Jerome County | minutes | meeting 2025-08-18 | Commissioners Meeting source: https://www.jeromecountyid.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08182025-1544 Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 1 of 11 JEROME COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Monday, August 18, 2025 PRESENT: Ben Crouch, Chairman Charles Howell, Vice Chairman Art Watkins, Commissioner Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk Meeting convened at 9:00 am. Commissioner Reports Commissioner Watkins – Commissioner Watkins stated that he attended the Eden city council meeting. He attended the rotary meeting. There was a presentation on fundraising. Then he attended the Hazelton city council meeting. He attended the Snake River Canyon Parks meeting. They discussed the overlook project, donation bricks for the overlook project, and the shooting range project. Commissioner Howell – Commissioner Howell stated that he attended the Magic Valley Planning Organization. They discussed the budget and the by-laws. He attended the chamber luncheon. Then he attended the Business Plus meeting. There was a presentation on the agriculture industry in the area. Commissioner Crouch – Commissioner Crouch stated that he helped all day Friday and Saturday with the Jo Mama’s car show. Contractor Contract for Jerome Airport Taxi Lane Construction/Reconstruction Thomas Leija, Christine Roemeling, Marty Luhr, and Cy Lootens were present. Thomas stated that they came to bring the contractor contract to sign for the taxi lane construction and reconstruction. He is also here to help with the signing of the grant agreements from last week, since there were issues with the e-signature software. Commissioner Crouch moved to sign the two grant agreements for the taxi lane construction and reconstruction at the Jerome airport. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Commissioner Crouch moved to sign the notice of award, with Summitt Construction, for the Jerome airport taxi lane construction and reconstruction. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 2 of 11 Signs for Fences at Jerome Airport Marty Luhr was present. The Board asked Marty about an unpaid bill that they had someone reach out about. Marty stated that he has not received a copy of the bill. He stated he would reach out about the bill to make sure it gets paid. He stated that the airport board wants to buy all new signs for the airport. They would be placed on the fence to remove the older one. He stated it would be around 36 signs all together. Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the expenditure of $1,400 for the replacement of the signs at the Jerome airport. Seconded by Commissioner Watkins. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Planning and Zoning Monthly Report Kacie Buhler was present. Kacie gave a presentation on the planning and zoning department. She stated that they received a total of $15,479.87 during the last month. There were a total of 58 inspections done last month. They received a total of 32 records requests. She stated that they received 24 permits during the previous month. She has continued to work on creating the energy ordinance and the city of impact ordinances. She asked the Board about a process to regulate who is able to have meetings at the Jerome Administration Offices Building, and to be able to clarify which meetings are supported by the county and which are not. The Board stated that they would like to see some more regulations on this so they can prevent confusion going forward. Overlook Project, Shooting Range, Park Operations Bill Bridges was present. Bill stated that he received the paperwork from Idaho Power. It states that they will be giving the Snake River Canyon Parks $250,000 to put towards the overlook project. He has brought this for the Board to approve. He stated that they purchased the tractor that he had presented on previously. He stated that he would like to purchase a shipping container to store the tractor in as well as other supplies. This would help to alleviate time from transporting the tractor from the airport to the area it needs to be used. The donation bricks are up and going on their website and on Facebook. Bill stated that they had several news articles created regarding the opportunity of donating to the bricks and those will run soon. One of the board members resigned. He is needing to have a new member appointed to the board. He stated that there was a nomination of Jim Williams. There will be two projects started Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 3 of 11 soon and they will be able to actually start construction on the projects. One is the rock crawling course and the other is regarding the horse stalls and racing area. Meeting recessed at 12:00 pm. Meeting reconvened at 1:30 pm. Emergency Management Monthly Report Kirsten Hartley was present. Kirsten gave a presentation on the emergency management department. She stated that they received the new Notice of Funding Opportunity guidelines. She gave an update regarding several funding issues related to the emergency management department. This included the funding in general that would be received from the federal government, and how much the state would potentially be funding for payroll for her department. During the last month she revamped her section of the county website to make resources more readily available. She also attend several meetings over the last month, and hosted one meeting. She also received several certificates for classes she passed regarding different parts of emergency management. L&S Land Holdings LLC LCO Expansion Public Hearing Matt Thompson, Kacie