Timeline

Teton Rock Gym leadership failed to exercise the renewal option on their multi-year lease with the City of Driggs.

A group of eleven parents reported this staff misconduct, and subsequently met with the Teton Rock Gym Board of Directors to discuss the situation. Staff chose not to attend.

No accountability or resolution was ever offered from staff or the board, despite several attempts from parents to continue the discussion. 

Instead, staff introduced a “parent" handbook for youth programming. Several children decided not to continue with Teton Rock Gym team programs and parents stepped in to help facilitate their training.

Staff then changed gym membership policies to prohibit kids under 14 years old from the fitness area, explicitly ban instruction in the gym by anyone besides staff, and granting staff unilateral authority to revoke memberships at anytime for any reason without a refund.

Teton Rock Gym updated its policies and member contract to forbid outside coaching and gives staff discretion to "deny access or membership to any person for any reason" with "no refund or recourse available."

Members were told that they must sign the new Member Contract in order to retain facility access.

Many Teton Rock Gym members were concerned with this new policy language and reached to the Board for clarification and received no response.

In mid-April, the Board President announced she was resigning. Several Teton Rock Gym members, former board members, parents, and former donors offered to serve on the board.

Teton Rock Gym announced that Evan Flach, Chris Mietjes, and Patrick Hertz had been appointed to the Board of Directors, replacing the existing three-person board.

A group of 19 individuals welcomed the new board members and raised governance concerns.

On Friday, August 8 the Board President and the Executive Director banned six parents of competitive kids from the gym, including the founder and his wife. The five children of these families weren't banned, but are unable to participate in programing. Staff also sent an email titled Addressing Inappropriate Behavior to Support a Healthy Gym Community to an unknown group of community members about the banning (many of whom appear to have been signers of the April 9 petition).

Later in August, one of the two remaining board members provided a link to a google form entitled Teton Rock Gym Board Member Submission of Interest. Several local people filled out the form. The deadline to apply was September 15th. The form asked for your name, email address, what equipment you use in the gym and how often you use the gym. It also asked What makes you passionate about Teton Rock Gym? Why do you want to be on the board of Teton Rock Gym? And Is there anything else we should know that is relevant to you joining the rock gym board?

After September 15, 2025, Teton Rock Gym didn't appoint new board members until mid-November, despite having at least 12 qualified local applicants. Community members attempted to contact gym staff and the remaining board member to ask about the process for appointing new board members in September and October and didn't receive any response.

Evan Flach resigns from Teton Rock Gym board of directors, leaving Patrick Hertz as the sole director of the organization.

Brady Johnston, who founded Teton Rock Gym eleven years ago submitted a letter to the editor to Teton Valley News.

At the Driggs City Council meeting, three council members, in a 2 to 1 vote, decided to give the nonprofit gym a 30-day-notice to vacate if it did not reinstate the six banned members, maintain a three-member board, and provide governing documents and financial statements to the city by the end of November.

Teton Rock Gym's attorney sent a threatening letter to the Driggs City Council stating that the City violated open meeting law at the November 4 meeting. The TRG attorney also said that requiring the gym to reinstate the banned members is illegal.

Climbing Magazine publishes a detailed article about the conflict, bringing national attention to Teton Rock Gym issues.

In late January Teton Rock Gym submitted a change to their board to the Idaho Secretary of State. Zsuzsanna Veres has not been announced to gym members. And there are currently no staff members or board members listed on the Teton Rock Gym website.

The agenda for this February council meeting included a policy amendment intended to protect community members. Members of the public commented that the policy had "no teeth." And City of Driggs staff agreed, saying that adding teeth would make the city vulnerable to liability.

The Resolution - Driggs Recreation Center Policies document in the meeting agenda packet included an email from Teton Rock Gym staff to Driggs City staff outlining their concerns with the proposed Fair Access and Due Process Policy. The purple and blue edits are from Teton Rock Gym and the final policy proposal with red edits is what was proposed to City Council.

An alternative policy that would require more tenant accountability was provided to City Council by a member of the public.

Teton Rock Gym Executive Director submits documents showing that TRG will not comply with the City's newly adopted Driggs Recreation Center Policies. Included is an Incident Brief which fails to link specific individuals with any specific events used to justify banning of members. TRG also submits their Fair Access and Due Process Policy, and requests amendments to the DRC Recreation Center Policy.

After hearing comments from 8 members of the public, including 2 children, the Driggs City Council votes to terminate Teton Rock Gym's lease and orders them to vacate in 30 days. No representatives from Teton Rock Gym were present at the meeting.