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minutes meeting date 2026-07-20 · fetched 2026-09-09 · 23655 characters · official file · plain text
BOCC Jul 20 2026 Regular Meeting FREMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES July 20, 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. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the agenda for July 20, 2026 as presented. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Treasurer Lori Beard RE: Tax Deed Hearing – action item Ms. Beard presented the list of properties that will be put up for sale in the tax deed sale next month. We have 5 properties this year. They are 4 years behind on taxes and just needed to pay their 2022 taxes in order to prevent them from going up for auction. The owners do have another year to redeem these properties before they go up for auction, but they will have to pay all of their back taxes in order to redeem the property. Commissioner Dance feels we should move forward on our end. He sees no reason to not continue with our processes. Commissioner Dance made a motion to move forward with the tax deed processes on these 5 property parcels as listed; RP07N40E093900, RP09N44E290154, RPS0166025001X, RPS0173009011A, and RPT0200021002C. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Teton City Mayor Sonny Haws RE: Moving City Elections Back to Teton – action item Mayor Haws discussed moving the Teton City voting location for the November Election back to Teton. He has a letter from the Secretary of State’s office stating they can move their voting location back to the city. He’s also been told there is a house bill between the state and the church allowing the elections to move back into the churches. He doesn’t understand why the County isn’t moving them back into the churches. Elections Clerk Bonita Sutton stated we’ve not received anything from the State giving us permission to move back into the church. As far as we know, the churches have not rescinded their permission to use their buildings. Mr. Haws would just like to move the election back into Teton. Ms. Sutton stated if the churches are off limits, another option she has looked at is the Teton Elementary School. We will not be able to use this option until 2028; legislation was passed that will allow it, but not until then because school schedules have already been set, and there are certain members of the public that are not allowed to interact with children, so it is currently off the table. The other option in Teton is City Hall. She would prefer a long term solution, and would rather wait until 2028 to move the voting location when we can move into the school and have the location set longer than a year in order to prevent confusion. Commissioners asked if Mr. Haws has a copy of the letter from the Church stating we can use their buildings. Mr. Haws stated he does, and would like to come to the next meeting to provide this documentation. Ms. Sutton stated she would like to see that documentation and would like to have a conversation with the state and the church to confirm. She worked very hard to help Newdale get their election location changed, and is willing to help Teton move their location closer to home as well. Mr. Haws recognized her work with Newdale and commended her for it. He is grateful for her willingness to help when she is able to. Mr. Hall stated we wouldn’t be able to change the location for November. The Secretary of State told us in March that the Primary and General elections both have to be in the same locations within the same election year. Mr. Haws stated he was told something different, so there is some confusion on his side. Everyone is in support of getting Teton back into their own city for their elections, it will just be a matter of timing and finding a suitable location. Marc D’Antuono @ State Fire RE: Request to Service County Fire Extinguishers – action item Mr. D’Antuono from State Fire would like to put in a bid to service the county fire extinguishers. He walked through our landfill and doesn’t believe it is in compliance, but he’d like the opportunity to look through some of our other facilities. Commissioners stated we have a contract with someone else that just serviced our fire extinguishers fairly recently. It may not be appropriate to have a contract with more than one, but they would like his contact information. Clerk Mattingly will try to find a master list of our extinguishers as well as our current contract. Commissioners RE: Quarterly Jail Inspection – action item Commissioners performed the quarterly jail inspection. Commissioners RE: Eck Rezone Deliberation – action item Commissioners discussed the rezone request for properties owned by Sara Eck and Mike Mellencamp in Island Park. This hearing was held on June 22, 2026. Commissioner Dance stated the decision before the Commissioners is to determine whether or not the request for a zone change appropriate. They would like to change from Limited Office (LO) to Commercial Neighborhood (C1). From what he could see from the written comments, there is some opposition that didn’t seem like they were really relevant to this decision; they were in opposition of the permit which would come later. Most of the comments received were in favor of the zone change. As he understands it, the change for the