Snake River Canyons Park Board
Open Meeting Minutes
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Blue Lakes Country Club, Jerome, Idaho
Attending Board Members: Chairman Bill Bridges, John Weston, Becky Dean, Mark Reyes, Jeff Pierson, Brenda Weekes, Greg Moore. Not present: Stephen Haag, Steve Paulsen. Announcement was made that Stephen Haag was resigning. Replacements were discussed.
Guests:Larry Hall, Jim Williams, Ray Sheen and Karlene Sheen with Southern Idaho Off Road, Matt Courtney and Lisa Cresswell with BLM, Art Watkins, Aaron Utz with Idaho Power,
Bill called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. with a quorum present.
1. Minutes from July 12: Correction: Paragraph 12: Marked Trails. Lines 3 and 4 corrected to read ‘construction activity to take place August 1 through December 15. Motion to approve with corrections, seconded. Motion passed
2. Treasurers Report: 501C3 account has $11,352, Overlook account $63,637.50. Main account spent $41,000 with $18,833 available.
3. Purchase tractor: Greg proposed we purchase a storage container to store the tractor and miscellaneous. Cost for 20’ container would be $4000 and a 40’ would be $5500. Small container would barely house the tractor so board opted for the larger container. Motion was made to allow Bill to approach the County Commissioners for the purchase. Seconded and passed. Storing tractor at the airport is not convenient and a container at the disc golf course could store the tractor and the course flags, etc. It would be central to where it would be used. Lock for the container was important and bids would be obtained for the lock and a scenic wrap.
4. Shoshone Falls Overlook: Larry gave an update to the presentation to possible donors on July 11. He has received minimum response due to what he perceived as the lack of familiarity to the project. He has contacted Cheryl Viola with REDS for help with social media promotion at no cost. Idaho Power has agreed to early release of their $250,000 pledge so work can begin. Once there is something happening, he believes there will be more interest. Gerald Martens believes he can provide bids that will save 25% from the estimate due to reduction in materials, etc. Larry has done research into grants but our project doesn’t fit in the categories. Motion was made to approve SRCP signature on Early Release letter from Idaho Power and to begin to get bids to provide to The Commissioners. Motion was seconded and was carried.
5. Bricks: “Bricks R US” site is up on our website and FaceBook page. Brenda shared a proposed brochure to circulate. Goal is $100,000.
6. Webpage for SRCP: site is updated, ready and operating
7. Yingst Grade Easement: Tabled until 2026
8. Shooting Range: Project has been delayed—again. Proposed Patent was not an option as no land had been designated in BLM Land Use Plan. Now the only option is a MOU for the purpose to share management. BLM is working on a draft to provide to the Commissioners for review. BLM proposed that the archery range could be moved to a different location and approved quickly. John Weston had 3 sites he had proposed earlier and each one had been objected to for one reason or another. He would revisit his sites and represent.
9. Trail on IDL Perrine Bridge to Shoshone Falls: Brenda had researched IDL website and found statements that IDL promotes recreation. Fees are collected on every vehicle registration. She will pursue the possibility of funds there.
10. Grants: no change
11: Volunteers: Bill has been contacted by several people who have been ordered to provide community service hours. He will get more information when they contact him again
12: Marked Trails: Steve Haag has resigned and we will be looking for a replacement
13. Rock Crawling Park: Now that the permits have been approved, they are ready to proceed. They have designated September 27 as a work day. They are looking for donations of equipment, labor etc. They will apply for grants. They are needing posts for signage. Bill is working to get the sign posts. They also believe that once they are able to show progress, they will receive more support from other offroad groups .
14: Equestrian trailhead/campground on 700 E: Sue is writing a grant for the trailhead and is designing a layout for the trails
15. New Business: Discussion was how to promote the park. Cheryl Viola with REDS is using social media now. Bill will work on ideas and opportunities to place a billboard on the highway.
Next meeting will be September at 11:00 am – 1:00 pm at the Blue Lakes Country Club, Jerome, Idaho
With no further business meeting was adjourned at 12:50 pm
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