands. He would be happy to write letters of support of we need them. Blair Jones stated we would love to see this road paved. We do a lot of maintenance on this road but it does need more work done all the time. This year has been strange because we’ve been in mud season all winter. It did get graded on Tuesday, and will be regraded again soon. There is a culvert that needs to be changed and they have other work planned for the road. They have looked into the costs of paving this road; the asphalt alone would cost about $500k per mile. For a little over 3.5 miles plus other costs, it would cost nearly $2M. Mr. Browning understands. It may take federal funding to help get this project done, but he appreciates the Commissioners taking the time to listen to his thoughts and concerns. Assessor Carol Blanchard RE: Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(b) – 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 10:40 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 10:45 a.m. Chief Deputy Sheriff Cody Gudmunson RE: OHV Funding Agreement with Idaho Parks and Rec – action item Mr. Gudmunson presented our annual OHV funding agreement with Idaho Parks and Recreation. This isn’t a match grant, but is performance based. They are allocating $11,817.44 to us in OHV funds, and $49,567.84 IDPR OHV law enforcement performance-based funds. In total there is about $60,000 we’ll receive from Idaho Parks and Rec for participating in OHV safety classes. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to accept the funds that have been allocated to Fremont County legislatively in the amounts of $11,817.44 and $49,567.84 from the Idaho Department of Recreation; the budget will be opened at a later date to put these funds in. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Parks and Rec Director Greg Grant RE: Grooming Hoist Additional Labor Approval – action item Mr. Grant stated that last week we were notified by the contractor who was doing the work on the groomer hoist for the snowmobile groomer shop that he wanted additional funds paid up. The original quote/invoice we were provided with for the work was $5000, which was a flat rate. He’s requested an additional 65 hours, to be paid out at $6175, plus an additional $2015.95 for parts. The original contract was paid out of ARPA funds. He feels we can pay for the parts, but maybe shouldn’t pay for the hours. Mr. Grant stated he had a discussion with the contractor; he was almost 6 months late finishing the work. The contractor is aware it is bad business, but would like to recuperate his losses. Mr. Grant told him we would like to keep working with him; his work is good, however asking for 65 hours over pay when the initial agreement was a flat rate is off the mark. Commissioner Chandler stated it was a complex job, and it may have been something he hasn’t done before, which may have contributed to the issue. Mr. Grant agreed, but also stated he had a conversation with Terry about the job. Terry put a lot of his own time into helping with the job, because he was frustrated with how long it was taking and it needed to get done. Commissioner Dance inspected the finished product and is impressed with what we have. It is well built and will last us a long time. He doesn’t have an issue paying the extra cost for the additional parts. He asked for a suggestion about the labor. Mr. Grant stated his gut reaction for the labor is none. He was 6 months over the time for the labor, and Terry put in a significant amount of time helping with the work himself. His interpersonal reaction is to take care of him if we can, because it may be appropriate; he did a good job for us and we would like to work with him again. Commissioner Chandler feels we could pay for the parts, give the contractor about $2000 of the request for the labor, credit Terry $2000 for his work, and deny the other $2000 of the request. Commissioner Dance and Commissioner Hill agreed. They will pay for the parts, then pay the contractor $2175 of his pay request. This will come from the Snowmobile Contingency fund. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to take care of the extra hours for the Groomer Shed Hoist in the amount of $2175 for the cost of labor, and $2015 for the extra parts, with those funds coming from the Snowmobile Contingency fund. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Planning and Building Planners Sara Bowersox and Jacob Farnes RE: Brownstone Subdivision Minor Plat Amendment – action item; Moose Jaw Subdivision – action item Ms. Bowersox presented application #26-020 for Brownstone Subdivision Minor Plat Amendment along with Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve application #26-020 for Brian Welsh – Minor Plat Amendment - Brownstone Subdivision along with Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Farnes presented application #25-087 for Moose Jaw Subdivision along with Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve application #25-087 for Howard Elmore – 3-lot Short Plat Moose Jaw Subdivision along with Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Jan Neish RE: Archiving Meetings and Screensharing – action item Ms. Neish came back to share what she has learned about streaming and archiving meetings. There are 2 ways to stream; one is Zoom. It doesn’t store meetings. The other format is YouTube, which does store information. Fremont County is currently using a combination of both of these formats, so we could technically store our meetings after they are streamed on YouTube Live. All we would need to do is toggle the meeting from private to public and back to private after a certain amount of time. If this change was made, there could be no doubt what was