Sentinel Media records · public agendas and minutes, text only, refreshed nightly from each body's own site · not a newspaper
minutes meeting date 2026-08-10 · fetched 2026-09-09 · 17716 characters · official file · plain text
BOCC Aug 10 2026 Regular Meeting FREMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES August 10, 2026 Present for the meeting were: Commissioners Blair Dance, Rick Hill, and Mark Chandler Also attended by: Deputy Clerk Kim Fletcher Commissioner Dance called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the agenda for August 10, 2026 as presented. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioners RE: Tax Deed Sale – action item Commissioners held the tax deed sale in the Courthouse Foyer. Treasurer Lori Beard RE: Tax Cancellations – action item Ms. Beard presented the tax cancellations for the month of July 2026 in the amount of $9.16, $59.99 was late charge, for a total of $69.15. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the tax cancellations for the month of July 2026 in the total amount of $69.15. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Chief Deputy Sheriff Cody Gudmunson RE: Allocating Monies from Public Surplus – action item Mr. Gudmunson explained that earlier this summer the Sheriff’s Office surplused one of the Humvees; they would like to allocate the check from that sale to their Capital Rec line in the amount of $7,420.00 when the budget is opened. Commissioners agreed this could be done. Lydia Hanson and David Anderson w/ Teton Regional Land Trust RE: Presentation Ms. Hanson introduced herself; she works with the Teton Regional Land Trust. Mr. Anderson works with the American Farmland Trust. They explained that 83% of Fremont County is Idaho’s best ag land, but through their work, they are finding that 1.2 square miles is converted annually into other use. Their work is trying to conserve ag land while also finding enough housing for people. They discussed the challenge Idaho is facing with the population growth as well as the aging farming population and economic pressures. Ag is important to our culture. They explained the many ways they try to help farmers preserve their ag land for generational use, if they are serious in maintaining it this way. They have national partners as well as state partners (such as our Extension Office) as well as county resources, and their own offices; they want to be an allies with the Counties that we can reach out to for resources. This is not just about land protection. Idaho has been discovered. How do we keep people in the farming and ranching business. We need to keep this in mind when making decisions for development. It seems like we have millions of acres, but they are limited. Commissioner Dance thanked them for the presentation and stated that the Board is aware of the development in the County and that more and more of our constituents are also aware of how it affects ag land in the county, and voice those opinions to them frequently. They do try to keep these things in mind when they make decisions. Commissioner Chander gave Ms. Hanson his card. He would like more information and would like to continue the discussion with them. Layne Hepworth RE: Dispute about Late Taxes and Fees – action item Mr. Hepworth stated he got a notice a couple weeks ago that his taxes were delinquent this year. So, he looked on his check register, then checked online and saw that the check he sent had not been cashed. He called the Treasurer’s Office and found out that somehow the check he’d sent ended up at Fidelity Investments before it was sent here. He doesn’t know how, he doesn’t have any accounts or any other affiliation with them at all. Once it was sent there, they mailed it to the Treasurer’s Office, and the Treasurer’s Office received it after the 20th. Treasurer Beard stated it was in her office on July 24th, but postmarked July 21st. Mr. Hepworth stated he was told he could have a discussion with the Commissioners; he’s never been late paying his taxes before. He’s owned property here for a while and is a resident now. He provided a copy of the check, which is dated June 6th, 2026, as well as a history of the payment of his property taxes. He doesn’t feel its an unreasonable ask to have these late fees and interest waived because he put the check in the mail the day after it was dated, even though he can’t prove it, but he had no control over this situation. He doesn’t know how the check was rerouted, so it was late, but he sent it on time. Ms. Beard stated by law we do have to go by postmark, which is dated the 21st of July. She also kept the letter from Fidelity which was dated the 17th of July, and explained they don’t have an account for this customer and they sent a copy of the stub, and we put a copy of the check with the letter we received from them. What she believes happened is that we sent out the second half reminder, which is what Mr. Hepworth paid on, and then we sent out a delinquent notice and those crossed in the mail, so the check didn’t quite cover everything and that’s when he called our office. Mr. Hepworth stated the check covered the taxes, it didn’t cover the late fees and interest. Ms. Beard said this was correct, because it had gone past the June 20th date. Blake Hall asked what date it needed to be postmarked in order to be timely. Ms. Beard stated June 20th. Mr. Hall asked if this is dated June 21st. Ms. Beard stated it is dated July 21st. Commissioner Dance stated we don’t have any proof of the postmark from the envelope to Fidelity, only the date marked on the check. Mr. Hepworth stated it was June 6th on the check, and he would have mailed it the next day. All he can think of is it