Buhler, and Ryan Christensen were present. Chairman Crouch welcomed everyone in attendance to the hearing. He stated that they have convened this meeting to go over the LCO expansion of the L&S Holdings LLC dairies. The Board went over the agenda and how the meeting will go. Those who planned to testify during the meeting were sworn in. Applicant Testimony: Matt Thompson stated that he is an engineer that has worked with the Bettencourt Dairy regarding the application. He stated that the applicants have purchased another dairy as of a few years ago. The dairies being considered are older and need some repairs to be made to them. The applicants considered combining all three of the dairies into one location. They have considered to change that with the application. One location would have the 6,000 cows on it, and the other dairy that is part of the application would be solely for heifers. The applicant went over the drainage plans for the new dairies. He went over the locations of the ponds that would be included. There was a presentation on wastewater and its runoff. There would be no issues of wastewater reaching an irrigation ditch. He also went into the current animal units allowed for each portion of the operation. Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 4 of 11 Staff: Kacie stated that there were some things that were brought forward with the outline of the dairy properties. She confirmed that the improvements to the dairy would be well outside the range needed to the nearby subdivisions. She also went over some of the well locations on the property. She stated that most of the wells would not create issues for the dairy, but that there were two wells that they recommend the dairy abandon the use of due to the distance to the dairy barn itself. Commissioner Watkins asked if the dairy is listed as a moderate risk. Kacie stated that the dairies are listed as a moderate risk. None testified who were in favor, against, or neutral regarding the expansion Applicant Rebuttal: He stated that there would be no rebuttal at this time, but that he wanted to come up in case there were any further questions from the Board. Commissioner Crouch asked where the manure from this dairy goes. The applicant stated that the manure from this location is used in the barn and other materials that the company offers on the market. The manure is also taken to the nearby digestor. Commissioner Crouch asked if the wind would be an issue for the neighbors nearby. The applicant stated that wind is always an issue for any dairy operation. He stated that there are procedures in place to help regulate run off and to not have this be part of the issue of smell. He further stated that with the majority of the larger pen being majority enclosed in a barn that it also helps to regulate the smell. Discussion: Commissioner Howell stated that he has gone through the paperwork provided by planning and zoning. He went over a section included from legal counsel about the location of the berms. With the statement from legal counsel and planning and zoning he sees no reason to deny the expansion application. He stated that he would be in favor of approving the application. Commissioner Crouch stated that he agreed with Commissioner Howell. He further stated that he would agree to have some of the wells abandoned as suggested and that the applicant has done their work to make sure they follow the rules with the expansion. He stated he would be in favor of approving the expansion. Commissioner Watkins stated that he agrees with the other comments made and that he would like to approve the expansion request. Commissioner Crouch stated that they will work together with their legal counsel to get something drafted to approve the expansion of the LCO. Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 5 of 11 Extension Office Update Steve Hines, Amanda Worthington, Sam Verret, Steve Ricketts, and Josh Mani were present. Commissioner Howell stated that he received a call regarding an incident that took place at the fairgrounds. He was told to reach out to several individuals who were aware of the situation. He wanted to see what had happened regarding this incident that had included a fair board member. Steve stated that he can’t fully detail the incident on Saturday night as he was not there. He can speak about the incident that took place on Friday in the extensions office. He stated that the individual from the fair board came into the extension office. The individual came back into Steve’s office without being invited back. In Steve’s opinion the individual was very rude and demanding during their interaction. The individual came in and requested a large amount of information regarding the financials of the extension office and their procedures for keeping records on 4H information. Steve stated that this individual never introduced himself. The individual in question was wearing a shirt and credentials that identified them as a fair board member. At the end of the conversation Steve said that this individual stated that “we will be looking further into this.” Steve stated that from this comment he would take this to mean the fair board but has heard nothing else further after this incident. 