[0:00] Treasurer? Mm-hmm.
[0:03] Now you have to be quiet. No, that's all right. I'll probably call- No.
[2:56] Now you can talk, right?
[2:58] Amy, can you hear us since you're front? We can hear you, please.
[3:05] You get her.
[3:07] You go first. Didn't I know? What happened the last time?
[3:11] Amy's taking her son to Idaho. No, I know, but- He's online. Is she? She is online.
[3:17] Hey. Yes.
[3:20] Can you hear me?
[3:21] Yeah. Can you unmute yourself, or do I have to unmute you?
[3:24] You have to unmute me, and you also have to allow me to turn on video
[3:31] if you want me to have my video on.
[3:36] I don't know if I can change the video right now.
[3:42] Hold on.
[3:45] Oh. So is Cindy not coming? Okay, try that.
[3:51] We're going to put this vacant.
[3:54] Okay, there we go.
[3:57] It's quiet.
[3:57] I'm going to see if I can mute and unmute myself.
[3:59] You're quiet.
[4:01] Let's see.
[4:02] You can leave that door open.
[4:03] Mm-hmm.
[4:05] Yeah, I think I'm good now, Michelle.
[4:07] Okay, perfect.
[4:10] Thank you, everybody. I'd like to call to order the special meeting of the Victor
[4:15] City Council, Tuesday, August 18th, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
[4:20] Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.
[4:24] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the
[4:29] Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with
[4:35] liberty and justice for all.
[4:40] Thank you. Here in council chambers in person, we have Councilor Hulsing, Councilor
[4:45] Sustek, and online on Zoom, we have Councilor Moss.
[4:50] Thank you, Amy, for making time to be here today.
[4:58] I prepared a written statement, so forgive me.
[5:01] I just want to make sure I say everything I want to say.
[5:05] Thank you to everyone who applied for this vacancy and to everyone who took the
[5:10] time to write, attend, listen, and participate. We had six qualified applicants.
[5:15] One, Charles, has withdrawn his application.
[5:19] Each person brought real strengths, experience, and showed deep care for Victor,
[5:23] and this was really not an easy decision.
[5:27] For the record, Idaho Code 50-704 requires the mayor to nominate a person to fill
[5:33] the city council vacancy, subject to confirmation by the council.
[5:37] It does not require an application process or establish an application deadline.
[5:42] We chose to use an application and interview process as a way to invite qualified
[5:48] Victor residents to step forward.
[5:51] I understand the criticism of the extension of the application period because there
[5:55] was confusion about the exact time applications were due.
[5:59] The extension was public, it applied to everyone, and it did not guarantee any
[6:03] application, a nomination, or appointment.
[6:06] I sought guidance from the Association of Idaho Cities who confirmed there was not
[6:10] a legal issue with extending the deadline, though the optics should be weighed
[6:14] carefully. That being said, those in opposition to extending the deadline did not
[6:20] offer any other substantive reasons to disqualify applicants who missed the
[6:25] original deadline.
[6:28] Focusing back on the qualities that we shared publicly as important for this
[6:33] appointment, I've carefully considered knowledge of current Victor issues,
[6:37] demonstrated judgment, preparation, humility, and the ability to work
[6:42] respectfully with people who disagree,
[6:46] relevant civic, volunteer, professional, financial, land use, infrastructure,
[6:51] nonprofit, and community experience, respectful communication, and a commitment to
[6:56] representing the whole city rather than a single issue or faction.
[7:01] There's also the practical reality of the next 12 to 18 months.
[7:05] Victor has major collaborative work ahead in regional infrastructure decisions,
[7:10] land use decisions, comprehensive planning and coordination with other cities and
[7:14] county officials, and staffing changes.
[7:19] This requires someone to jump in and immediately get to work.
[7:23] Prior disagreement with the city was not disqualifying.
[7:26] However, recent adversarial litigation and other actions which speak louder than
[7:32] words involving the city was a relevant governance consideration when assessing
[7:38] whether an applicant could support majority council decisions and work
[7:42] constructively with staff council and the public to help the city move forward
[7:46] productively if and when decisions that reflect carefully considered trade-offs are
[7:51] not unanimous.
