Town, county hear funding appeals from local nonprofits at April 28 special meeting

A special joint meeting of the Jackson Town Council and Teton County commissioners on April 28 brought representatives from local nonprofits and institutions before elected officials to outline services and ask for financial support.

Coombs Outdoors and Camino Conmigo: Molly Waters, communications and development manager for Coombs Outdoors, described plans to merge with adult-focused Camino Conmigo and to sustain an expanded set of year‑round outdoor programs for kindergarten‑age children through adults. “Coombs Outdoors, founded in 2012, has been running outdoor programs for local youth, starting with ski programs,” Waters said, noting the organization now runs more than 20 programs and doubled its elementary summer camp enrollment last year after a reduction in the school district’s summer offerings. Waters said the merged entity will hire Camino Conmigo’s lead, Miriam Morillon, and will pursue additional grants after the organizations unite; youth program fees were described at roughly $50 per week and $150 for a summer session, with sliding‑scale, need‑based discounts.

Good Samaritan Mission: Jeremy Onbon, who identified himself as the new CEO, outlined services the mission provides as the only homeless shelter in Teton County and described recent capital improvements, including a renovated laundry facility with an open house planned for July 15. He said the Mission operates a community dinner program, clothing closet and a relocation program and is launching a 12‑month transitional housing pilot that will serve up to four people at a time. Onbon said the Mission’s request to the town and county reflected expanded programs and staff changes; he described a broad funding shortfall and said the organization had applied for a substantial local grant (he referenced a $350,000 request in discussion), adding, “we ask for the full amount because we don’t want to leave anything on the table.”

Legacy Works Group — Teton Community Well‑being Dashboard: Michelle Heaton, regional director of Legacy Works Group, and Allison Parker outlined the Teton Community Well‑Being Dashboard, a community‑built data platform launched with Community Foundation support. Heaton said the dashboard tracks indicators across multiple focus areas, links to the town and county indicator report, and that almost 3,000 unique users have visited since launch. The group requested support to build out three focus areas (sustainable ecosystems, community connectedness and economic security), maintain current dashboards and translate materials into Spanish; Heaton described a local request of about $20,000 to fund the next phase of translations, resource pages and content build‑out.

Central Wyoming College (Jackson campus): Brad Tindall, CWC president, and Sandy Cho, dean of the Jackson campus, briefed the meeting on the college’s expansion into Teton County and on staffing and operating costs for a new campus due to open in mid‑2026. Tindall described statewide funding shortfalls that have reduced higher‑education support and said CWC faces a combination of state revenue reductions and increased operating costs. The college presented a request that included maintaining an existing $360,000 contribution from the county while seeking additional funds for a cost‑of‑living adjustment and staffing to operate the new campus; presenters said the larger package on the table would raise the total ask substantially (discussion cited a larger figure around $560,000 as the full ask, with $360,000 described as the county portion referenced in the application).

Children’s Learning Center: Nicole Feldman, executive director, said CLC operates year‑round childcare, Head Start and early intervention/special education for Teton and Sublette counties. Feldman warned that proposed federal budget cuts to Head Start would immediately remove about $1.3 million in funding for the center if enacted; she also said state special‑education reimbursements remain insufficient and that the organization’s reserve previously used to manage high‑cost special‑needs cases has been depleted. The center serves 76 Head Start families and described an estimated funding shortfall of roughly $5,900 per special‑education child based on a consultant’s statewide analysis.

Community Entry Services: Director Rick Christiansen described a 50‑year‑old program serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Christiansen said the organization serves roughly 30 adults (about a dozen in two group homes) and is working on an employee housing project and additional group‑home units on East Kelly Avenue to keep clients and staff in the valley. He said the organization needs local support to maintain staff retention and that state reimbursement rates lag living‑wage needs in Jackson.

122 Resource Center (Jackson Cupboard): Executive Director Cheryl Lund said 122 provides food assistance, limited financial help, a youth activity scholarship co‑op, language assistance and financial education. She said the group distributed about 529,000 pounds of food last year (roughly 405,000 meals) and that demand has shifted the organization’s programming toward basic needs. Lund said 122 maintains a significant volunteer contribution and has roughly $1.5 million of surplus equivalent to about six months of operating expenses that it is drawing on as the community’s needs grow.

Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum: Kirsten Corbett, director of exhibits and communications, reported on the museum’s new campus and said admissions rose about 60% since the June opening; she noted increased program activity (summer camps, speaker series, new exhibits) and requested a modest restoration of town and county funding to pre‑pandemic levels to help operate the larger facility.

What officials asked and next steps: Officials pressed presenters on specifics: Mayor Jorgensen asked how proposed services relate to local government responsibilities and what contracting would look like; commissioners sought financial details, reserve levels and contingency plans if requested funds are not available. Presenters agreed to send follow‑up financial information where they did not have figures on hand during the meeting. Elected officials said they will deliberate on funding requests at a later date and asked staff to return budget details to inform decisions.

Adjournment: The meeting recessed for lunch and the council moved to adjourn their portion of the session at the end of the presentations.