4H Sale Committee Burke Higley, Amanda Worthington, Sam Verret, Steve Ricketts, Mariann Schiewe, Janet Prescott, Jason Wethern, Melonie Swenson, and Josh Mani were present. Burke stated that the issues were nothing that bad that can’t be worked through. He stated that what happened could be created due to the turnaround with the fair board. He received a call that his truck would be towed if he didn’t move his truck that was parked at the fairgrounds. He stated the other problem was the conduct of the fair board member that led to a volunteer parent being involved in the confrontation. He stated that he can’t discuss the conversation that took place during the confrontation, since he was out moving his truck. He felt that the issue could have been resolved through some better communication between the fair board and the 4H sale leader. He said that this was no big thing and can be rectified in the future as the 4H sale committee and fair board increase their communication. 4H Sale Committee Dean Lusk, Amanda Worthington, Sam Verret, Steve Ricketts, Mariann Schiewe, Janet Prescott, Jason Wethern, Melonie Swenson, Amy Smith, Jesse Human, and Josh Mani were present. Dean stated that he was not there at the beginning of the incident. He stated that he came in when the situation started to get heated. He stated that the issue was regarding the parking situation at the fairgrounds. He felt that some of the what happened was because this was the largest sale that Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 6 of 11 they have ever had at the fair. He felt that the stress of a long week likely fed into the situation and only made it worse. He stated that there needs to be some more communication between 4H and the fair board to make sure that processes are updated, especially with the increase in animals being brought to the fair. He stated that there are some complaints from the butchers and that they need to have these processes changed to prevent the butchers from pulling out of doing business with the animals brought in to the Jerome fair. Commissioner Howell moved to amend the agenda to allow Jesse Human to speak. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Citizen Commentary Amanda Worthington, Sam Verret, Steve Ricketts, Mariann Schiewe, Janet Prescott, Jason Wethern, Melonie Swenson, Amy Smith, Jesse Human, and Josh Mani were present. Jesse stated that he has been involved with 4H for seven years or so. He has kids who bring animals to the fair each year. He also helps with Don Scarrow to load the animals that they purchase from the fair. He stated that they had already helped load the True West Beef cattle. Then they were getting ready to help load the next load of cattle after returning to the fairgrounds. He noticed as they were working on the next load that there was a fair board member that was taking pictures of them as they were loading. He felt that the member of the fair board was trying to prevent the animals from being removed “on their watch.” He stepped away from the area for a while. He then came back to the loading area and watched the fair board member tell a little girl that she could not take her cow out to get water. He then intervened to tell the fair board member that she was just going to get water for her cow. After this the fair board member allowed the girl to get water for her cow. He felt that this was very wrong and that no member of the fair board should be hindering the children from caring for their animals. He felt that there could be a greater issue if it was the whole fair board who felt this way or if it was just the one individual. Commissioner Howell moved to amend the agenda to allow the fair board head to present. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Fair Board Commentary Amanda Worthington, Sam Verret, Steve Ricketts, Mariann Schiewe, Janet Prescott, Jason Wethern, Melonie Swenson, Amy Smith, and Josh Mani were present. Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 7 of 11 Janet Prescott is the head of the fair board. Janet stated that she has not chatted with the individuals involved in this situation. She stated that Josh was just trying to do what was right. She feels like there does need to be greater communication between the fair board and the 4H group. She wants to be able to meet with them and find ways to improve things and figure a way to help out more with the loading of the sold animals. She feels that it was unfortunate the way that things turned out with the police becoming involved in the situation and people feeling like they were scrutinized against. She wants to see change take place on this and to find ways to improve the fair and only make things better for everyone involved. Commissioner Howell moved to amend the agenda to allow Josh Mani to present. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Fair Board Commentary Amanda Worthington, Sam Verret, Steve Ricketts, Mariann Schiewe, Janet Prescott, Jason Wethern, Melonie Swenson, Amy Smith, and Josh Mani were present. Josh Mani is a member of the fair board. Josh stated that he is new to the fair board. He stated that in his interview with the Commissioners that it shows that he is a team player just like the rest of the fair board is. He felt that it was not appropriate that there were curse words used in front of the 4H youth during the incident on Saturday. He stated that he was trying to prevent the animals from being removed before 10 pm, as the 4H sale schedule showed. He was just trying to follow what the schedule said and ensure animals were not loaded before the time the 4H group had decided. He also stated that none of the 4H sale committee were helping the kids who were distraught with the sale of their animals. He stated that he was there helping to console those kids, and that he had multiple parents who were thanking him for what he did to help with his kids. He stated that he would like to see the changes be made to the procedures regarding the loading of the sold animals and not try to have them be made at the last minute. He wants to see the changes be made and to have the county be leading the way in fairs. IT Purchases Matthew McGregor, Eli Bair, Cy Lootens, and Tracee McKim were present. Matthew stated that he has several items that he is looking to purchase. He stated that there are some issues at the Sherriff’s office in their training room. The issue was resolved by using a desktop, and so he is looking to purchase a desktop to be used their and alleviate their issues. The next purchase is regarding the Synology backup. The current one at the Sherriff’s office is owned by ETS, and he would like to replace it to have ownership of the equipment. He also received quotes for new firewalls. Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 8 of 11 The final quote that he brought was from ETS. It is regarding several purchases for the county, and what ETS is looking to add. He is looking for some guidance on what to do with the quote as some of the items are already purchased previously by the county. Commissioner Crouch moved to approve the expenditures of $595.40 for the Dell desktop, $7,011.22 for the Synology backup, and $34,000 for the purchase of four firewalls. Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Matthew stated that they would also like to increase the limit of credit on their credit card. He stated that they are continually reaching the limit and having issues of hitting that limit and getting it cleared for more purchases. Western Waste Services Presentation Jasmin Mata was present. The Board wanted to discuss with Western Waste Services about the services they provide the county as they have received a bid proposal from another company. The Board stated that they don’t want to do everything just on price and wanted to hear what Western Waste Services had to say about the services they provide. Jasmin stated that the company did not get rid of any Jerome county employees when the company was purchased. They are working to train some new employees as they have lost a couple of drivers recently. They have received approval for their donation to the overlook project and a donation to a student in the area for her college scholarship. Read and Approve Minutes Commissioner Howell moved to approve the minutes from 8/11. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Sign and Approve Claims Commissioner Watkins moved to approve the claims. Seconded by Commissioner Crouch. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. *To see an image of the report please see page 11 of the minutes. Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 9 of 11 Legal Counsel/Review of NeoGov Payroll & HR Program Contract Mike Seib, Cy Lootens, and Tracee McKim were present. The Board wanted to discuss with Mike if there is any sort of ordinance regarding illegal dumping. They brought up an issue of an area that consistently has large garbage dumped there. Mike stated that he will have to look and fully confirm this, but he feels like there is an ordinance that would qualify for that. The Board wanted to discuss the energy ordinance. They want to be prepared to start working on the official ordinance. Mike stated that he feels like they can get something created to go over this process. The Board wanted to discuss the NeoGov contract. Mike stated that he received it and that he will go over it and have it ready to go over next week. The Board asked about the contract for Martha and Marys Pantry. Mike wanted to see what updates they had if any on that. The Board stated that they spoke to him recently and Jeff Schroeder stated that he was interested in doing a survey regarding the new pantry’s location. The Board wanted to discuss the ambulance lease request that they received. They wanted to know if they would be able to increase the lease length to five years instead of the year to year. Mike stated that they would be able to do that and just create a new lease that would be updated to five years instead. Commissioner Crouch moved to go into executive session per Idaho code 74-206 (1)(b). Seconded by Commissioner Howell. The motion passed with a unanimous roll call vote. Executive session began at 5:34 pm and ended at 5:50 pm. Meeting adjourned at 5:50 pm. Monday, August 18, 2025 Page 10 of 11 ________________________ ______________________________ Ryan Treanor, Deputy Clerk A. Ben Crouch, Chairman ______________________________ Charles M. Howell, Commissioner ______________________________ Art Watkins, Commissioner BUDGET TOTALS DEPARTMENT | 14|CLERK | 2;ASSESSOR sd | 3|TREASURER PAYROLL ACCT PAY GRAND TOTAL $ 8,369.87 $ 8,369.87 $ 7,241.94 7,241.94 HUMAN RESOURCES COMMISSIONERS CORONER BUILDING & GROUNDS MAI $ $ 7,500.00 $ 7,500.00 $ 961.53 $ 961.53 EMERGENCY MANAGEMEN EXTENSION AGENT $ 2,000.00 2,000.00 $ 4,626.00 4,626.00 IS|ELECTIONS ELECTIONS LAGICHARITY |48|GENERAL | 21|PLANNING & ZONING j22|Gis | 29|GENERAL FUND RESERVE | 30/ VETERANS eneral Fund | | ub Tota | 4(SHERIFFO sd | 6/ADULTPROBATION | 7/PROSECUTOR sid | 9|JUVENILE PROBATION GENERAL JUSTICE $ 19,878.05 19,878.05 $13,669.66 13,669.66 |$ 13,669.66] Ss $13,669.66 | $ 2,078.30 $2,078.30 ee ee ee $ $ $ 7 a ee | eee $ $ $94,316.45 $94,316.45 $ $ 9,727.35 30,400.82 $ 9,727.35 $ 30,400.82 $11,906.21 $ 47,835.20 11,906.24 $ $ 47,835.20 | [Sub Total (Justice Fund) $ 279,490.03 | $ $ 279,490.03 | 6|DISTRICT COURT $ 8,058.44 12,621.90 8,058.44 $ 12,621.90 FAIR CAPITAL FAIR HEALTH DISTRICT ELECTION CONSOLIDATIO $17,543.98 17,543.98 REVALUATION SOLID WASTE 24|TORT 27|WEED $ $ $ 2,213.98 $ 2,213.98 $ $ $ $ 36 WATERWAYS BOARD WATERWAYS BOARD | 38|WATERWAYS SHERIFF _ |41|BOND REDEMPTION | 48|AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN | [Sub Total $ $ $ 45,062.91 | $ (91,802.45)|$ (46,739.54) | [GRAND TOTAL $ 450,998.63 |$ (91,802.45))$ 359,196.18