said during the meeting and there wouldn’t be anything left open to interpretation. She feels it would be better for the Commissioners to have that record. It would also be better for people who can’t attend the meetings, but want to watch them. She doesn’t see a downside. She also learned some things about screensharing. YouTube isn’t built for screensharing, but there are some easy workarounds. Open broadcaster software, which is free. Streamlabs are another option and might be less expensive and have better resolution than adding another camera. It isn’t required by the law. It is legal. She would hope that her local leaders would want to do everything possible to be open to the community. Josh Warnke stated this hasn’t ever been a technical issue, it’s a policy issue. Technically, we can do this several ways, it’s just a decision the Commissioners need to make. Commissioner Chandler asked if other counties have had an issue with archiving. Ms. Neish said no, as far as she is aware. And it is helpful for her to be able to go back and review meetings for things she missed. Commissioner Hill asked Blake Hall about the issue about having the written, legal record conflict with the video in court. Mr. Hall stated that yes, it could create conflict. Even though you have your written legal record, if someone walks into court and has the video and says ‘This is what they did on video.’ We can say, ‘it doesn’t matter, here is the motion that was made in the legal written record.’ Who will the Judge side with in this case; the written or video record? Ms. Neish asked if a Judge would allow it to be seen if it isn’t the legal record. Mr. Hall can’t predict what a Judge would do in any specific case. The issue is that both would exist, so an opportunity for legal dispute has been created. Ms. Neish asked if he has heard of something like that happening. Mr. Hall stated no one has been recording long enough for an issue to come up in court, but there isn’t a way to predict whether or not it will. Ms. Neish wonders why the Commissioners wouldn’t want the most accurate record. Commissioner Hill asked her why the minutes aren’t accurate enough for her. Ms. Neish stated they are. She knows Ms. Fletcher goes back and listens to meetings to make sure the minutes are accurate. She doesn’t feel there is that much of a conflict. She just feels there wouldn’t be any risk to having all the evidence possible available to everyone. Commissioner Chandler feels we can extend the hours of accessibility to the meeting for a full day rather than cutting off as soon as the meetings are done. His conflict is that we are currently doing what the law requires us to do. Although he is opposed to more regulation, he feels we could extend the time to allow more people to view the meetings. Ms. Neish stated the issue is that people may still not have time that day to watch. Extending the time to a full week wouldn’t hurt anything and would allow people to watch when the time really is available to them, and if the Commissioners did change the policy, it wouldn’t be a regulation but an offering to the community to include them. It is also a decision that can be changed if it doesn’t work. Commissioner Dance disagreed. If we change the policy and it doesn’t work, and we change the policy back to what we have now, the public opinion will be that ‘the County is hiding things.’ Ms. Neish feels that is the public opinion now. Commissioner Hill feels we have a policy that has been working. He doesn’t understand the outcry; we aren’t hiding anything. Our meetings are public. They are publicly announced every week. Anyone can attend them. He doesn’t feel changing the policy will make any difference to change the public perception. He feels if people want to know what’s happening in the meeting, they would make it a priority to attend, or watch it when it is on. Ms. Neish agrees, but certain jobs can’t take time off to attend Commissioner meetings, or have other obligations or circumstances that keep them away. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to try the archiving our meetings for 6 months. If it is not successful the policy will change back to what we have now. Motion dies for lack of a second. However, a camera will be added so we can screenshare the larger screen during our meetings. Miscellaneous Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the claims for March 16, 2026 as presented. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the minutes from March 9, 2026 as amended. Commissioner Dance seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Hill made a motion to ratify the signing of Idaho Liquor Catering Permit No. 1092 for The Corner Bar, which was used March 14, 2026 from 4pm to 11pm for 1 evening for an event held by The Mule Deer Foundation. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Treasurer Lori Beard presented a contract that involves Tyler Technologies; they run cards for a lot of our departments. We are integrating JustFOIA, so people can pay their bills for requested documents. So, we need to update our service agreement with Tyler and have our license agreement with them updated as well. Commissioner Hill made a motion to amend the Access Idaho service agreement with Tyler Technologies and to approve a commercial license agreement with Tyler Technologies. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Hill made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 12:17 p.m. Commissioner Chandler 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. 612254 Regular Commissioner Meeting 03-16-2026 on 3/30/2026
Text is extracted by machine from the official file linked on each page; the official file is the record. Sentinel Media, LLC.