The Navajo County Board of Supervisors met last week with a unanimous vote to accept a $1.3 million grant award. The grant was awarded by the United States Department of Justice and will be allocated to the county over the course of the next three fiscal years to assist the county in implementing their County Overdose Prevention and Engagement (COPE) program.
According to Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon, the program is based on the 10 essential elements of opioid intervention and will utilized a rapid response team of justice system and behavioral health practitioners to identify individuals as risk of drug overdose. Patients will be linked with evidence-based treatment, recovery support services and ongoing monitoring. The goal of the program is to prevent overdose deaths and increase long-term treatment engagement.
In Navajo County, according to Carlyon, opioid use is on a significant rise and has replaced methamphetamine as the most used illicit substance in the county jail system. In an effort to curb these statistics, Carlyon believes strongly in education and harm reduction strategies.
In other business, the board:
* Approved the warrant and voucher report over $1,000 for September.
* Certified the fiscal year 2022 Fill the Gap Allocation. The total revenues received by the justice courts and the superior court, including the clerk of the superior court exceed the amount received in the fiscal year 1997-1998. This is a routine procedure.
* Approved funding in the amount of $12,500 from Navajo County to the Navajo County Peace Officer Memorial Project. The memorial will be located at Show Low City Hall and will feature individual memorial plaques honoring fallen Navajo County officers. The total cost of the project is estimated at $116,000. The remainder of the funding will come from various donors.
* Approved the termination of an existing contract between the county Public Health Services District and the Humane Society of the White Mountains effective Nov. 1. The contract was determined to be more cost prohibitive compared to other options. A replacement has not yet been named.
* Approved a memorandum of agreement between the county and Northland Pioneer College allowing nursing and paramedic students to function in a proctored capacity and providing clinical experiences while in turn supplementing clinical capacity for such events as point of dispensing clinics and other county functions.
* Approved a memorandum of agreement between the county and Lifework Education (Wizard) to provide collaboration and training for exercise and real-world emergency incidents. The agreement allows paramedic students to function in a proctored capacity, providing clinical experience to the students while supplementing clinical capacity for county events.
* Approved a cooperative agreement in the amount of $1,200 monthly for animal impoundment services between the county and Pet Allies. Pet Allies will allow for kennel space for the Animal Care and Control Department to utilize for their shelter, hold and quarantine needs. The cost will include all services typically provided in connection with animals impounded at the shelter including feeding and euthanasia if necessary.
* Approved the acceptance of 2022 State Homeland Security grant awards to the county Emergency Management Department. Throughout the year, the department will receive $1,400 for citizen corps volunteer equipment, $30,610 for enhanced surveillance equipment, $30,000 for training exercise funding and $56,684 for cybersecurity protection.
* Approved an amendment to an intergovernmental agreement with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). The amendment modifies the agreement to identify Navajo County Flood Control District to reimburse the Silver Creek Flood Control District for the reimbursement received by ADWR and lowers the overall cost.
* Heard a quarterly report from White Mountain Lakes County Recreation Improvement District Administrator Mark Honberger. In his report, Honberger committed to improving communications from the district to its constituents on matters such as water level and algae content.
* Entered into executive session to receive legal advice on an appeal received by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Following the session, the board approved the rescinding of approval of a proposed wind farm discussed in a previous meeting. No further details were provided.
The next meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25 in the board meeting room, located at 100 E. Code Talkers Drive.
