Snake River Canyons Park Board
Open Meeting Minutes
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Blue Lakes Country Club, Jerome, Idaho
Attending Board Members: Chairman Bill Bridges, Greg Moore, Board Member Elect Lisa Callen, Brenda Weekes, Mark Reyes, Jim Williams, and John Weston via phone. Not present: Steve Paulson and Jeff Pierson.
Guests: Commissioner Charlie Howell, Larry Hall Advisor for the Overlook project, Mike Tylka Advisor, Cooper Smith with Chobani, Jody Revai with Premier Security, Bruce Balthrope and Ray Sheen with Southern Idaho Jeepers, and Rebecca Wildman taking minutes.
Bill called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. with a quorum present followed by introductions.
Minutes: Brenda corrected that Lisa Cresswell with the BLM attended the December meeting and suggested including last names if both Lisa’s are attending. Mike Tylka corrected the spelling of his last name spelling. Jim motioned to approve minutes with changes, Mark seconded. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report: $312k in Shoshone Falls Overlook budget with $96k being spent. Anticipate two change orders coming including a culvert (estimate $15k) and gate. Bill would like to see gravel laid as far down as possible and to get the parking lot completed as soon as possible. Bill would like present to the Commissioners for approval to use remaining funds. Larry will cover more in his report on the Overlook but doesn’t think the change order estimate will be ready for the next Commissioner meeting.
The regular account has 86,320 left for the remainder of this budget yet, with $10,280 spent for toilets, garbage and social media contract.
Bricks: Brenda is tracking brick donors and would like to have a monthly progress report. She shared spreadsheets tracking what is in the account and who has donated and thanking donors. She is also tracking donations outside of the Brick program. Bill informed the SRCP will need to file a tax return for the 2026 tax year and are closely tracking its non-profit accounts.
Overlook Project: Larry introduced Cooper Smith from Chobani and that last year the Park applied for Chobani’s $250k grant but did not receive it. After December’s Board meeting Larry received notice from Chobani that there was a change in awards and that Chobani would like to support this project under a Chobani Legacy Grant and will have naming and logo placement. Cooper explained Chobani’s intent to create Legacy projects in each of its locations with flagship operations.
Larry handed out the budget for the first phase of the Overlook project. Work has been cleared by the BLM to take place through March 15, 2026. Larry expressed appreciation for working with the BLM and Lisa Cresswell specifically stating they have been very helpful. Larry shared an example of boulder-style signage for the site.
Larry also shared Stokesberry Fabrication’s gate estimate of $7,500 with Shaun Stokesberry willing to donate $1,500 of the cost. Gate could include an electronic component in the future for opening/closing. There currently is a cable gate there that is padlocked and Larry was given eight keys.
Culvert for entrance at Shoshone Falls Road was estimated by Nix Excavation to be $15k. Mike Tylka asked about the culvert size and reflected on one installed at the Disc Golf Course. Discussion about getting other bids on the culvert and Mike Tylka will make inquiries with the Jerome County Highway District and others. Greg encouraged taking bids for each change order. Greg asked if the gate installation could be done after March 15 with Larry believing the date covers “any work.” Pouring concrete will be the last work of the work for this phase.
With this progress, the Overlook could open late Spring 2026. Board shared gratitude to Larry for success on seeing this project through, and to Chobani for their generous Legacy Grant.
Tractor and Container: Mark shared signage examples with options to changing colors to align with logo. All agreed they’d like to go with a darker blue. Mark will ask for a visual with that color.
Signs – No Littering: Mark shared example sign of no littering and dumping asking for input. Board discussed size and number of signs for Bill to install. Greg motioned for five signs to be made as presented and sized 11” x 17”, Jeff seconded, motion carried. Jody Revai liked this signage to help the security company with educating and enforcing compliance.
Standard Park Signs: Mark shared three sign examples for the Shoshone Falls Jerome Overlook with three optional headers. Signs would be made of metal a variation placed at different locations in the park for various sites like the RV Camp, Equestrian Trail, Disc Golf Course, Overlook, etc. suggesting in the size range of 24” x 36”. Bill believes various sizes will be needed depending on where each is placed. The Board agreed that #1 design is the easiest to read. Discussed sizing and scale and Mark will bring examples to the next meeting. Jody inquired if the Board would grant permission for the sign “logo” to be used by others including the Premier Security. The Board agreed to grant permission for multiple use.
