Commissioners’ – Week of July 27, 2026
Meeting Date: July 27, 2026 9:00 am
Meeting Minutes
***Monday, July 27, 2026 at 1:30 p.m., Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Ben Robertson, Commissioner Tim Bertling, Commissioner Lester Pinkerton, Clerk Glenda Poston, and Deputy Clerk Stephanie Sims.
Road and Bridge/Solid Waste Superintendent Brad Barton and Assistant Superintendent Adam Ryals entered the meeting at 1:37 p.m.
Mr. Barton stated that last week they continued with scrub coating on Mtn Meadows, Longview and Twenty Mile. They also set up traffic counters and pulled more ditches. This week they plan to continue installing delineators and stockpiling chip.
Mr. Ryals said they finally received the finance documents from CAT regarding the 150M graders and gave them to Commissioners for review.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign finance documents for two CAT 150M graders. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
Ms. Poston clarified that the purchase amount was in the budget for this fiscal year and not next. Mr. Barton confirmed that was correct, payments only were included in the next FY.
Mr. Ryals said that the fence installation starts tomorrow at the landfill.
Commissioners asked about the status of filling the open positions. Mr. Barton replied that one applicant was working through the pre-employment paperwork. They are continuing to interview for the other position.
Mr. Ryals said the ground water reports were all good and they have a plan for gas monitoring. Both topics were included in the OPS plan.
The meeting with Mr. Barton and Mr. Ryals ended at 1:53 p.m. and they left the meeting.
Personnel Director Pam Barton entered the meeting at 2:13 p.m. and she provided Commissioners with FY26 proposed budgets for their review. Ms. Poston described various aspects and positions included.
The meeting with Ms. Barton ended at 2:26 p.m. and she left the meeting.
John-Paul Mickle entered the meeting at 2:27 p.m.
Terry Capruso, Earl Irving and Judy Weibie entered the meeting at 2:36 p.m.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign Commissioner meeting minutes from the weeks of July 13th and July 20th. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners reviewed a document from the Treasurer regarding tax cancellation due to tenant being evicted and manufactured home being destroyed by the owner.
Commissioner Bertling moved to approve the Property Tax Cancellation on Parcel #MH62N01E255710A in the amount of $103.92 in tax, $213.92 in specials and $6.36 in late penalty and interest. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Bertling moved to sign FAA ASRID Grant Application. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Pinkerton moved to sign Airport FAA AIP Grant Application 65S RW Shift Ph 2. Commissioner Bertling second. Motion passed unanimously.
At 3:00 p.m. Commissions held a meeting to review the documentation that had been submitted by North Bench Volunteer Fire District to become a taxing district. Those present were: Assessor Olivia Drake, Prosecutor Andrakay Pluid, Deputy Clerk Cherry Grainer, John-Paul Mickle, Terry Capurso, Earl Irving, Judy Weibie, Terry Betsher, Jeanine Betsher, Jeff Silbaugh, Alice Wood, Rick Wood, Chad Lewis, Ann Lewis, Sandy Steinhagen, Grant Dorman, John Lozier, Beate Clark, Gary DeJalais, Barbara DeJarlais, Lynda Fioravanti, Casey West, Ken Baker, Linda Fontanes, and John Reynolds.
Ms. Pluid asked if there was a revised application. Mr. West stated that their initial documentation included both a map and legal description that had irregularities. They have now revised it and felt it should be ready to go.
Ms. Drake said the original petition included a map and legal description that did not match. Late Friday they resubmitted a new map but she has once again found inconsistencies with the description. She asked if North Bench can move forward with the map and fix the legal description later. Ms. Grainger replied the problem was that we are at four weeks and need perfected information so that we can include that with three weeks of advertising and verbiage for the ballot. The deadline for publication was at the end of the week or it will be too late to meet the statute requirements.
Commissioner Pinkerton asked for clarification. It doesn’t make any sense for this to move forward without both pieces of information. If that was what the state requires, then that should be what we are doing. Ms. Pluid added that she was not prepared to give a recommendation to Commissioners without complete information.
Chairman Robertson suggested scheduling a special meeting later in the week to give them a couple more days. Ms. Poston suggested Thursday, because we would need time to meet the deadline for the paper. A special meeting was scheduled at 2:00 p.m. on July 30th at the Annex.
The meeting ended at 3:13 p.m. and everyone left the meeting.
VFW Sargent of Arms Sam Sandel, VFW Commander Casey Gannon, and Bobby Raines entered the meeting at 3:24 p.m. Mr. Gannon stated that they had a leader step back and he took some personal items with him. Those items were needed for the Honor Guard to perform their duty. He provided a list of the items with an approximate total of $756.00.