[7:54] This appointment is temporary. In the November 27 election, Victor voters will
[7:58] decide who continues in the seat, and I encourage everyone who applied for the
[8:01] nomination to run. For the past week, I've struggled over two choices, Erica
[8:06] Linnell and Bonnie Chambers.
[8:09] Bonnie brings valuable civic experience, professional knowledge, architectural and
[8:14] land use perspective, nonprofit and volunteer service, and a steady collaborative
[8:18] demeanor. Her background gives her a practical understanding of planning community
[8:23] facilities, local government, and the challenges facing small rural mountain
[8:26] communities. She also brings a fresh perspective at a time when Victor is
[8:30] challenged with lowering the temperature so we can execute serious work.
[8:36] Erica brings deep knowledge of Victor's current issues, civic and professional
[8:40] experience, a long history of community service, and the ability to speak directly
[8:44] about the hard trade-offs facing this city.
[8:48] In her application and interview, she identified the need to balance competing
[8:51] needs, make decisions for the broader public good, and communicate those decisions
[8:55] clearly, even when not everyone agrees.
[8:58] Her background includes local business ownership, executive leadership, board
[9:04] service, program supervision, emergency response experience, and longstanding
[9:09] involvement in the Teton Valley civic and nonprofit work.
[9:13] Extensive public comment in support of her nomination also emphasized her ability
[9:18] to think strategically, work collaboratively, move ideas from vision to
[9:23] implementation, and remain grounded in the realities of growth, infrastructure,
[9:27] housing, economic vitality, recreation, and community identity.
[9:35] Before I make a nomination, I want to say something broader to the council and the
[9:38] public. Healthy disagreement is not the problem.
[9:41] Good decision-making is not possible without it.
[9:45] But tearing each other down and the broader effort of tearing the city down is
[9:49] neither the path to good governance, community building, or our shared goals of
[9:54] stewarding this special place. Assuming bad faith, attacking motives, and treating
[9:59] every decision you don't agree with as evidence of corruption or conspiracy will
[10:03] not help Victor succeed. I challenge everyone to believe it is possible to ask hard
[10:08] questions, disagree strongly, and still uphold the standards of this body and
[10:13] expect accountability without making public service unbearable for everyone who
[10:18] steps forward. All applicants have expressed interest in supporting the city going
[10:23] forward, and we need your help, your experience, your influence in the upcoming
[10:28] comprehensive planning process.
[10:32] After reviewing the full record, the interviews, public comment, and my needs, the
[10:36] staff and council needs, and the city as a whole,
[10:40] at this moment, I am nominating Erica Linnell to fill the vacant city council seat,
[10:45] subject to council confirmation.
[10:48] A motion to confirm this nomination and if seconded, we'll open the floor for
[10:54] further discussion before a vote.
[10:57] I thought we were going to hear from Emily.
[11:02] What?
[11:04] Say what you were asking again.
[11:05] Oh. So one thing that's typical that we haven't been doing in our council
[11:12] is we happily have a motion made, and then we have discussion.
[11:16] Do you want to have discussion first before the motion in line with that?
[11:23] I don't care either way.
[11:29] I'm happy to share. I
[11:33] was thoughtful about the interviews.
[11:37] The question that I had submitted to the interviews was a question about
[11:43] two reasonable people in conflict.
[11:49] And I was really tuned into the way that people responded to that question,
[11:55] wasn't the only question I was tuned into, because I think it demonstrated what I
[11:59] heard from people is this kind of integrative both/and thinking that the mayor
[12:04] spoke to, that it's not as simple as this or that, or either/or.
[12:08] That
[12:11] we're at a moment where we really have to acknowledge that there's not wrong and
[12:15] right. There's both. There's a lot of feelings, there's a lot of opinions here,
[12:21] and all of those are valid and need to be integrated, and we need to be thoughtful
[12:26] about them.
[12:29] At the end of the day, I saw that the most from
[12:36] the two nominations that we made, actually.