might have gotten stuck to someone else’s mail, but he can’t prove anything. Commissioner Chandler asked what the late fees and interest are. Ms. Beard stated its $259.37. Mr. Hepworth feels that Fidelity stating he doesn’t have an account with them is reason enough to believe what he is telling them; he would have had no reason to send his tax check to them. Ms. Beard stated it is a mystery as well that they didn’t just forward it to her office either. They took the time to write her a letter explaining he doesn’t have an account with them and had no reason to keep the check. Commissioner Dance stated as he understands the law, the law is pretty explicit with the authority of Commissioners regarding penalties and interest of late payment of taxes. Mr. Hall said this is correct. The statute doesn’t give discretion to County Commissioners. It requires the Treasurer to operate by the post mark dated on the envelope. Mr. Hepworth asked for clarification that Commissioners don’t have the ability to waive the fee. Mr. Hall stated this is his understanding of the law. Mr. Hepworth asked if his only recourse is to hire an attorney and fight it. How does he have control over the check once its in the mail. Based on principle, he’s not going to pay it. He worries about this going on his credit record for nonpayment. Treasurer Beard stated she doesn’t report late payments to the Credit Bureau. This type of thing doesn’t go on anyone’s credit record. Commissioner Hill agrees it’s not his fault, but it isn’t our fault either. We have to go by the law, unfortunately. Mr. Hepworth stated again that he isn’t going to pay it. He will pay the money to fight it in court. Probation Darin Burrell RE: IDJC MOA – action item; Quarterly Update Mr. Burrell presented 2 passthrough funds recipient agreements. The first is for the JCA and Cigarette/Tobacco Tax Funding with the total distribution being $21,200. The second is for CBAS and SUDS with a total amount of $50,400. There is no cost to the county for either of these. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to adopt these 2 passthrough funds recipient agreements in the amounts of $21,200 and $50,400. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Burrell reported he created a document to help keep the probation fleet vehicles better maintained. This came up while he and Kent were doing some of the upkeep of the 5C vehicles to get them ready for surplus. He and his staff will each be assigned a vehicle and fill out the form once a month just to make sure their fleet is in good shape. Their misdemeanor case load has been staying busy for the adults; he expects it to pick up some for the juveniles as school starts again soon. Commissioner Hill hopes as we get into the new budget cycle, the new offices in the North Annex will progress a little faster and that Darin and Kent will be able to move out of the 5C building and into their new offices. Assessor Carol Blanchard and Treasurer Lori Beard RE: CAMA and Tax System Software Agreements – action item Ms. Blanchard stated our CAMA and Tax System software are functioning but not at the levels we would like. There are currently 7 counties in the state that are using this same program, with the same problems. She is part of the Software Committee with the State and has been working with the State Tax Commission to try to find ways to help those counties work with this system and they’ve been reaching out to other software companies to see what they can offer. Augmentum and ProVal Technologies has put together a package and presented it to these 7 counties that are currently using Computer Arts at a discounted rate if more counties will sign on. Jefferson County has committed to this package and has provided us with a piggy-back clause that will allow us to use the same agreement, program, and their public access schedule, without having to go to bid. Blake Hall has reviewed the clause, and it looks like it would serve our county well. The problem we have is that after budget meeting last week, there really is no money, but we may not have a choice but to move on to something else. Computer Arts has been hinting at an end-of-life, but they haven’t said when. They aren’t going to update their system, and the person who knows the code for the current system has left the company. IT Manager Josh Warnke feels it’s the most economically viable path for us right now. There are a couple of other options, but the cost for the other 2 were almost double what this software is offering. This software is also under the Harris umbrella, which CAI is also under, and would help with data conversion. Ms. Beard stated that Tyler is fairly expensive. Catalis isn’t in Idaho yet, and they’re working with Madison County to come in so the costs are up in the air, but she recalls the costs being much higher than Augmentum. Some of our departments are also using 2 programs and importing information between programs; we feel like it would be more beneficial to keep the Assessor and Tax side together within the same program. Mr. Warnke stated Augmentum is also under the Harris umbrella, which CAI is also under, which will be helpful with data conversion. Commissioner Dance asked if there are any other counties on this side of the state that are using this software. Ms. Blanchard stated that 27 other Assessors Offices use this software and 3 more will be converting, so if she needs help with the software, there are other Assessors she will be able to reach out to. Ms. Beard stated 22 counties are using it for taxes, and a few more are talking about switching. Another benefit with this software is that they already have a platform, they are already working on updates