February 23, 2024 (Cover image credit: Bannock County)
Bannock County–Assistant Planning Director Tristan Bourquin appeared before the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to obtain their authorization to use the Chubbuck City Hall for an upcoming public meeting about the proposed ordinance banning large-scale wind and solar farms in the county.
During the Board’s discussion of Bourquin’s request, Commissioner Crowder inquired why the Planning and Development Council scheduled their meeting in Chubbuck rather than seeking a location that would be more convenient for the part of the county most affected by the proposed ordinance. “Everyone interested in this, or the vast majority, are down by Downey,” Crowder pointed out.
Bourquin explained that the Council frequently uses the Chubbuck City Hall for large meetings, since it is available free of charge and also features the type of audio recording capabilities needed to record the meetings. “There isn’t really any facility down there that we would be able to use our recording equipment to be able to hold a meeting anywhere else,” she said. “We’re required to record the meetings and then keep minutes of those meetings, and the City of Chubbuck offers that same ability.” Crowder asked if there was no way to use other recording equipment to accomplish the same purpose; Bourquin responded that it would not be possible to connect the equipment to the Council’s laptop, and that it was already too late to change the meeting location.
Crowder acknowledged the need to proceed with the Chubbuck meeting as scheduled, but requested that “if we have an issue that there’s a certain part of the county that’s interested in it, going forward, I’d like to figure out how to hold it so it’s convenient for them.”
The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 5, in the Council Chambers of the Chubbuck City Hall, located at 290 E Linden Ave. Overflow seating will be available in the multi-purpose room. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m.
