OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings
Twin Falls City Council Meeting – December 8, 2025
City Council — Monday, December 8, 2025
BodyTwin Falls, Idaho
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, December 8, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Transcript — Verbatim
Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use61%
Procedural14%
Fiscal Sustainability11%
Public Engagement5%
Community Engagement4%
Parks and Recreation3%
Transportation Safety2%
Summary of Proceedings
Twin Falls City Council Meeting – December 8, 2025
The Twin Falls City Council met on Monday, December 8, 2025, at 5:00 PM in the Council Chambers. Mayor Ruth Pierce presided, with Vice Mayor Jason Brown and Council Members Craig Hawkins, Cherie Vollmer, and Grayson Stone present. Council Members Christopher Reid and Spencer Cutler were absent. The meeting agenda included consent items, several action items, and three public hearings. Key decisions included approval of an impact fee increase, updates to the Master Fee Schedule, and adoption of a comprehensive rewrite of Title 10 (Zoning and Subdivision Regulations). The meeting adjourned at 6:29 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approved items A (November 24 minutes), B (accounts payable), C (Knife River Industrial Park improvement agreement), D (Knife River Industrial Park trust agreement), and F (Western Horizon Subdivision final plat) by a 5–0 vote.
- Item E (sewer line easement termination at 1594 Sun West Way) was removed from the consent calendar at Council Member Stone’s request due to a conflict of interest. The council then approved item E alone by a 4–0 vote, with Council Member Stone abstaining.
Items of Consideration
- Library Board Trustee Appointment: Director Tara Bartley requested the appointment of Nicholas Cooley to the Library Board of Trustees. Approved unanimously (5–0).
- Waterline Easement Vacation (Ordinance #O-2025-030): Planning and Zoning Director Jonathan Spendlove presented the ordinance to vacate a portion of a waterline easement on Lots 9, 10, and 11 of Block 2 of Sun West Subdivision #2. Council Member Stone abstained, being the realtor on the property. With only four eligible voters, the City Manager noted that five votes were needed to place the ordinance on third and final reading. The mayor read the ordinance by title only, but no action was taken.
- Impact Fee Annual Report & Rate Increase: Senior Planner William Klaver presented the FY2025 Impact Fee Report, recommending a 2.66% increase. Mayor Pierce expressed satisfaction that fees were catching up to costs. The council approved the report and increase by a 5–0 vote.
General Public Input
- None.
Advisory Board Report/Announcements
- City Manager Travis Rothweiler announced that city offices would close mid-morning on Wednesday, December 10, for employee training.
Public Hearings
- Program Year 2024 CDBG Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER): Senior Planner Klaver reported that $544,204.38 in CDBG funds had been spent during the year, with the overall project budget at approximately $900,000. He highlighted public outreach efforts and progress on a City Park bathroom project (construction nearly complete, interior fixtures arriving, but operation delayed until spring 2026 due to water shutoff). The public hearing opened at 5:22 PM and closed at 5:23 PM with no public testimony. The council approved the CAPER (5–0).
- Resolution 2025-016 – New Fees and Master Fee Schedule Amendment: Senior Planner Klaver explained that fee adjustments were needed to align with code changes from the Title 10 rewrite, including new fees for zoning use permits ($500) and site plan permits ($1,350, later corrected to a justified amount based on staff analysis). Some fees were increased more than 5% (e.g., annexation/ZDA from $700 to $1,500, home occupation zoning use permits from $100 to $250). Public hearing opened at 6:26 PM and closed at 6:27 PM with no testimony. The resolution was approved (5–0).
- Title 10 Zoning and Subdivision Regulations Repeal and Replacement (Ordinance #O-2025-029): Jonathan Spendlove and William Klaver presented the final draft of the new zoning code, a seven-year effort. Changes included updated zone names (e.g., R1/R2 combined into Town Neighborhood One), simplified accessory structure regulations, revised drive-through criteria (masonry wall and landscape buffers for residential adjacency), and updated sign regulations. The sign regulations were a focus: the council reaffirmed its August 18th direction to allow 32-square-foot temporary signs on platted vacant lots (with up to 64 square feet by combining two lots). An alternative language offered by a public commenter (the “bubble”) was not adopted. Vice Mayor Brown expressed preference for the staff-written “number three” language. The public hearing opened at 6:09 PM and closed at 6:10 PM. Council Members Grayson Stone, Jason Brown, and Craig Hawkins thanked the planning staff. The council voted 5–0 to approve the ordinance, then voted 5–0 to dispense with rules and place it on third and final reading by title only, and finally voted 5–0 to adopt Ordinance #O-2025-029 (effective January 1, 2026) and allow its publication by summary.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar approved with items A–D, F (5–0) and item E (4–0, Stone abstaining).
- Nicholas Cooley appointed to Library Board of Trustees (5–0).
- Impact Fee Report and 2.66% increase accepted (5–0).
- CAPER report approved (5–0).
- Resolution 2025-016 (Master Fee Schedule amendments) adopted (5–0).
- Title 10 zoning code repeal and replacement enacted via Ordinance #O-2025-029 (5–0 on all motions), effective January 1, 2026.
- No action on waterline easement vacation (Ordinance #O-2025-030) due to insufficient eligible votes.
Meeting Transcript
This is what the bathroom looked look like at City Park. We went out for bid and started construction in in May of 2025. Currently, it was a little bit clearer of a picture. And then currently, uh as of two or three weeks ago, this is what it looks like. Uh the project is nearly completed. We are waiting on uh redoing of the asphalt path, and then with uh with shipping and handling, we had some stall the bathroom stalls and fixtures were a little bit slower to arrive. Uh they are on site and they're just getting ready to be prepared. Uh so we anticipate the pro the interior and construction of the building to be finalized uh at the by the end of the year or early so January 2026. Um that being said, we won't finish or operate until next spring. Um we won't finish the full scope of it because the paving pavements not open yet, and so we have to wait till those open in the spring, and then operationally we the the water to the park has been shut off, so you can't flush the toilets, and we don't want that to happen. And that's typical every year. Yes. So we're gonna hold off to that. This is what it looks like at night time. We added a quite a few lights, and we added a little bit of options for security cameras. We also added a nice trash enclosure. That trash and closure will also be finished in the next month or so. Otherwise, we've throughout the year we've held public input meetings. Uh we've held public meetings regarding creation of that consolidated plan. We held public meetings regarding the Hanson Street Plaza project. Uh we held uh two or three of those. Um, and and so we went above and beyond what the minimum public outreach was, and we appreciate the comments that we we've received, and we feel that that's been helpful for for us to move forward and create a project and a plan that benefits the community. And then the last thing to report on is uh this year we've spent five hundred and forty-four thousand two hundred and four dollars and thirty-eight cents of CDBG funds. Uh we have the project itself was about nine hundred thousand dollars with some contingency funds, and the rest of that will come out of this next fiscal year. Um, but otherwise, stand for any questions that you may have. Thank you, Will. Any questions for Will on this particular item? Okay, so I would enter Jason Brown. I'd move to approve the program at a public hearing first. Oh, yeah. That's right. That's true. I was ready to go. Let's go. Yeah, okay. So um I will open up the public hearing if there's anybody in the audience that wishes to address city council on this particular item. Um, please come forward. Okay,
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