[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6511601,"mediaKeyId","5322171-17d48a56dba75b62c0dc538b77e4a133","parentId",5322171,"title","Town and county set yearlong schedule to review joint powers agreements; staff to analyze alternatives","audioSeconds",3259,"startMs",4381000,"endMs",7640000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5322171-17d48a56dba75b62c0dc538b77e4a133&start=4381&end=7640","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5322171-17d48a56dba75b62c0dc538b77e4a133/thumbnail_4381000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6511601/Jackson/Teton-County/Wyoming/Town-and-county-set-yearlong-schedule-to-review-joint-powers-agreements-staff-to-analyze-alternatives","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6511601-92c6ea112d7e44a6677b993c86f386d4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770985209&Signature=P5p2VlNT3ZnySswr6MM6l23tNKUDqymdrLhRaCFYfy5k3k0aTFNvPXXk2xg3VBHr88WdSQdY84e2F3-ZQEu7HqYVOPXCluZvsvZ1xEt-DjKBp-wXrbnhKKwoROASqEtH0oiKrMuVVByN6XBr14wx4TrZsoETMfJd6NbovI7jFB9-8kYvvLpA93nEMIyvkCRp97DqTTm1iEuSyGAg7vlE480N5WzwFXMPlDef2Tdh9gfaWwRL~3A718vuC6IVODa2P3S3bP84MmPIz9jOnzCY4BBoZ0QY5phCSUI1kzmpApoqlVc9m3b2MeOjtkrFvuvVgSjvcXmt-QjupOh-~ZeWpA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Jackson","date","2025-07-07T00:00:00Z","article","The Town of Jackson and Teton County jointly directed staff to begin a structured review of joint powers agreements, memorandums of understanding and other cooperative arrangements and to return with analysis of reasonable alternatives and recommendations for each joint department.

At the July 7 meeting, town and county staff proposed a schedule that would run through the next year and address joint fire and emergency medical services first (August–October), followed by parks and recreation (November–January), then transportation and pathways (February–April) and housing and planning (May–June). Remaining items (dispatch, treatment court, animal shelter, victim services) would be scheduled afterward if more time is needed. The boards approved the schedule and asked staff to prepare staff reports that include current funding arrangements, five years of financials, governance alternatives and recommended options.

Tyler Sinclair, Town Manager, and Jody Pond, County Administrator, presented the timeline and said a recent joint funding task force had explored options but did not reach a final recommendation. Pond said the boards had already funded a consultant study for fire/EMS (Emergency Services Consulting International) and that consultant will present draft recommendations in August. Staff said some joint efforts include formal joint powers agreements (for example Fire/EMS and parks), while others operate under memoranda of understanding or limited agreements, and several functions operate with no formal guiding document.

The motion approved by both bodies directs staff to produce staff reports for each joint service area that include: a description of the service, pros and cons of the current cooperative arrangement, current funding and capital obligations, recent financials, alternative governance and funding options and recommended approaches. The motion also called for a joint update after the fire/EMS review is complete this fall.

Commissioners and councilors raised several themes during discussion: whether a single funding split (the town and county have agreed to transition to a 62% county / 38% town funding split by July 1, 2027) should be applied across departments; whether department-specific governance options (for example, contracts for service, independent authorities, or continued joint governance) should be evaluated; what role volunteer advisory boards should have; and what outside expertise might be useful for complex areas such as parks, transportation and START transit where grants and federal funding add complexity.

Commissioner MacKer and others emphasized that, regardless of final allocations, clarifying governance and operational roles can improve efficiency; several council members requested waiver or scaled approaches where staff believes small businesses or limited change-of-use activity could be treated differently. Staff will include requested materials in the staff reports and return to a joint meeting after the fall fire/EMS review to check progress and next steps.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Jackson - Town Council Joint Information Meeting - Jul 07, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Town of Jackson and Teton County directed staff to review joint departments and cooperative agreements on a department-by-department schedule, and asked staff to provide alternative governance and funding options and to report back after the fire/EMS review.","taxTitle","Jackson, Teton County, Wyoming","taxId",63787,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6511605,"Jackson-area leaders direct staff to draft traffic study rules, request nexus study for possible impact fee",1588,2632000,4220000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5322171-17d48a56dba75b62c0dc538b77e4a133&start=2632&end=4220","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5322171-17d48a56dba75b62c0dc538b77e4a133/thumbnail_2632000.jpg","/articles/6511605/Jackson/Teton-County/Wyoming/Jackson-area-leaders-direct-staff-to-draft-traffic-study-rules-request-nexus-study-for-possible-impact-fee","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6511605-bdc8eda21dab60b6edb1504d0884823e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770985209&Signature=nECHHIJvPPOKMoQCgeKu~8zZ800ggkGVuMKvJGpSXkPbDpwBqiI25sCEZsCkL8mRA8MsYj7OE1u7Tsdym6RYjLDL1l5Oc7PCfC4R3MaxFBgnlLkNe8w8Owe99I19HKOs-uVqAjGL8Oeme0FfKsfMbsfs5JdMSS8tBOGIEl~STppLGITugJ1u4~jmiVUMVz7MpXwpsmVR5-ayeyqtnj~ujwov69Ht9gIkdmoYRTo~rCE2OYwuyymxG57dnkybNTJdJt4SyMH1RHhL3aQR6wjm-F0oawGOiyckQF~QvWRQyDdg7G~g8SWYncgTu~oCrhtUw9pcdIc8D2uLKfZ9LaHZ9g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","County commissioners and Jackson town councilors on Monday directed staff to begin revising Land Development Regulations to require standardized traffic impact studies and travel demand management reporting and to return with information, including a nexus study, to support a potential transportation impact fee and other dedicated revenue options.