and are going to be around for a while. Our current program has a tendency to band-aid just enough for us to get through. They aren’t developing anything further. Mr. Warnke stated the State Tax Commission has a great working relationship with Harris/Augmentum. He wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to convert to this software statewide at some point. Mr. Hall asked which other counties on this side of the state are using the software. Ms. Blanchard stated Bonneville County, Clark uses the ProVal portion of it. Bingham is looking at switching to this platform as well. Commissioner Hill asked about the cost. Ms. Blanchard explained that the current maximum total $206,271, with an annual fee is of $62,589. We have looked into the other options and this really is the best price. This is worst case scenario, if we were the only county to participate. If 2 to 3 counties participate, they get a 10% discount. If 4 to 5 participate, it’s a 15% discount, and if all 7 participate, it’s a 20% discount. We are asking for addons which includes public access, which she and Ms. Beard feel is important and would provide more information than people currently have access to on our website. The yearly cost is similar to what we are currently paying for Computer arts, and our MapServer would be integrated into the system so that expense would eventually go away, so things should even out. Commissioner Hill asked how the cost compares to our current Computer Arts software. Mr. Warnke stated the yearly cost is similar, there wouldn’t be much difference as far as the yearly maintenance. The issue is the one time implementation fee. Commissioner Dance asked how we would pay for it. Ms. Blanchard asked where we stand with the security entrance and if those ARPA funds would be rerouted elsewhere, or if PILT money would be available, and then the rest could possibly come from their annual budgets and software budget. She is aware the timing is terrible. Commissioner Dance asked about an option for a 5-year loan from PILT that each of their departments could pay back. The Treasurers and Assessors Offices don’t collect fees to be able to pay off a loan, but it could be budgeted for. Commissioner Hill stated the ARPA money is committed at this point. We have a discussion scheduled next week about the security entrance and whether or not we will accept their numbers; if we don’t, there will be some money, but not a lot. Ms. Beard’s one concern is the longer we wait to implement something, CAI could suddenly drop. We have no control over what they’re doing, and no backup plan. Commissioner Chandler suggested waiting to make a decision on this matter until after next week, and figure out what we’re doing with the ARPA funds and the security entrance. Commissioner Dance agreed. He wanted to make it clear the Commissioners are not saying no to the software, they know it needs to be done, we just need to figure out how to pay for it. Miscellaneous Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the claims for August 10, 2026 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 the August 4th, 5th, and 6th 2026 budget meetings 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 minutes from August 3, 2026 as amended. 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 Junior College Application for the College of Eastern Idaho Fall 2026-Spring 2027 academic year for Kassidy Leavitt, and the Fall 2026 academic year for Rylee Schwendiman, Jalyssa Stoddard, and Karely Meza, and for the College of Southern Idaho Fall 2026 academic year for Helen Olvera Perez. 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 2026-2027 Retail Alcoholic Beverage License for: #2 Trouthunter Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve Idaho Liquor Catering Permit #1097 for Trouthunter to be used September 12th, 2026 from 3pm to 8pm for a period of 1 evening at Harriman State Park for an event being held by the Friends of Harriman. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioners discussed the Fall River Propane purchase for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Commissioner Dance emailed the other commissioners about the propane bids for this year so they could review them. In past years he has had difficulty receiving bids. He feels we may still need to make an attempt to get additional bids. Our current provider is Fall River. We have a 15,000 gallon carry-over. He suggests 20,000 gallons to go with the 15,000 carry-over we currently have. Commissioner Hill asked if he is going to attempt to get more bids. Commissioner Dance said he will try. Blake Hall asked if we own the tanks or if Fall River does. This could make a difference in how we get bids. Commissioner Dance isn’t sure, but we’ve always been encouraged and had the option to get bids for propane. Commissioner Hill feels we can go for the bids and by the time we get them, we’ll figure out whether or not we own the tanks. Commissioner Dance agrees. He will try to stay local, and asking for 5000 gallons less should help with the budget this year. (Commissioners received an email later in the meeting from our Weed Department stating the County does own the propane tanks.) Commissioner Hill made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 11:57 a.m. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. _________________________________ Blair Dance, Chairman Fremont County Commissioner Attest: _____________________________ Meredith Mattingly, Clerk HISTORY Recorded by Min. 614132 Regular Commissioner Meeting 08-10-2026 on 8/17/2026
Text is extracted by machine from the official file linked on each page; the official file is the record. Sentinel Media, LLC.