Joint Wastewater Session: Two-Week Ahead

Victor and Driggs councilors hold a joint wastewater session Wednesday, September 16, at the Teton County Courthouse to weigh how a new agreement between the cities should be structured, and a week later Victor's council hears a 56-acre rezone its planning commission recommended denying. The night before the joint session, the Driggs council takes up the Spud Drive-In's sewer letter and the choice of a firm to administer its wastewater plant project. The stretch opens Friday, when the recreation district takes up a job posting for an executive director.

Friday, Sept 11 — The recreation district takes up an executive director posting

The Teton Valley Parks and Recreation District holds a special meeting at 2 p.m. at the City of Driggs Public Works Building, 235 South Fifth Street. Two action items would approve an advertisement and a job posting for an executive director, and the fairgrounds are up for discussion. Public comment is limited to three minutes per speaker. The agenda lists no remote option.

Monday, Sept 14 — Commissioners, the school board and the Felt deadline

The Teton County Commission meets from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Commissioners' Meeting Room at the courthouse. A public hearing on new transfer station fees is set for 9 a.m. The board also takes up its FY27 salary list and meets in executive session. The county marks the agenda preliminary and subject to change.

At 10 a.m. the board hears the Wild Water/Teton West School zone change, which would rezone the Wild Water LLC property to Industrial Research for a small private high school; the county planning commission recommended it 6-0 in August. The Spud Drive-In special use permit follows at 10:15, recommended 7-0, and at 10:45 a guest and dude ranch code amendment requested by THH LLC, recommended 4-3 with changes that include a cap of 45 rooms or 90 beds.

The Teton School District 401 board meets at the district office, 481 North Main Street in Driggs, with two closed executive sessions at 4:30 p.m. and the open meeting at 6. Action items include a Wyoming tuition agreement, a levy and bond authorization for Teton County, an amendment to the district's parks and recreation joint powers agreement, and bids for two buses. The board also reviews a draft brochure on the supplemental levy and hears an enrollment update. Minutes from the August 10, 18 and 19 meetings are on the consent agenda. The meeting streams on the district's YouTube channel, and written comment goes to board clerk Diane Temple, [email protected], by noon.

Written comment on Idaho DEQ's draft water quality certification for the Felt Hydroelectric Project on the Teton River closes at 5 p.m. Mountain time. Comments go to Alex Bell at DEQ's Idaho Falls office, [email protected].

Tuesday, Sept 15 — Driggs returns to the Spud Drive-In and the wastewater contract

The Driggs City Council meets at 6 p.m. in council chambers at 60 South Main Street. Three items return from the September 1 agenda: a renewal of the sewer will-serve letter for the Spud Drive-In; the selection of a firm to handle administrative services for the wastewater facility improvement project; and a rate increase in the city's retainer agreement with Hall Angell & Associates, the city attorney's firm.

The agenda also lists an item for Teton School District 401 Superintendent Brian Ashton and a public hearing and ordinance on an FY26 budget amendment. The consent agenda includes the written statement of decision on the Corona Valley preliminary plat, which the council approved September 1.

Wednesday, Sept 16 — The joint wastewater session on agreement structures

The Victor and Driggs city councils hold their second joint wastewater session, a work session titled "Exploring Wastewater Agreement Structures," from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Teton County Courthouse, 150 Courthouse Drive in Driggs. It replaces Victor's September 9 meeting, which was cancelled for lack of a quorum. Tetonia Mayor Brent Schindler facilitates.

Driggs Public Works Director Jay Mazalewski reviews issues under the current agreement between the cities, among them the trunkline cost split, the consent requirement for connections and capacity allocation. Attorney Stephanie Bonney of MSBT Law then presents the features and tradeoffs of different agreement structures: contractual payer, customer, joint powers and district. The councils discuss what they want in a new agreement, and Mazalewski updates them on the treatment plant's design, permitting, budget and schedule. The session takes no public comment; written comments sent to [email protected] go to both councils, and the meeting streams on Zoom.

It follows the councils' first joint session on July 29, which ended without a vote on wastewater. The Driggs lift station that carries Victor's sewage is covered by neither city's current plan.

Written comment received by 5 p.m. the same day is posted with the staff report for Victor's September 23 land-use hearings; later comment is shared with the council, though the city's notice says "review cannot be guaranteed."

Thursday, Sept 17 — Victor planners on townhomes and variances

The Victor Planning and Zoning Commission meets at 7 p.m. at 138 North Main Street, Suite 201, with two public hearings and a review of its bylaws. The first hearing is a request for several variances on 1.26 acres at 222 West Center Street, zoned RM-2. The second is a concept plan from On Time Financial LLC for 28 townhome lots on 1.59 acres at 41 Elm Street, 94 East Dogwood Street and 125 South Agate Avenue. The commission is the decision-maker on both. Written comment for the staff report closed September 8.

