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minutes meeting date 2026-03-30 · fetched 2026-09-09 · 24804 characters · official file · plain text
BOCC Mar 30 2026 Public Hearing FREMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES March 30, 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 via Zoom Commissioner Dance called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance. Treasurer Lori Beard RE: America 250 Update – action item; Resolution for Public Records – action item; LID Release – action item; Tax Cancellation - action item Ms. Beard presented an update about the America 250 events. The City of Island Park is not doing anything at this time. The Historical Society in Island Park is going to do a time capsule, and then on July 8th in Harriman, they are going to be doing a reading of the Declaration of Independence. The City of St. Anthony would like to come visit with the Commissioners again to discuss their plans and if the County would like to participate with them. Commissioner Dance stated the City of Ashton will be combining celebrations with their 4th of July parade. Commissioner Hill stated the Fair Board considering celebrations in conjunction with the County Fair. Ms. Beard stated she reached out to the group that does the 24th of July Parade; they are doing the Flood of Memories for the Flood events, so they won’t be doing anything for the America 250. Ms. Beard presented Resolution 2026-11 for public records requests. Our current resolution isn’t very clear on how long we should keep those requests, it only says, “until you no longer need it.” This resolution will clarify the timeline to hold onto those requests for 2 years so everyone in the county is doing the same thing. Commissioner Hill made a motion to adopt Resolution 2026-11, a resolution of Fremont County Idaho, modifying the records retention schedule with respect to public records requests as presented. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Ms. Beard presented a lien release for LID #2002-01 for 2 parcels. We still have 13 left that need to finish paying. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the release of Local Improvement District Lien for Fremont County LID #2002-01 for the 2 parcels listed in this document. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Ms. Beard discussed taxes being cancelled for another mobile home, property number MHI04980010050 in the amount of $343.26. Mobile homes are put on the tax roll and they have a certain date they need to come forward to have them removed from the roll. This one was put on the roll in 2025, and they have said that they came in and notified us, but we didn’t find out until January of this year. But, there is nothing there, and we have nothing to hold against them to make them pay this. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the tax cancellation for parcel number MHI04980010050 in the amount of $343.26. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Aaron Dalling/Emergency Management Keith Richey RE: Drought Emergency Declaration – action item Mr. Dalling requested the Commissioners declare a drought emergency for the county. This will allow them to stretch water a little farther to where it is needed. This winter was strange and we didn’t get the water we needed. The US drought monitor is showing us in moderate drought, but is pushing closer to severe drought, and we are looking at a hot and dry next 3 months. Keith Richey stated this won’t have any impact on private wells. It’s likely every county in Idaho will do a drought declaration this year. People with older flow water rights will probably be ok. People with newer flow water rights may have a tougher time. For example, Salem and Wilford canals are newer and have newer flow rights, they may be lucky to be able to water through the middle of August. As of now, there has not been a curtailment on how many domestic wells we can drill. Commissioner Dance asked about the insurance programs for farmers who choose not to plant due to the lack of water. Farmers can apply for insurance for fields they choose not to plant; it will require a letter from the canal company stating they will run out of water so it will be better for them not to plant. Insurance will allow them to plant a cover crop to help maintain the ground for the season. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve Resolution 2026-12, a Resolution of Fremont County, Idaho, declaring a local drought emergency exists in Fremont County in effect until the end of the 2026 irrigation season or until otherwise declared by the Board of Fremont County Commissioners. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Planning and Building Planner Sara Bowersox RE: Elk Creek Estates Div #1, 1st Amended Plat – action item Ms. Bowersox presented application #26-011 for Elk Creek Estates Div #1, 1st Amended Plat along with Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve application #26-011 for Ashley Zollinger Campbell - Elk Creek Estates Div #1, 1st Amended Plat 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. Sheriff Bart Quayle and Chief Deputy Sheriff Cody Gudmunson RE: Upper Snake P25 Radio MOU – action item; Vehicle Purchase Approval – action item Mr. Quayle presented a memorandum of understanding for the Upper Snake P25 Radio system between Fremont County, Madison County, Jefferson County, Clark County, and Bonneville County. The language doesn’t change but the Commissioners do, so we like to update it every couple of years. Commissioner Dance made a motion to approve the Upper Snake P25 Radio System Memorandum of Understanding between Bonneville, Clark, Fremont, Jefferson, and Madison Counties. