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Jerome County

Commissioners Meeting

minutes meeting date 2025-08-25 · fetched 2026-09-13 · 17348 characters · read by OCR, check numbers against the source · official file · plain text

Monday, August 25, 2025
Page 1 of 10
JEROME COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Monday, August 25, 2025
PRESENT: Ben Crouch, Chairman
                   Charles Howell, Vice Chairman
       Art Watkins, Commissioner
       Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
Meeting convened at 9:06 am.
Commissioner Reports
Commissioner Watkins – Commissioner Watkins stated that he attended the rotary meeting. 
There was a presentation on breast health. Then he attended the South Central Public Health 
meeting. They had a presentation on a septic variance agreement. He talked to Mark Reyes 
regarding his office space. He went to the open enrollment meetings with Guy Stubbs.
Commissioner Howell – Commissioner Howell stated that he attended the Lemhi county rodeo 
and fair. 
Commissioner Crouch – Commissioner Crouch stated that he took part in the final walk through 
for the construction at the Jerome Administration Offices Building. He attended the rotary 
meeting. He also attended the interviews for Jerome 20/20. Then he attended the Jerome 20/20 
meeting. Later he attended the SIRCOMM meeting. There was a presentation on their 
employment positions and the potential hiring of two new employees. He attended the open 
house for the Idaho Transportation Departments meeting regarding the third bridge. He has been 
working on the survey regarding the proposed location for Martha and Marys Pantry. He took 
Jeff Schroeder on a tour of the old public defenders office.
Discussion Regarding Old Electric Furnaces
Commissioner Howell stated that there were four electric furnaces that they were notified of by 
Brent Culbertson. These were taken out during the remodel process.
Commissioner Crouch moved to have the four old electric furnaces be 
considered of no value, and allow the employees a chance to use them if they 
want, and then open the availability to the public. Seconded by Commissioner 
Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Wall Demo Approval for Security
Cy Lootens and Brent Culbertson were present.
Brent stated that they are looking to cut a doorway in the wall for the new security area. He 
wanted to make sure that they would have approval before starting in that process. Cy stated that 
there was an issue after security came and measured for the new machine. They felt that they

Monday, August 25, 2025
Page 2 of 10
need a bit more space which is why they suggested a doorway be put in. Brent stated he can 
reach out to core construction and see if they would be interested in the project or he can reach 
out to other construction companies as well. The Board stated that they would like to have the 
company who does the project try and keep things as clean as possible with the new remodel 
having been completed. Brent stated that he could mention that to the company who does the 
project.
Extension Office
Lindsy Van Zante, Steve Hines, Amanda Worthington, Sam Verret, and Katie Scheer were 
present.
Lindsy was invited to discuss the incident of a fair board member at the extension office. She 
stated that a fair board member came into the extension office on Thursday afternoon. She stated 
that he demanded to know if they keep their financial or leadership audits. She went back to 
Steve Hines office. This individual then followed her back to Steve’s office. She stated that this 
individual demanded the same information from Steve. 
4H Sale Committee
Daniel Haney, Steve Hines, Amanda Worthington, Sam Verret, and Katie Scheer were present.
Daniel stated that he is on the 4H sales committee. He received a text stating that there could be 
some stuff that will go down today. He then came around the barns to find some of the other 4H 
sales committee, multiple fair board members, and a couple of Sherriff’s deputies. He felt 
frustrated that there were deputies involved in this in the first place. After the conversation there 
was an agreement that animals can be loaded out at 9:30 pm and that pen takedown can start at 
10 pm. Later as they were going through the process of loading up animals this individual came 
up and stated that they can’t have their trucks pulled up at this location. This individual came and
got in the face of a volunteer mom and continued to get confrontational with her. Daniel then 
came and got involved to try and help alleviate the situation for the volunteer mom. He stated 
that this individual would not leave the area as they were loading animals and taking down pens 
and refused to leave or get out of the way as they were working on these processes.
Juvenile Probation Monthly Report
Mario Umana was present.
Mario gave a presentation on the juvenile probation department. He stated that there are 
currently 77 active cases. There were four new cases during the previous month. He stated that 
they closed three cases last month. They collected a total of $1,185.50 in fees. There was a total 
of $457.50 collected through juvenile, $182.00 in diversion, and $546.00 at the annex.
*To see an image of the report please see page 8 of the minutes.
Misdemeanor Probation Monthly Report
Andrea Gonzalez was present.