The county's Waterways Recreation Committee meets from 3 to 5 p.m. the same day.

Sunday through Wednesday, Sept 20–23 — Two comment deadlines and Teton Pass sign work

Comment on Idaho's draft statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan closes Sunday, September 20. The Idaho Transportation Department updates the plan on a five-year cycle, and it guides which studies and projects go to the state transportation board.

Federal comment on the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule closes Monday, September 21. The proposal does not apply to national forests in Idaho, which fall under a separate state rule.

Beginning Monday, Wyoming Department of Transportation crews install new signs on WY 22 over Teton Pass from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for three days, with lane closures, flagger-controlled traffic and possible short delays. The work adds "Must Stop Brake Check" signs at the summit and "No Parking" signs at the gravel escape ramp and vehicle arrestor. WYDOT expects to retrofit warning signs for sharp curves, steep grades and low gear to read "All Vehicles" instead of "Truckers" the same week, installing each as it is fabricated.

Wednesday, Sept 23 — Victor's council hears a rezone its planners opposed

The Victor City Council holds public hearings at 6 p.m. at 138 North Main Street, Suite 201, on two land-use applications. The Kunz application asks to rezone 56.04 acres at 8235 Baseline Road and Aspen Street from RS-16 to RS-7 residential; the planning commission recommended denial. The second would annex a 2.8-acre parcel at 930 West 7800 South, now in the county, and zone it RS-16, which the commission recommended approving. The council is the decision-maker on both.

Thursday, Sept 24 — An open house on wildlife collisions

Teton County holds an open house on wildlife-vehicle collisions from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Commissioners' Meeting Room on the courthouse's first floor. The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program, maps where collisions happen and will develop concept-level designs for the worst spots. The study will take input through an online survey and comment map, and the county says comments are "most helpful if received by October 30."

Calendar

Date	Event
Fri, Sept 11, 2 p.m.	Teton Valley Parks and Recreation District special meeting, executive director ad and job posting, fairgrounds discussion, Driggs Public Works Building
Mon, Sept 14, 9 a.m.	Teton County Commission: transfer station fee hearing (9 a.m.); hearings on the Wild Water/Teton West School zone change (10 a.m.), the Spud Drive-In special use permit (10:15 a.m.) and the guest and dude ranch code amendment (10:45 a.m.); FY27 salary list
Mon, Sept 14, noon	Written comment deadline, Teton School District 401 board
Mon, Sept 14, 4:30 p.m.	Teton School District 401 board executive sessions; open meeting 6 p.m., district office, Driggs
Mon, Sept 14, 5 p.m. MT	Comment closes, Felt Hydroelectric water quality certification
Tue, Sept 15, 6 p.m.	Driggs City Council: Spud Drive-In will-serve, wastewater administrative services selection, FY26 budget amendment hearing, city attorney retainer
Wed, Sept 16, 5 p.m.	Staff-report cutoff for written comment, Victor's Sept 23 land-use hearings
Wed, Sept 16, 6–8:30 p.m.	Victor and Driggs joint wastewater session on agreement structures, Teton County Courthouse and Zoom; no public comment
Thu, Sept 17, 3–5 p.m.	Teton County Waterways Recreation Committee
Thu, Sept 17, 7 p.m.	Victor Planning and Zoning Commission: 222 West Center variances, On Time Financial 28-lot concept plan, bylaws
Sun, Sept 20	Comment closes, ITD draft Long-Range Transportation Plan
Mon, Sept 21	Comment closes, Roadless Rule rescission (Idaho forests exempt)
Mon–Wed, Sept 21–23, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.	WYDOT sign work on WY 22, Teton Pass, lane closures
Wed, Sept 23, 6 p.m.	Victor City Council hearings: 56.04-acre Kunz rezone, 2.8-acre annexation
Thu, Sept 24, 5–7 p.m.	Open house, wildlife-vehicle collision study, Commissioners' Meeting Room, Driggs

What We're Watching

The county commission hears the Spud Drive-In's special use permit on September 14, and Driggs considers renewing the drive-in's sewer will-serve letter the next evening; the city's earlier letter expired February 6, before the project connected. The joint wastewater session follows on September 16, and the Driggs agenda lists "Victor Will Serve Consent" among items anticipated for October 6.

What to watch: whether the two councils state their preferences for a new agreement on September 16, and when they schedule the next session.

The Two-Week Ahead: A Joint Wastewater Session and a 56-Acre Rezone