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Gudmunson requested approval to purchase a 2022 Ford F150 for Detective Mattingly. He found one from Chicago Motors; they purchased some of our Durangos on surplus, and had this one on their lot. The cost would be $36,995.00 with the shipping. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the purchase of the 2022 Ford F150 in the amount of $36,995.00 from Chicago Motors Inc. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Public Hearing RE: Proposed Fremont County Golf Course Fee Increases – action item FREMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PUBLIC HEARING Proposed Fremont County Golf Course Fee Increases Fremont County Courthouse/Commissioners Room March 30, 2026, 10:30 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, and Parks and Recreation Director Greg Grant Commissioner Dance called the hearing to order and welcomed those in attendance. He also introduced county employees in attendance. Commissioner Dance asked Clerk Meredith Mattingly if the hearing had been properly noticed. Clerk Mattingly stated that it had. 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 turned the time over to Parks and Recreation Director Greg Grant to discuss the proposed fee increases for the Fremont County golf course. Mr. Grant stated the Golf Board looked at their fees and they haven’t been raised very much in the last couple of decades, though they were raised slightly about 2 years ago. This increase would put them better in line with other golf courses in the area, as well as help with cost recovery for the maintenance that goes into the golf course. It does operate as an enterprise fund, so it does need to generate revenue; it has yet to recover all of the costs that go into it. The Golf Board recommends these prices and present them to the Commissioners for approval. Commissioner Dance explained the Public Comment portion of the hearing. Each person that has signed up to comment would be allotted 5 minutes to speak. 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: Kent Jeppesen, PO Box 70, Chester, ID 83421. Mr. Jeppesen stated he misunderstood what the sign-up sheet was for and didn’t intend to comment for this hearing, but he did ask what the fees were being adjusted to. Mr. Grant stated it depends on the item. A 9-hole game is going from $17 to $20. An 18-hole game is going from $25 to $28. The fees that will effect most people will be the season passes, which will be increasing from $400 to $480. Mr. Jeppesen asked about the cart rentals. Mr. Grant stated the cart rentals are managed by our course director, but the cart storage fees will stay the same for now. 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 thanked everyone for the comments and their attendance. The hearing was closed at 10:36 a.m. by Commissioner Dance and asked the Commissioners for their thoughts. Commissioner Chandler stated this has been a long process and we are just trying to help the Golf Course break even. He feels these prices are still half what they should be, so people are still getting a good deal. Commissioner Hill agreed. We are just trying to make the repairs to the golf course that we need to make. Other golf courses in the area are much more expensive than we are, and even if we raise the prices, people still want to come play. Commissioner Chandler made a motion approve the fee increases for the Fremont County Municipal Golf Course. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Parks and Rec Director Greg Grant RE: Golf Course Advisory Committee Bylaws Adoption – action item Mr. Grant stated previously the committee wasn’t operating with any bylaws, so they would like to establish these in order to provide some guidelines for them to operate with. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve and adopt the new Golf Course Advisory Board bylaws as presented. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Public Works Director Brandon Harris RE: Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(c)(a) – action items; Civil Science Contract 500 N – action item; GSE Pay App – action item; Agreement for Offsite Storage for Sewer – action item Commissioner Dance made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to IC 74-206(1)(c) To acquire an interest in real property which is not owned by a public agency; (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 11:00 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 11:20 a.m. Commissioner Dance made a motion to accept the offer from Bair-Larson to split the difference between two appraisals in the amount of $141,960.00. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve a seasonal employee for Road and Bridge to be paid out of their overtime line. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Harris presented a contract from Civil Science for the bridge work for 500N. This project has been going on for several years. 