[12:40] I saw it from Bonnie in
[12:43] the examples that she cited, and I also was tuned into that at the end of the
[12:48] conflict that she presented. She was decisive.
[12:52] She took decisive action, which is something that we all have to do here, and we
[12:56] all have to live with those decisions and then go on to the next one.
[13:00] And sometimes there's consequences and sometimes,
[13:05] we can learn from those decisions, and sometimes they're the right decisions, all
[13:09] of that, but we ultimately are just take decisive action. So I appreciated that.
[13:15] And I really appreciated about Erica...
[13:20] Hang on. Sorry, I took a lot of notes.
[13:28] Oh, God.
[13:30] Sorry, I took so many notes
[13:35] about all the candidates.
[13:46] Okay, so one thing that stood out for me that Erica was talking about was she--
[13:52] There was another question, and that question asked you to pick a side of an issue
[13:56] and describe what made you change your mind.
[13:58] And she highlighted that that was a pretty complicated thing to do
[14:04] because ultimately, there is place for both of those things, that it's not a
[14:10] binary that we're working in here.
[14:12] And she cited that ultimately though, if we are going to make
[14:18] change, we really have to go back to our tools.
[14:20] We go back to the comprehensive plan. She specifically cited the code.
[14:24] Maybe there's an issue in the code that we need to look at, that we're not going to
[14:27] make a decision based on one case, that we're going to look overall and that we're
[14:30] going to look to the tools that we have.
[14:34] And so, that's just the example that I'm offering.
[14:38] From that, I fully agree with the mayor that I think that it is
[14:44] important at this moment that folks be coming in clear-minded
[14:50] about the topics. I think that
[14:56] Cindy and you, Carol, both demonstrate real passion, real care, that I
[15:02] genuinely believe is true for this city.
[15:04] And I think that past
[15:09] ways of
[15:12] discussing opposition-- Or sorry, engaging in opposition,
[15:18] did not demonstrate to me the leadership that I think the city needs at this
[15:22] moment. And so I would support your nomination of Erica Linnell, and I would move
[15:28] to appoint her.
[15:32] Second.
[15:33] Motion's been made and seconded,
[15:39] by Councilor
[15:41] Cesek, and seconded by Councilor Hulsing, to confirm Mayor Susan Pacher's
[15:45] appointment of Erica Linnell as council member to serve until the next general
[15:51] city election in 2027. Is there any further discussion?
[15:57] I just want to also say thank you to everybody who brought
[16:01] the willingness and a fresh face
[16:05] to take this on. And I actually hadn't read that Charles withdrew his
[16:11] application because I was at work and didn't see that.
[16:15] But I appreciate that he even thought about joining.
[16:21] Carol, I think in a perfect world, I would love to live in your world where
[16:26] butterflies always run free .
[16:30] But I think Erica's going to bring a strong, independent voice, and she has,
[16:36] as we've seen, a ton of support.
[16:39] And
[16:42] I think
[16:44] her strength will be a great asset right now.
[16:51] Amy, you on the floor?
[16:54] I have no further comments.
[17:01] Do I need to repeat? What do I need to do right now for procedure?
[17:03] The motion's been made and seconded. You can just take a roll call vote.
[17:08] The motion's been made and seconded.
[17:11] Councilor Hulsing?
[17:13] Aye.
[17:13] Councilor Cesek?
[17:15] Aye.
[17:15] Councilor Ross?
[17:17] Nay.
[17:20] Motion shows two in favor, one opposed. The motion carries.
[17:25] Thank you all. Erica's not able to be here this morning to
[17:32] take the oath of office. She's teaching a class at Purple Life
[17:37] Studio. So we will do that on August 26th at the regular
[17:43] meeting.
[17:46] I'd take a motion to adjourn.
[17:51] I move to adjourn.
[17:53] I second.
[17:54] Motion's been made and seconded to adjourn. All in favor?
[17:57] Aye.
[17:58] Aye.
[17:58] Thank you all. The motion for the meeting is adjourned.
[18:12] Good job.
[18:12] Thank you.