zone would need to be approved first, and then the applicants would have to apply again for a conditional use permit under that C1 zone. Commissioners don’t have to consider those aspects that would fall under the conditional use permit. Commissioner Chandler agreed, those questions about the permit would come later and where most of the opposition lies. Commissioner Hill stated in a lot of the testimony that was heard, there were a lot in favor. The biggest issue seemed to be the road, and that issue would be addressed and taken care of later. This change makes sense to him. P&Z also agreed to move it from the Limited Office to the Commercial Neighborhood. Commissioner Dance stated the other Commissioners had the benefit of attending the hearing, but he did read through the Staff Report as well as the presented documentation for the original application, comments, and the Minutes from the hearing. Commissioner Hill stated their original application was for a (C3) zone, but it was recommended by the public that they reapply for a (C1) zone which they thought was better and also had the recommendation of P&Z. He agrees this seems to fit better. Commissioner Chandler discussed the concerns with the road. He feels it would benefit everyone to have the road brought up to proper width. Commissioner Dance stated the road is an issue, but he doesn’t believe we need to address it today. The road would be addressed as part of their conditional use permit application which is their next step. We only need to address the zone change. Commissioner Hill stated this is how he understands the situation as well. Commissioner Dance understands from the hearing that the original zoning to put it as an (LO) was intended as a placeholder, knowing it was going to become commercial property at some point. He found in the minutes from the hearing, “Back in 2011, when the Planning and Zoning Board was reviewing and developing the current Comprehensive Plan, they established that large portions of potential commercial area were zoned as Commercial Limited Office as a placeholder.” Commissioner Hill stated this was also his understanding. Mr. Hall stated the one of the things the Commissioners would have to look at is whether or not the zone change would be in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Hill feels they’ve met the requirement to show that it meets the Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve application 26-012 for a zone change from Commercial Limited Office to Commercial Neighborhood and uphold P&Z’s approval of this application. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Dance made a motion to adopt Ordinance 2026-05 amending the Fremont County Code Zoning Map in accordance with the recommendations of the Fremont County Planning and Zoning Commission, parcel numbers RP12N43E171950 and RP12N43E171963, owned by Sara Eck and Mike Mellencamp, rezoned from Commercial Limited Office (LO) to Commercial Neighborhood (C1). Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Kyle Humphries/Emergent3 RE: Internal Communications and Alerts for Employees – action item Carson Frandsen from Emergent3 discussed internal communications and alerts for employees in Fremont County. They are based in Cache County, Utah and have been around for about 4 years, Pocatello school district has been a customer of theirs for several years. He explained their app is put on all desktop devices but can be put on cell phones, and can send out alerts that can notify everyone in the building as well as first responders about anyone in the building that is acting up, or if there is a fire or other emergency. There are chat features as well as texting and emailing for staff, or can be pushed out for public notices. It acts like an Amber Alert would. He gave a demonstration of how the application would work. Alerts can be customized for each site (i.e. fire, irate citizen, active shooter, etc.). Alerts can be loud or silent and will pop up on everyone’s screen who is on site. It will ask everyone where they are, and if they are ok. They will also build out a map of each site so first responders can know where everyone is and that they are safe as they check in, or who hasn’t responded. He demonstrated the text and email feature and how it could be customized for us to send messages. Commissioner Dance stated there is some good potential for the county. We do have some groups we would need to involve in this conversation, like our Sheriff, IT and Emergency Management. He does feel there is value to this. Commissioner Chandler agreed. Commissioner Dance asked if Mr. Frandsen could give us a cost estimate for something like this. Mr. Frandsen said yes, and asked how many employees the County has, and how many sites we might be able to use this program at, realistically. Ms. Mattingly said about 200 full-time. Commissioner Dance stated we could guess about 10 sites. Mr. Frandsen stated he would get back to us with an estimate. Public Works Director Brandon Harris RE: Bridge 32060 Easement-Action Item; Yale Kilgore Fund Transfer Agreement-Action Item; Simplot Property Purchase Agreement – action item Mr. Harris presented an easement agreement for the purchase of right-of-way property on the Parker Main Street from the Nolan and Emma Lou Bloom Trust. This is a purchase of right of way from the Bloom’s in the amount of $2,805.00 so we can widen the bridge on the south road over the Egin Canal. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the right-of-way contract with the Nolan and Emma Lou Bloom Trust in the amount of $2,805.00. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Harris discussed a property purchase agreement with Simplot to finish the roadway. They put together this agreement. The purchase of the property is $23,663.00. They would like us to sign the agreement today, then it will be submitted to the Simplot Board, and they will finalize it. We’ll need to give the Title Company a deposit of $2,500.00, and we should be able to close by August 24th. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the real estate purchase agreement with JR Simplot Company in the amount of $23,663.00 with a deposit of $2,500.00. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Harris presented an agreement for the transfer of funds for the Yale-Kilgore project. These are the final changes, they are finally close to being finished, but as they have gone through change orders, this will be the final agreement to transfer funds from the Yale-Kilgore line and is being put into the Special Road Projects line in the amount of $525,000.00, and it will then be transferred to Western Federal Lands and this will be our last payment for this project. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the transfer of funds in the amount of $525,000 to the Western Federal Lands Highway Division in regards to the Yale-Kilgore road project. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Treasurer Lori Beard RE: Investment Update; Credit Card Approval – action item Ms. Beard updated the Commissioners about the County investments. Ms. Beard requested approval for a county credit card for Jory Zollinger at the Landfill with a credit limit of $2,500.00. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the county credit card for Jory Zollinger at the landfill with a credit limit of $2,500.00. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Planning and Building Planner Dusty Rigby RE: Aspen Ridge Subdivision Div 2 2nd Amended Plat – action item Ms. Rigby presented application #26-003 for Aspen Ridge Subdivision Div 2 2nd Amended Plat along with Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve application #26-003 for Jann Browning Zollinger and Bart Zollinger - Aspen Ridge Subdivision Div 2 2nd Amended Plat 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. Parks and Rec Director Greg Grant RE: Golf Course Storage Agreements – action item Mr. Grant was not able to make it to his scheduled time. However, he had sent the storage agreements to Blake Hall for review prior to the meeting. They are ready for approval. Commissioners can approve the Chairman to sign the agreements whenever Mr. Grant is able to bring them to the Clerk’s office; this way he won’t have to wait until the next meeting to have them done. Commissioner Hill noted we have not previously required an agreement for the storage of the carts, but moving forward we are requiring one. Commissioner Dance asked if there is a liability clause to protect the County in the contract. Mr. Hall said yes. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to authorize Chairman Dance to sign the golf course storage agreements for 2026. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote heard with all commissioners voting in favor. IT Manager Josh Warnke RE: Ref Phone System Replacement – action item Mr. Warnke discussed replacing our phone system. Blackfoot is discontinuing our current phone system, so he has been working with them to find a new system. There is a 36-month and a 60-month system. He doesn’t believe the 60-month system should be an issue because we would stay with it, and it is less expensive than the 36-month system. The cost would be $1,703 per month for the 60-month contract, with a one-time startup fee of $900. Mr. Hall stated the Commissioners can’t be bound to anything longer than a 2-year contract, unless there is an exit clause included in the contract. Mr. Warnke will call them and ask if they will include an exit clause in the contract. We have been with them for 11 years, and they have been very good to work with, so hopefully they will be agreeable to this request. EMS Director Bert Mecham RE: Benefits for Unit Captains – action item Mr. Mecham discussed providing benefits for EMS Unit Captains. He’s struggling with retention in Island Park, and really only 3 people are covering the majority of the shifts in that area. He wonders if making benefits available, at least to the Unit Captains, might help keep people interested in working shifts. There are some snags with our personnel policy. He’s wondering if an amendment to our policy can be made for EMS to try to retain people, because there is a difference to their employee structure. Commissioner Dance asked what other counties are doing. Mr. Mecham stated most other rural counties don’t have a leadership setup. In larger counties, Unit Captains would be full time employees, but we can’t afford to hire that way, so the majority are hired part time. While they may often be working full-time hours, there may be weeks they are getting less than 20. Mr. Hall discussed the PERSI requirement of working at least 