500N is the south road between St. Anthony and Parker, and has the hill with the horizontal and vertical curve. We were able to secure $1.5M to realign the road and redo some bridges, but we wanted an alignment that was perfectly straight and in order to do that, we would have to move the canal, and it was going to cost us about another $1M. We tried to design another option that still had a curve, but would have guardrail along the road, but the canal company didn’t like that option. Now, the canal company wants to move the canal and will pay to move it. Now, we will be able to make the road straight at the cost of $1.5M, but we will have to pay a little more for the engineering to connect this project with their moving of the canal. So, this contract is just between us and Civil Science, it is at an hourly rate but since we don’t know how long it will take, he asked them to do it for a not to exceed a certain amount, and had them set that limit at $38,500.00 for the additional work. This is not a state contract so we are responsible for all of these funds. Commissioner Dance made a motion to approve the Civil Science agreement with Fremont County not to exceed $38,500.00 to realign the road on 500N. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Harris presented Pay App #15 in the amount of $1,102,558.44 for GSE Construction for the Last Chance WWTP. Commissioner Hill made a motion approve Pay App #15 in the amount of $1,102,558.44 for GSE Construction, and authorize Commissioner Dance to sign the reimbursement papers when we receive them. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Harris presented an agreement with DEQ for off-site storage for the sewer. This agreement was sent to Blake Hall for review and he has approved it, however, there is not a place for a commissioner to sign this document, so he isn’t sure about it. He may have to come back and present it to the Board if they provide another copy with a place for a Commissioner to sign. Commissioner Dance asked the board to approve him signing the form if it comes in; this way Mr. Harris won’t need to bring it to another meeting and will be able to take care of it. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve Commissioner Dance to sign the form from DEQ for off-site sewer storage if we receive it. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. There was a discussion about DEQ wanting to take over all of the landfills and what might happen when they might want to take over the new regional landfill. Clearwater Financial RE: Overview of Services – action item Mr. Arial gave an overview of their mission and guiding principles, as well as the services they can provide for the county and their goals to provide those services the best they can. They were established in 2016 and provide municipal financial services. He provided a brief list of services they provide, including some the Treasurer has expressed interested in, such as LIDs for large projects we may need help financing (road projects or the sewer). They can also help P&Z Comprehensive Plans and have helped with several counties all over the state. He explained that throughout all of their processes, they keep the public involved or informed so they know what the county is doing and the value that will be brought to them. They were heavily involved in helping establish the East Idaho Solid Waste District. They are also able to seek grants; this process is time consuming so they need to know specifically what we would want them to look for, but they are able to help with this service. He asked about some of the things the county may need. Treasurer Beard and Clerk Mattingly have had discussions with him about LID’s for the sewer lift stations, Urban Renewal Assistance, the Landfill Project, and Bridge Repairs. Commissioners all expressed interested in their services for Comprehensive Plans, because ours does need to be updated and has been a concern for many in the community for several years, but it has been a challenge for our Planning and Zoning because they are so busy with so many different things at the same time. Mr. Arial stated they could work with us on all of those things, but they could also help set us up with some financial investments as well. Commissioners would like a copy of his presentation so they can review it. They would also like an example of a Comp Plan they have helped to develop to review. They don’t want to get ahead of our P&Z Administrator, but they are interested in this service, and would be something their constituency would be very interested in having done as well. Commissioner Hill feels it would be beneficial to include Tom Cluff in a discussion with Clearwater Financial about their Comp Plan services, so we can all see what they have to offer and if he would be interested in their help. Mr. Arial appreciates the opportunity to work with us and will get an MSA together to present to the Commissioners. Commissioners thanked him for his time and are grateful for the information he presented. They look forward to potentially working with him as well. Elections Clerk Bonita Sutton RE: Newdale Polling Location – action item Ms. Sutton updated the commissioners about the voting location at Newdale. Last meeting, it was agreed to keep the May election at the Jr. High and move the November election to the Newdale City Building. Since then, she has been made aware of some state code that both elections have to be in the same location. Mayor Stevens has said he can have their building ready. The current issue is with the programming; the reason we have the polling locations approved so early is because the programming has