Commissioners asked how much was in the Veterans Memorial Fund. Ms. Poston was not sure because the bills had not yet come in from the kitchen remodel. She felt there was enough to cover that amount.
Darcy Lammers entered the meeting at 3:34 p.m.
Commissioners asked if the numbers were tax exempt and Mr. Raines explained the figures presented.
Commissioner Bertling made a motion to give $756.00 to the American Legion for supplies. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
The meeting ended at 3:37 p.m. and Mr. Sandel, Mr. Gannon and Mr. Raines left the meeting.
At 4:00 p.m. Mr. Lammers provided a document to Commissioners regarding the proposed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Section 4(d) Rule. He said it was a good proposal and was a step in the right direction. There were a few items that he wanted to point out to Commissioners.
The first was that all authorities that it grants were 100% hinged on a state agency getting an MOU. His concern was that no where in the document does it say what the procedure was to grant an MOU. He also had concerns about future administrations repealing previous MOU’s. He also had concerns that the agreement mentioned state and tribal, but nothing lower. He thought there might be a way for the county to participate, but there wasn’t any verbiage to allow that currently. Therefore, he felt their proposal didn’t go quite far enough.
The second item was regarding defensive authority. There was verbiage to defend working dogs. Mr. Lammers felt that the defensive response to an active attack should not be the specific purpose of an animal. A hiker should be able to defend a dog just the same as a working dog. He also felt guardian or companion animals should also be included. You should be able to defend your dog in the attack, and what your dog was doing should not be a factor.
His final point was regarding agricultural conflicts. He said the rule provides defense authority regarding livestock conflicts. But it does not provide authority when a Grizzly was actively causing significant damage to crops, orchards, apiaries, fencing, feed storage or agriculture infrastructure. Mr. Lammers would like to see a provision allowing agriculture operators to respond during an active conflict when significant damage was occurring and authorized agency response was not available, and nonlethal measures have been considered where feasible.
Mr. Lammers was in full support of the letter the Commissioners wrote regarding Grizzly and felt that Idaho Fish & Game were well positioned for management purposes. He felt that we need to prove as a state that we are capable and willing to step up.
Commissioners stated that KVRI could possibly be the starting point of the conversation. There may not be a resolution, but were hopeful that the conversations could happen.
The meeting with Mr. Lammers ended at 4:28 p.m. and he left the meeting.
Commissioners discussed RAC funding requirements and some potential projects to propose.
Commissioner Bertling moved to submit two RAC proposals. One regarding a shop/storage building for the Weeds Department and a second proposal for recreation. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:48 p.m.
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
No meetings were schedule; therefore, the Commissioners did not meet.
Thursday, July 30, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Commissioners met in special session with Chairman Ben Robertson, Commissioner Tim Bertling, Commissioner Lester Pinkerton, Clerk Glenda Poston, Assessor Olivia Drake, Addressing Debra Dreger, and Deputy Clerk Stephanie Sims.
Commissioners held a special meeting regarding North Bench Volunteer Fire District’s application to become a taxing district. Those in attendance were: John-Paul Mickle, Terry Capurso, Adrienne Norris, Ken Baker, Ken Wooten, Donna Wooten, Terry Betsher, Jeanine Betsher, Linda Fontanes, Earl Irving, Jeff Gilberg, Thea Gilberg, Casey West, Jim Hill, Lin Hill, Cole Dorman, Grant Dorman, Lynda Fioravanti, John Lozier, Jeff Silbaugh, and Debra Owinyo.
Chairman Robertson stated that the purpose of today’s meeting was to determine if we move forward with a public hearing. There are three items that they need to submit which are their petition, their map and legal description, and the fee established. Chairman Robertson stated that we have received their first two items and asked if we had received the fee. Ms. Poston replied no we have not.
Mr. Baker then indicated that he had brought the fee with him.
Chairman Robertson cautioned North Bench asking if they were sure that they wanted to move forward pursuing a taxing district. If this fails for any reason, the fee paid would not be reimbursed.
North Bench Board President, Mr. Hill, stated that he represented the district. He said they were an ad hoc district with the responsibility for fire and emergency response. They are not a taxing district and are not legally established. He then added that we believe this was the best option. We also believe the legal description and map are accurate and should be able to proceed. Mr. Baker then provided a check in the amount of $5,000 for the estimated fee.
Chairman Robertson said they have met the three requirements to proceed to give the members of the district a choice. Chairman Robertson again reiterated that their duty today was to set the date/time of the hearing only.
Chairman Bertling moved to set the hearing date for August 25, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. at the high school auditorium. Commissioner Pinkerton second. Motion passed unanimously.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 2:04 p.m.
s/________________________________
BEN ROBERTSON, Chairman
ATTEST:
s/_______________________________
GLENDA POSTON, Clerk
By: Stephanie Sims, Deputy Clerk