20 hours in order to retain benefits. Most insurance policies require 30 hours or more in order to receive benefits. These aren’t policies the Commissioners can influence. Payroll Clerk TaGenn Armstrong stated this has to be continuous. PERSI is audited every pay period. If they don’t meet 20 hours in a week, they are paid out and lose their PERSI. Mr. Hall stated there are similar issues with temp employees or season employees that don’t receive benefits because, while they may be working 30 hours or more, they are only working for the county for a limited time. Commissioner Chandler wonders if we could offer unit captains a stipend or a bump in pay to compensate. Mr. Mecham has considered building a location for people to stay if he ever had to bring people in from other counties to cover shifts. Mr. Hall stated the issue with this solution is that we would have to pay those people around the clock for their stay in the building to cover the shift. Commissioners feel the best option might be a pay increase for Unit Captains, which would be a budgetary item Mr. Mecham will need to look at. Everything else is 3rd party policy they don’t believe they can change. The landing zone at Elk Creek may need to be modified because of the new light being put in. Originally, ITD told them it should work, the pilot also thought it should work. Now the pilot feels it may be too tight to land. The issue is having enough clearance to fly in and out. He would like to meet with ITD, Brandon, Commissioner Dance, and the Forest Service, to see if there are possibilities to expand the landing pad. Executive Session IC 74-206(1)(f) 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 3:00 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 3:40 p.m. Miscellaneous Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the claims for July 20, 2026 as presented. Commissioner Hill 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 July 13, 2026 as amended. 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 Fall 2026 academic year for Sabrina Benitez. 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 Idaho Liquor Catering Permit no 1095 for Solairus Food Services to be used for the period of 1 evening on August 1, 2026 from 4pm to 11pm for an event being held at Idaho Dunes RV. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Clerk Mattingly presented an Admission of Service, and Disclaimer of Interest from D&S Hill Investments. Treasurer Lori Beard verified the taxes have been paid in full on this property for 2025 and the County has no interest in the property. Mr. Hall stated this is a property located in Ashton. We acquired this property through a tax deed several years ago, then sold the property. He is not sure who is requiring it now, but they are requiring a quiet title action and they are asking Fremont County to acknowledge that we have no ongoing interest in the property. Commissioner Dance made a motion to sign the Admission of Service, and disclaimer of Interest for Case No CV22-25-227 for Fremont County. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Clerk Mattingly presented an authorization to proceed with Negotiation Services for the Teton Bridge. Commissioner Dance made a motion to sign the authorization to proceed with negotiation services for the Teton Bridge project number 24341 for the purchase of 4 properties. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Clerk Mattingly presented two Agreement Approvals with Negotiation Services for the Teton Bridge for 2 properties they’ve acquired for us. The first is from Full Throttle Ranch LLC in the amount of $500.00, and the second is from the Dallas and Veda Leavitt Family Trust in the amount of $512.64. Commissioner Dance made a motion to approve the purchase agreement with the Dallas and Veda Leavitt Family Trust in the amount of $512.64. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Dance made a motion to approve the purchase agreement with the Full Throttle Ranch LLC in the amount of $500.00. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioners discussed the Upper Valley Child Advocacy Center. Commissioner Chandler attended the meeting. They would like to find a centralized location within the district for people to meet. They have a location in Rigby, as well as a mobile unit. But they would like a District 6 advocacy center, and it will cost a lot of money to fund. Commissioner Hill asked who will fund it. Commissioner Chandler stated it would be the counties. Commissioner Dance asked if this is a mandate from the state. Commissioner Chandler said no, and that we would like to help but we don’t have funds to help right now. Right now they are looking at a location in Idaho Falls. He will update everyone when he has more information. Commissioner Chandler discussed small modular reactors. He is trying to keep Fremont County ahead of the curve and has a letter to send simply seeking information about the issue. He would like permission from the other commissioners to move forward. Commissioners Dance and Hill are fine with him seeking further information for the county. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:00 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. 613927 Regular Commissioner Meeting 07-20-2026 on 8/3/2026
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