DRIGGS, Idaho — The Driggs City Council has voted to discontinue the lease of the Teton Rock Gym in the Driggs Recreation Center, which is owned by the city.
At a Tuesday meeting, three council members voted in support of ending the lease, and Council Member Allison Michalski cast the only dissenting vote. According to Teton Valley News, the Teton Rock Gym had been operating as a holdover tenant on a month-to-month lease after its long-term lease expired in October 2024.
The rock climbing gym began leasing space inside the Driggs Recreation Center in 2014, according to City Council staff notes. The gym was in the process of seeking a new long-term lease with the city. Instead, the City Council gave Teton Rock Gym 30 days to vacate the premises, starting May 20.
“I stand by what I said in November: that giving this tenant a 30-day notice to vacate would be the quickest and best resolution in the interest of the community,” Council Member Miles Knowles said at the meeting. “It doesn’t sit well with me to negotiate and do business with an entity that has threatened or is potentially threatening litigation.”
The Jackson Hole News&Guide reported that the Driggs City Council voted in November to terminate the lease if certain conditions were not met. That vote was walked back, and Driggs Mayor August Christensen was a tiebreaker in a revote, supporting the continuation of a month-to-month lease.
The issue of whether or not to renew the lease has been in the Teton Valley spotlight recently, after a long-running controversy about membership and a conflict between gym leadership and climbing patrons.
On Wednesday evening, Teton Rock Gym posted to Facebook responding to the City Council conclusion: “We are deeply saddened and shocked by the City Council’s decision to terminate Teton Rock Gym’s lease. … This decision affects all of us. We want you to know that we genuinely tried to work through this process constructively and continue operating the gym for the community.”