Monday, August 25, 2025
Page 3 of 10
Andrea gave a presentation on the misdemeanor probation department. She stated that they 
received 62 new cases during the last month. They closed out 46 cases last month. She stated that
they have received $6,171.31 in probation fees, $7,266.80 in drug testing fees, and $3,160.00 in 
scram/GPS fees. This totaled $16,598.11 in fees received over the previous month. She stated 
that all of the misdemeanor probation officers attended a meeting during the previous month. 
*To see an image of the report please see page 9 of the minutes.
Meeting recessed at 11:48 am.
Meeting reconvened at 1:15 pm.
Tax Cancelation
Mark Swenson was present.
Mark stated that they received a home owners exemption application and need to cancel part of 
the taxes. The exemption was missed on the rolls last year.
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the notice of cancelation, for parcel 
RPJ13701030180, because a home owners exemption was applied for late in 
2024 and was missed in the roll. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The 
motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Note: The total amount to be canceled is $1,299.01.
Jerome County Fair Review Discussion
Amanda Worthington, Amy Smith, Sam Verret, Mariann Schewe, Joshua Mani, and Janet 
Prescott were present.
Amanda wanted to see what the Board thought about how the fair went and any ideas that could 
be improved. The Board suggested to find a way to have a paved path through to the 
handicapped ramp at the rodeo arena. The Board also brought up some concerns about the VIP 
area of drinks being shared to other individuals who weren’t in the VIP area, and the seating in 
that area.
Amanda stated that the fair board felt like the fair went really well. They received a lot of 
compliments. There was a lot of good feedback from the vendors and non-profit groups. She 
stated that there are things that they want to improve for the upcoming year. One is the VIP 
seating area for the rodeo, bringing in Hispanic bands during the week for a concert, and 
improving on the fair parade.

Monday, August 25, 2025
Page 4 of 10
She wanted to go over the incidents that took place during the fair. Amanda stated that she would
like to go over things from her side. She stated that there were issues between the accounts of the
incident inside the extension office. She has told the members of her board to never go into the 
extension office alone from now on. She stated that the Board has discussed that they want to 
know about issues of conduct regarding these incidents. She stated that there were incidents of 
conduct regarding one of the members of the extension office who reached out to her personal 
number and that they were very unprofessional when they did so. Amanda stated that she had 
called the deputies down to the barns on Saturday night, after she was told there was a situation 
that was getting out of hand. She was unaware of how bad the situation was, so just to be safe 
she reached out to a local deputy to have some deputies taken down to the barn area. She also felt
that the incident on Saturday has been blown way out of proportion. After the initial incidents 
she stated that people were laughing and joking with each other and had stated during that time 
how they wanted to work together to resolve these issues in the future.
Amanda stated that she had some other issues regarding this process. Those included decisions 
being made by the Board before hearing about the incidents, the agenda being changed with 
different topics for discussions, and the Board not wanting to hear from the member in question. 
She felt this was unfair especially after all the work the board member had done to help with 
putting on the fair.
The Board stated that they did not have any decisions made up before starting the process of 
reviewing the board members conduct. They stated that they wanted to hear from everyone 
involved first before hearing from the member of the fair board that was involved. This way they
could eliminate any of the he said she said issues. The Board stated that they should have 
notified the fair board that they would be looking into the issue and that they would be having a 
time that they would be able to come in and discuss the issue once they heard from all of the 
other individuals involved. Commissioner Howell stated that the issues regarding the agenda 
changing were due to his fault in not communicating the subject of the presentations sooner, and 
that they were changed since the agenda was already posted. The Board stated again that they did
not have any decisions made in advance of this process.
Amanda stated she was glad that the Board did not have any decisions made before. She said that
she wants to fight for her board members as she feels that they all deserve to be on the fair board.
She stated that they have all worked hard to put on a great fair and that this should also be taken 
into account when making a decision about the member in question. She also stated that she has 
provided several letters stating how valuable this board member is. She stated that in her eyes 
that this member is invaluable to what they do.
The Board and the fair board stated that they would like to improve their communication with 
one another, and find a way that they can work better together moving forward.

