Teton County and Jackson Council direct halt to Pennrose negotiations on 90 Virginian Lane housing project

At a special joint meeting on July 14, 2026, the Teton County Board of County Commissioners and the Jackson Town Council directed the Housing Authority Board to terminate negotiations with Pennrose LLC over the proposed 90 Virginian Lane affordable workforce housing development. On the County motion, Commissioner Wes Gardner moved 'to direct and authorize the Housing Authority Board to terminate negotiations with Pennrose LLC at 90 Virginian Lane.' The County motion, seconded by Commissioner Luther Propst, passed 3–2 with Commissioners Natalia Macker and Len Carlman opposed.

The Town initially saw a motion from Councilmember Jonathan Schechter to 'direct and authorize the Housing Authority Board to terminate negotiations with Pennrose LLC at 90 Virginian Lane and halt all work on the 90 Virginian Lane affordable workforce housing development until 2027 or a date to be determined otherwise,' but that motion received no second and died. Later the Town adopted a similar motion moved by Councilmember Devon Viehman and seconded by Councilmember Jonathan Schechter; Mayor Arne Jorgensen called the vote and the motion carried for the Town 3–2, with Mayor Jorgensen and Councilmember Alyson Spery opposed.

Staff provided comments on the item, with April Norton and Lea Colasuonno participating via Zoom and Keith Gingery and Jodie Pond offering in-person briefings; the transcript records public comment from Jessica Chambers and several other residents (Tim Rieser, Gabe Koerber, Bob Lenz, Joe Burke, Clair Stumpf, Jean Day, David Scheurn, and Margaret Mary Aeckerle) but does not include verbatim content of those remarks. The County and Town motions instruct the Housing Authority Board to end negotiations with Pennrose LLC; the Town’s original motion as proposed would have halted all work on the project until 2027 or until a different date is set, and the County motion directs termination of negotiations (language and any timeline restrictions are as recorded in the motions). The minutes do not record further formal direction about next steps for the Housing Authority Board or any specific conditions attached to termination beyond the motions themselves.

The meeting recessed twice during the discussion and then moved to adjournment; both bodies formally adjourned later in the session. The meeting record header lists the meeting date as July 14, 2026; a page footer in the transcript contains a different date (July 7, 2025), an internal inconsistency noted in the minutes.