Fremont County | minutes | meeting 2025-09-08 | BOCC Sept 8 2025 Regular Meeting source: https://fremont.municipalcodeonline.com/book/content?type=minutes&name=BOCC_Sept_8_2025_Regular_Meeting BOCC Sept 8 2025 Regular Meeting FREMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES September 8, 2025 Present for the meeting was: Commissioners Blair Dance, Rick Hill, and Mark Chandler Also attended by: Deputy Clerk Kim Fletcher, and Civil Attorney Blake Hall Commissioner Dance called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance. Treasurer Lori Beard RE: Tax Cancellations – action item Ms. Beard presented the tax cancellations for the month of August 2025 in the amount of $6.71. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the tax cancellations for the month of August 2025 in the amount of $6.71. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Travis Packer Gallagher Insurance RE: Employee insurance update and renewal rates – action item Mr. Packer discussed the renewal numbers for our ancillary insurance for open enrollment. He also discussed the numbers that have been filed with the state for individual plans. Unum – Dental Plan – 0% increase for this year Vision Plan – 4.5% decrease. Our vision plan hasn’t changed in 10 years. If we choose to change, the employee rate would go up slightly, but the frame allowance would go up significantly. He feels a good option would be to switch to option 1; the cost would go up $.40, but the frame allowance would go up $20 more and rates will hold for 4 years. Everything else would stay the same. Basic Life and AD&D with USAble – He doesn’t have quotes yet, but he isn’t anticipating anything will change. He won’t know for a couple of weeks. Because we have been with them long enough, he believes USAble should allow open enrollment this year. He will contact them to see about arranging this for our meetings in October. One of the challenges the Clerk has now is how to budget with ICHRA’s. She budgeted a 5% increase just in case, and we have a 5% slush from last year’s budget, so we have a 10% total budget buffer. The Department of Insurance released the average increase. Blue Cross’s increase is 12%. Pacific Source is 16%, the other providers have also increased. The average statewide increase is about 10%. Employees will need to keep this in mind when they enroll this next year. We may have some employees that may pay a little towards their premium this year. Most of our employees have gold plans and may want to switch to silver plans this year, or switch to other plans within the system. He will be here to help educate employees as much as possible during the enrollment stages to help everyone save as much as they can and still get the benefits they want. Commissioner Hill asked Clerk Mace if she feels we will be ok financially. Clerk Mace stated it will depend on what the individual chooses. They may have to switch to a not-as- benefit-rich plan, but it will be their choice. We should be ok. Mr. Packer stated he will be here prior to open enrollment to help everyone look at plans and prepare for enrollment. He will help everyone feel sure they are ready and know what they are getting during the enrollment period. TaGenn Armstrong asked if we will be able to change the rate grid. Mr. Packer said yes, but we will need to get the numbers in. Right now, we have it on a 5-year age band, people under 35 is paying into their premium, people over 35 are not. But we would like to change it so as the age goes up, the premium adjusts with it. We are still going through Doctor’s Choice for our Medicaid employees, but they are welcome to work with Mr. Packer as well to get set up. IT Director Josh Warnke RE: GCC Migration – Action Item; M365 Quotes – Action Item Mr. Warnke discussed GCC migration. He explained that as they start with the Microsoft 360 project that was approved for next fiscal year, they need to migrate our system from what Microsoft calls the “commercial cloud” to the “government cloud” which will have more storage and be compliant with regulations. The new licensing will require this as well. He has reached out to a couple of vendors, this one was the one that came in lowest. It’s a project we could probably do internally, but he would be more comfortable having some help. It will take a couple of weeks, and this portion of it will come out of this budget year in the amount of $15,200.00. This is just a service fee. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to pull out $15,200.00 out of the IT budget to move forward with Right! Systems Inc for the information migration. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Warnke presented the licensing for this project. This will come out of next budget year’s money, and will upgrade our licensing for Office, which we need because the one we have is no longer supported. This was the cheapest licensing we could get, and we will need it to move forward with this project. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the bid from Right! Systems Inc for the M365 GCC Licensing in the amount of $67,173.00 from the IT FY2026 budget. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Planning and Building Planner Sara Bowersox RE: Open Range Div 1 Final Plat – action item; Chester Estates 4th Amended Plat – action item Ms. Bowersox presented application #25-020 for Open Range Div 1 Final Plat along with Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve application #25-020 for Lori and Robert Davis - Open Range Div #1, 4-lot short 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. Ms. Bowersox presented application #24-072 for Chester Estates 4th Amended Plat along with Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve application #24-072 for Bair Larson Properties – Chester Estates 4th 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. EMS Director Bert Mecham RE: Vehicle Purchase – action item; Fee Rate Increase – action item Mr. Mecham discussed purchasing a vehicle. He tried getting 3 different quotes but was unsuccessful. The one bid he was able to get was from Taylor Chevrolet in Rexburg. He did reach out to St. Anthony Motors as well as Tad Jenkins on Rigby and received no reply. Taylor offered him $53,793.36 for a 2026 Chevy Tahoe PPV. This is a government fleet bid. This is in his budget, and he will surplus an Expedition they have in Ashton, and will rotate a few other vehicles. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve the bid from Taylor Chevrolet for the 2026 Chevy Tahoe PPV Fleet Vehicle for EMS in the amount of $53,793.36. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Mr. Mecham discussed a standard fee increase for the people we transport. We don’t increase these fees every year, but it is probably time. This would be a 4.99% increase so it shouldn’t require a public hearing. Civil Attorney Blake Hall stated he hasn’t seen a document yet. This fee adjustment requires a resolution to be presented to the commissioners for approval, much like the one that will be presented later in this meeting for the landfill fees. Commissioners directed Deputy Clerk Kim Fletcher to create the resolution for presentation in our September 22nd meeting. Deputy Clerk Meredith Mattingly RE: Levy Presentation – action item Ms. Mattingly presented the levies for approval, so the Commissioners are not adopting them today. These are still subject to certification by the state so there could be changes. We have 5 districts that are not compliant with Transparency Idaho. If they get compliant, these will be amended. Commissioners would just need to approve them as they are presented today. Ms. Mattingly presented the Commissioners with additional paperwork for their budget binders for FY2026. Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the Fremont County Tax Levy rates for the 2025 Tax Year as presented. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Treasurer Lori Beard RE: Introducing Time Value Investments - Chris Bateman Ms. Beard stated Mr. Bateman is who she has been working with to move our investments, so she wanted to introduce him and discuss our investments. Mr. Bateman introduced himself and his work experience, as well as his work with Time Value Investments. They do institutional investing, most of their clients are public entities. He explained how he was approached by our Treasurer for help with our investments and became involved with the County. Commissioner Dance discussed Ms. Beard’s review of our investments from a previous meeting, and the plan that was created for quarterly reviews with the Commissioners to make sure our investments are still doing well moving forward. Mr. Bateman discussed our county portfolio and how things have been moved, consolidated, and adjusted. There was a discussion about investment maturities and how it is unfortunate that so many of our investments don’t mature for more than 5 years. He feels it is wise to spread out maturity dates for flexibility purposes and will help us do this with future investments. Commissioner Dance stated he is comfortable with the changes that have been made because of these conversations. He is very surprised and pleased with all of the progress that has been made in under a year. Ms. Beard stated we have a much clearer vision now because most of our investments are in 1 place instead of 3. Mr. Bateman has been really great to work with and helped teach her a lot during this process. Commissioner Hill asked how long it will take for us to level out. Mr. Bateman feels if rates go down to how they were in 2020-2021, that would be the time to get rid of some of our investments. If he had to guess, it would be a couple of years, but conditions are always changing, and this is only a guess. Commissioner Dance stated he knew we had some issues fundamentally within the County that we needed to have resolved and is grateful for Ms. Beard taking the initiative to learn these things, and to reach out to Mr. Bateman for help. Commissioner Hill agreed and feels it would be good for Mr. Bateman to come in for a review with Ms. Beard on an annual basis. Commissioner Chandler agreed and thanked them for their time and for coming to teach them. Miscellaneous Commissioner Hill made a motion to approve the claims for September 8, 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 September 2, 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 2025-2026 Retail Alcoholic Beverage License for: #31 Spring Hill Suites by Marriott #32 Buffalo Run Park LLC DBA Blue Buffalo Resort #33 Silver Horseshoe Inn, LLC #34 Silver Horseshoe Inn, LLC #35 Café Sabor Island Park #36 The Parlor at Mack’s Inn #37 The Stage Stop #38 Last Chance Gas LLC Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioners reviewed and discussed the Findings of Facts, Conclusions of Law and Decision for the Ensign Hospitality appeal. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to adopt the Ensign Hospitality LLC Appeal of Fremont County Planning & Zoning Commission’s Denial of Class II Application Appeal File #25-002 together with the 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. Deputy Clerk Kim Fletcher presented Resolution No 2025-16 to amend and replace Fremont County Resolution No 2024-24, Increasing the fees listed on the solid waste facility fee table. Commissioner Hill made a motion to adopt Resolution No 2025-16 amending and replacing Fremont County Resolution No 2024-24, increasing the fees listed on the solid waste facility fee table as presented. Commissioner Chandler seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioners discussed a petition to annex land into the Henry’s Fork Ground Water District. Commissioner Dance stated we found out the County has a water right on a well. We received a notice of curtailment on this well, so we wouldn’t be able to use it anymore. He took Aaron Dalling out there to look at it, and Aaron was going to petition us to use it as an exempt well. It is a well we use often; Bryce Fowler uses it most often for his crew. Our Road and Bridge crew also uses the well. Aaron instead asked us to petition to be included as part of the Henry’s Fork Water District, and then they would mitigate our use of the well for a small fee (just over $4.00) each month. Commissioner Dance made a motion to approve the petition to annex into the Henry’s Fork Ground Water District. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioners approved Pay App #8 for the Last Chance Waste Water Treatment Plant. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to approve Pay App #8 to GSE Construction in the amount of $741,876 for the Last Chance Waste Water Treatment Plant. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioners discussed the passthrough funds recipient agreement for Juvenile Probation. Commissioner Dance made a motion to accept the passthrough funds recipient agreement for Juvenile Probation. Commissioner Hill seconded the motion. A full voice vote was heard with all commissioners voting in favor. Commissioner Chandler made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 2:43 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: _____________________________ Abbie Mace, Clerk HISTORY Recorded by Min. 609802 Regular Commissioner Meeting 09-08-2025 on 9/22/2025