Monday, August 25, 2025
Page 5 of 10
4H Stock Buyer
Don Scarrow Jr, Steve Hines, Amy Smith, Amanda Worthington, Janet Prescott, Mariann 
Schewe, and Sam Verret were present.
Don stated that he wants the process to run smooth and be easy for everyone. He would like to 
see the fair board and the 4H sale committee to set a time that is best for loading up the animals. 
He stated that some of the issues for him are regarding all of the sales done during the Jerome 
fair week. He has tremendous help in the community to help with loading his animals. There 
were several issues he saw when he showed up to the fair to load up animals. There were lots of 
kids running around between and behind the trailers as they were trying to load animals. Don 
stated that the fair board member was rude and aggressive to people trying to load animals.
4H/Fair Discussion
Amy Smith, Amanda Worthington, Janet Prescott, Mariann Schewe, and Sam Verret were 
present.
Amy wanted to make some comments based on the comments made by Don Scarrow. She stated 
that she feels the same way that the 4H sale committee and the fair board need to be on the same 
page. She wants to see an agreed upon time to keep everyone safe as they load up the animals at 
the end of the fair.
Sign and Approve Claims
Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the claims as presented by staff. 
Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
*To see an image of the report please see page 10 of the minutes.
Read and Approve Minutes
Commissioner Watkins moved to approve the minutes from 8/18 and 8/19 with 
the suggested changes. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed
with a unanimous vote.
Commissioner Crouch excused himself due to personal matters.
IT Purchases
Matthew McGregor and Eli Bair were present.

Monday, August 25, 2025
Page 6 of 10
Matthew stated that he received a quote for an SFP switch. This would help with a temporary fix 
until after the cabling job is completed. Once that is done they will be able to use this at the 
annex to help at that building.
Commissioner Watkins moved to approve the switch enterprise campus 
aggregation purchase as presented by staff in the amount of $3,999.00. 
Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
He stated that there was an internet outage at the Jerome Administration Offices Building last 
week. They have worked to create a better way of switching where the internet comes from in 
case of outages. This way if one building goes down then it should more readily switch to the 
other internet provider. He has also been working with ETS to figure out where they are at with 
the grant matches. He wants to make sure that the county is not spending money to match 
towards the grant if it doesn’t need to.
Jerome Administration Offices Building Security Quotes
Cy Lootens and Shayne Nope were present.
Cy stated that he received quotes from two different companies. One is for the metal detector and
the other is for the repairing of the x-ray machine for the new security. This would save the 
county a lot of money to repair it instead of buying a new unit.
Commissioner Watkins moved to approve the best bids for the x-ray machine and
metal detector, for a total of $8,728.00. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The 
motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Legal Counsel/Review of NeoGov Payroll & HR Program Contract
Shayne Nope and Cy Lootens were present.
Shayne stated that both Mike Seib and himself reviewed the contract. They both felt ok with the 
contract. He said the only thing regarding it is the process of potential legal action, and to see if 
they would be willing to have the venue changed to a local venue instead of one in the state 
where the company is from. The Board stated that they would be ok with Cy moving forward 
with the new provider and to check to see if the language could be updated first.
He stated that there should be minutes kept on their public hearing meetings. This way there is a 
written transcription even though there may be a recording of the meeting.