The motions, made separately and approved unanimously by both the Teton County Board of Commissioners and the Town of Jackson Council, follow a staff presentation that described draft requirements for when applicants must submit a small trip memo (for projects generating 30 or fewer net new peak-hour trips) and when they must submit a full transportation impact study (TIS). Staff said draft requirements would also ask applicants to include TDM measures that “should attempt to achieve at least a 50% trip reduction.”

The staff presentation was led by Charlotte Frey, transportation staff, who told the joint meeting that the comprehensive plan and the Integrated Transportation Plan (ITP) direct the town and county to prioritize walking, biking, carpooling and transit over single-occupancy-vehicle travel. Frey said the current guidance on when developers must study and mitigate traffic impacts is “limited” and often handled by case-by-case negotiated conditions. She told the boards that adopting standard requirements would give staff consistent information to assess development impacts and to plan capital projects or programs accordingly.

“Without clear requirements for applicants to document and mitigate their transportation impacts, staff cannot make informed recommendations to adequately address the impacts of growth,” Frey said.

The staff packet and presentation outlined a range of funding options for capital improvements and operations, including gas and sales tax, grants and loans, user fees (for example paid parking or congestion pricing), and impact fees. Frey noted legal limits on impact fees tied to the constitutional and Supreme Court nexus-and-proportionality doctrine and said the county and town would need a separate nexus study to set fee rates and apportion costs. She estimated that preparing a nexus and fee program could take roughly six to 18 months and that staff time to support the initial work might total about 200 hours plus consultant work.

Public comment included Amy Kushak of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, who said the group supports adopting traffic impact study requirements and urged the boards to “bring forward a traffic impact fee proposal at the same time,” arguing that studies without fees would produce analysis but not meaningful mitigation.

Elected officials asked questions about thresholds, impacts on small businesses, change-of-use scenarios and how summer tourism and commuter flows shape peak demand. Councilman Kevin Schechter and several commissioners noted that vehicle registrations and visitation have risen markedly in recent years even where population growth has been flat, heightening the need to address cumulative impacts and the limits of relying only on level-of-service standards. Commissioner Gardner and others urged care to avoid placing undue burdens on small businesses and suggested exploring exemptions, waivers or different treatment for change-of-use projects.

Staff described monitoring and reporting proposals tied to project size: smaller developments would submit trip generation memos and be monitored (staff proposed six years of monitoring for smaller projects and ten years for larger TIS projects), while a future impact-fee program could shorten applicant reporting by replacing full TISs with a simpler fee calculation in many cases. Frey said the town and county already are building a traffic-count program so applicants could use standardized counts collected by staff rather than pay for every study-specific count.

After discussion, Commissioner Probst moved—and Commissioner MacKer seconded—a motion to direct staff to initiate the LDR update to adopt traffic impact study and TDM requirements and to bring additional information regarding dedicated revenues, specifically a nexus study to support a traffic impact fee and other user fees, to a future meeting. The county and the town adopted essentially identical motions; both passed unanimously.

Frey told the boards staff would aim to return with the nexus-study information and other options by the end of 2025, subject to staff and consultant timelines. She also noted a joint TDM coordinator position now funded by both jurisdictions beginning this fiscal year (effective 07/01/2025), and said staff would continue refining the capital improvement plan and traffic monitoring programs underway.

What happens next: staff will begin the LDR amendment process (including public outreach and required hearings) if directed to proceed and will develop a workplan and timeline for a nexus study if the boards want staff to pursue impact-fee options concurrently or in sequence.

","County commissioners and Jackson town councilors voted unanimously to start a Land Development Regulation update that would require standardized traffic impact studies and travel demand management (TDM) reporting and to request a nexus study to support a possible transportation impact fee and other user-fee options.","actionData","errors"]

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Town and county set yearlong schedule to review joint powers agreements; staff to analyze alternatives

Jackson-area leaders direct staff to draft traffic study rules, request nexus study for possible impact fee