Shooting Range: John shared that he mailed a letter to U.S. President Trump requesting assistance in getting a shooting range installed in the County and that he will be sending a similar letter to the U.S. Secretary of Interior and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Archery Range: John shared he has enough materials to start installing an archery range. He asked if Allen’s land is designated residential and if that designation conflicts with grazing. Bill asked John to turn in the paperwork for the archery range so BLM can start working on their process.
Greg summarized last month’s discussion about the Allen property and archery range proposal and the Allen family’s concerns. Discussion included property divisions and county restrictions in proximity to canyon rim, holding space for walking trails, etc. The Board agreed to address issues as needed. Jody shared experiences from Premier Security and how they are managing security for the SCRP and adjacent BLM properties.
Social/Website: Bill believes that by sharing the Overlook road blasting video that there is new interest from media to cover the project. KMVT will conduct their interview tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. plus KIVI covered it and Bill was a guest on Bill Colley’s radio show last Friday. Next Monday at 1:00 p.m. Bill will speak with Lee Broadcasting about the park in general. Bill has also spoken with two Rotary clubs including Twin Falls and received positive responses from the Brick brochures. Brenda suggested sharing the news stories on the website in addition to Facebook and Bill will talk to Matt about this.
Grants: ESI Construction met with Bill, Larry and Rebecca inquiring for ways to donate from their foundation, through contract work, or with volunteer labor.
Parking lot Don Zuck Arbor: The OHV group will work on the paper work for expanding the parking lot at Don Zuck arbor.
IDL: IDL scheduled to meet at 9am today but canceled it with a few people still informally meeting. Brenda and Bill were there and reported that Randall and Ryan from IDL reminded that IDL’s charter is to generate income and if income isn’t coming in a piece of property could be sold. Currently the land adjacent to the SRCP only brings in grazing income. An ORV person from Idaho Park and Recreation Dept. is looking for a location to place an ORV park and may be interested in this IDL land. Discussed opportunities and possible issues including park passes, day use passes, etc. Greg suggested Jerome County could set requirements for development and require walking trails along the rim. The Board and others agreed to stay involved in discussions and information gathering and Bill will let them know when this meeting is rescheduled.
Other: Bill shared KIVI had a story about developing a whitewater kayak park at Auger Falls.
Equestrian Trailhead on 700 E: Lisa Callen contacted Gerald Martens to see if he had any plans drawn for this and he did not. Lisa shared draft plans that Sue Williams created. Lisa spoke with the State Park and Recreation and their grant application deadline is January 30, 2026, and includes land and public involvement plus an environmental study and approval and Bill and Brenda agreed the July BLM approval will work. Lisa has a $205k budget from Sue Williams and the park will have to prove a 20% matching, which Bill said he has. Notice can be posted on the Park’s website. Lisa asked if the county has previously approved this project and Bill said they have, but they will need the Commissioners to approve this new paperwork.
Lisa will go to Cache Peak Horsemen to see if they will match anything. Note the labor estimate can only be $7.25/hour. Bill and Lisa will work together to get this approved by the county and submitted. They will also need letters from three horse-user groups that they would use it – Lisa believes she can get two users and Bill thinks he can get a third. Grant is for trailheads only. Bill and Lisa Callen to meet to go over details.
Lisa reported she is seeing more graffiti on the north side of the broken bridge.
Yingst Grade 13 Acres Private Property: Commissioner Howell updated that the property at the bottom of Yingst Grade and directly west, is still for sale and may take two years to get process completed to sell it to Jerome County.
Next meeting is Thursday, February 12, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Blue Lakes Country Club.
Meeting was adjourned at 12:50 p.m.
Executive Sessions may be held pursuant to Idaho Code 74-206(1) as needed during time such sessions are called.
Note: Any person needing special accommodations to participate in the meeting should contact the committee chairman, 208-293-2426; 48 hours prior to the meeting.