Monday, August 25, 2025
Page 7 of 10
Commissioner Howell moved to approve the minutes from the LCO hearing. 
Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote.
The Board wanted to discuss what legal counsel was able to find about an ordinance for illegal 
dumping. Shayne stated that there was an ordinance that was previously drafted but it was never 
adopted regarding illegal dumping and trash disposal. He stated that if the Board is interested in 
adopting an ordinance for it then he can work to have a draft created for them to review.
Meeting adjourned at 3:46 pm.
________________________
______________________________
Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk
A. Ben Crouch, Chairman
______________________________
Charles M. Howell, Commissioner
______________________________
Art Watkins, Commissioner

v

Vv

Statistics for Commissioners
07/20/25- 08/24/25

Juveniles — 77

Total New Probationers —4
o Juvenile -—0
o Diversion-4

Total Closed Probationers — 3
o Juvenile-1
© Diversion-2

Total Fees Paid — $1185.50
o Juvenile — $457.50
© Diversion — $182.00
o Annex—$546.00

Monday, August 25, 2025
Page 8 of 10

July Statistics 2025

Cases

New Supervised Cases:

Total Number
Supervised Probation:
Court Compliance:

DUI Court:

DV Court:
Unsupervised Probation:

Warrants

Closed Cases

Total: 46

62
FEE'S
Probation Fees
395 U\A Fees:
210 Scram/GPS:
16/18
30
180
221

Monday, August 25, 2025
Page 9 of 10

$6,171.31
$7,266.80

$3,160.00

TOTAL FEES:

$16,598.11

BUDGET TOTALS
DEPARTMENT

PAYROLL ACCT PAY GRAND TOTAL

CLERK
ASSESSOR
| 3|\TREASURER.s—~s—=szd

|_4|/HUMAN RESOURCES
| _5|COMMISSIONERS

$ 852.32 852.32

$ 63.56 63.56

$ 122.83 122.83
es ee eee

ee Ce ee

CORONER
BUILDING & GROUNDS MAINT. $ 1,689.46 1, 689. 46

$
$
$
Pp —“<i~*dS AES 525.46 |
$
$
$

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
EXTENSION AGENT 373.21 | $ 373. 21

DATA PROCESSING
ELECTIONS

18 CHARITY

8|GENERAL

$

$ 20,205.53 |$ 20,205.53

$ = 11,387.65 | $ 11,387.65
$ =

$ 160,747.40|$ 160,747.40

1|PLANNING & ZONING
a GIS

$ 1,224.58 | $ 1,224.58
$ 7
$

ota éeneral Fund

GENERAL FUND RESERVE
VETERANS
[Sub

15,130.
27,908.66

| 4|SHERIFF
SHERIFF-DETENTION
ADULT PROBATION

$
$ 7,287.80
723.51

PROSECUTOR
PUBLIC DEFENDERS

JUVENILE PROBATION
GENERAL JUSTICE

a Total aReORT Fund)

$ 955.32 955.32
$ 2,043.57 2,043.57

$
$
$
$
$
$
$

54,049.28 54,049.28

-SIDISTRIGT COURT DISTRICT COURT

$
4232.41 $ 4,232.41

FAIR
CAPITAL FAIR

$
14,665.30 | $ 14, 665. 30

HEALTH DISTRICT $
ELECTION CONSOLIDATION $

REVALUATION
SOLID WASTE

TORT

$ 7

WEED

$ i

29|AMBULANCE
38/|WATERWAYS BOARD

$ bi

$

38|WATERWAYS SHERIFF
39|/|BROADBAND GRANT

$ 2,713,076.81 | $ 2,713,076.81

48/AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN
Sub Total

$ :
$ $ 2,834,696.76 | $ 2,834,696.76

| [GRAND TOTAL____|

$ $ 3,085,938.04 | $ 3,085,938.04

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