to be approved in March, so it just makes sense to have the locations approved in March as well. So, she is working with the state to have the programming changed, because it is currently being programmed for the Jr. High. She’ll then need to send out new postcards for Newdale to have their location changed again, but she believes everything should be able to be done before the election. She asked the Commissioners to come with her Friday for a final inspection of the building for approval. Commissioners agreed. Ms. Sutton also informed the Commissioners that she had asked the state about a dropbox option for Newdale, but the state declined the dropbox for Newdale, so we won’t be allowed to put one there. This is why we are working so hard to make the location change work for them. Commissioner Dance made a motion to amend their prior motion; both the May and November 2026 election locations for Newdale will be held at the Newdale City Building. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Probation Director Darrin Burrell RE: Update for Bonneville MOA – action item Mr. Burrell presented an updated memorandum of agreement from Bonneville County for Juvenile Probation. The indemnity clause that was in the previous agreement was no longer in effect, so they took it out of the document. Blake Hall has reviewed this agreement and approved it. Mr. Burrel also wanted to clarify, 3B is not turning away kids. They have been full a few times and have had to shuffle, but they have not turned anyone away. He had a discussion with the director of 3B since our last meeting, who was upset about the misrepresentation of their facility and asked that it be corrected on record. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve and sign the new MOU with 3B. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Burrell presented a quarterly report. We currently have 150 on the adult misdemeanor probation and 36 on pretrial. Kurt Wells RE: Access off of a road – action item Mr. Wells discussed 2 signs posted on a road in the Henry’s Lake Village subdivision that leads to the dam, and they contradict each other. The first sign indicates the trail is a public access sportsmans trail to the outlet river and for lot owners of the subdivision. He has a document from the irrigation company that agrees it is a public access trail. The other sign indicates there is no public access to the trail at all. This is why there is an issue. No one dares walk down the road because the people who live in the subdivision threaten everyone who moves down the road because of the no trespassing sign. He believes the sign needs to come down. Mr. Hall is familiar with the issue; a letter was sent to the subdivision about a year ago, when this issue was brought to his attention, and they retained an attorney. The situation as he understands it, the road is a private road that grant access down to the dam, but a sign has been posted by the subdivision restricting access down to the dam. They had agreed to remove the sign restricting that access to the dam. It seems they have not removed it. Mr. Wells stated they received the letter, as well as a text about a year ago. He would like to know how to move forward. He has been working on getting this fixed for 4 years. Mr. Hall understands. When he receives this additional information and documentation from Tom Cluff, he will send another letter to the subdivision. They agreed to take the sign down and clearly did not. Mr. Wells would like to know why it took 4 years to be heard. He was working on this with Jordon Stoddard when he was Chairman, who felt this was wrong. The issue was passed to someone else and was dropped. Mr. Hall stated we can’t answer that question, as Mr. Stoddard has passed on. He only received information about this issue a year ago and sent the letter to have them take the sign down, but it wasn’t done. We can only move forward. Miscellaneous Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the claims for March 30, 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 16, 2026 as amended. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Hill presented a contract from Core and Headwaters for the Courthouse Security Expansion. He sent the contract to Mr. Hall to review and Mr. Hall came back with a list of 14 items he didn’t like. Mr. Hall visited with them and they agreed to modify those 14 items so this should be the completed document with those modifications. Commissioner Hill has a meeting with Core on Wednesday morning to discuss the construction and final costs. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve and sign the contract with Core Construction Management for the security entrance project for the Courthouse as the designated representative for the County. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Public Works Director Brandon Harris presented a DEQ Loan Agreement for an item of equipment they would like to purchase now and store in order to avoid financial increases due to tariffs. We buy it but they will take financial responsibility for it. Commissioner Dance made a motion to approve the amendment to replace the existing pricing schedule; the terms of the overall agreement remain the same. 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 3:01 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. 612331 Public Hearing 03-30-2026 on 4/6/2026
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