Last week the Navajo County Board of Supervisors elected Alberto Peshlakai as their new chairman and Jason Whiting as their new vice-chairman.
Supervisor Peshlakai, who serves District II, has a long history of service to Navajo County. Prior to being elected to the Board of Supervisors in November 2020, he served as the Tribal Government Relations Director for the county, and also held positions in the Public Works Department and Planning & Zoning secretary. Before joining Navajo County, he worked for the Navajo Nation Indian Wells Chapter, where he served as secretary/treasurer for two terms.
Peshlakai is also a lifelong resident of Navajo County, residing in the Navajo Nation community of Indian Wells. He currently serves on the Winslow Indian Health Care Center Board of Directors, and is dedicated to representing the residents of District II, which includes the chapters of Hardrock, Blue Gap/Tachee, Dilkon, Greasewood Springs, Indian Wells, Jeddito, Low Mountain, Lower Greasewood, Teesto, Whippoorwill, Whitecone, the Winslow Levee, Joseph City and Holbrook north of I-40.
Whiting, who has served on the Navajo County Board of Supervisors since 2014, represents District III, which includes the communities of Snowflake, Taylor, Woodruff, Shumway, Silver Lake Estates, White Mountain Lakes, Clay Springs and a portion of Heber-Overgaard and the portion of Holbrook south of I-40.
He has a long history of community involvement and service, having previously served on the Snowflake Town Council, and currently serves on the boards of several local and state organizations. Whiting and his family have been in northeastern Arizona for multiple generations and have a long history of serving and partnering with local communities.
Both Peshlakai and Whiting thanked outgoing chairwoman Dawnafe Whitesinger for her service to the county and leadership on the board.
The board authorized applications for projects for a Community Development Block Grant program. The three projects selected are $170,000 to increase pedestrian safety for students in Joseph City, $170,000 roof replacement of Clay Springs Community Center and $92,000 for roof replacement and parking lot repairs for the White Mountain Community Center. The two contingent projects are, $132,000 to build a thrift store, install a fire monitoring system, replace 100 dining chairs, and purchase a copy/scan/fax machine for the Rim County Senior Center and $130,000 for a 15-passenger van to serve 24 seniors at Holbrook Senior Center.
The board also presented an award recognition to the Snowflake High School volleyball team for winning the state championship against No. 3 ranked Northwest Christian.
In other business, the board:
* Appointed Senior Administrative Specialist Preston Root as an alternate clerk of the board to perform functions when the clerk is away.
* Approved two contracts for professional services with Johnson Walzer Associates for the new code enforcement facility in Taylor and for the public health expansion project in Show Low, for $7,500 and $9,500 respectively.
* Approved $700,000 for the purchase and upfit of 10 Chevy Tahoes for the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office fleet replacement and maintenance planned in their 2023 budget.
* Approved a contract amendment between the Sheriff’s Office and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for an addition to the STEP grant of $79,194 for a total award of $109,175.
* Approved a cooperative purchasing agreement with Gilbert Unified School District No. 4.
* Approved a contract extension for the Zickerman Law Office for one additional year of legal services.
* Authorized the modification of contract language for the county’s contract with Civic Plus for website services.
* Approved the naming of four streets in the Linden area: Admiral Way, Starry Night Trail, Rustic Barn Lane and Cimatario Drive.
* Added a $9 per hour stipend for employees while they are performing snowplow duties to stay competitive with other municipalities snow plow pay.
* Approved an extension to the contract with Wexford Health Services for medical and psychological services at the county jail.
* Approved an extension to the contract with the Arizona Department of Health Services.
* Approved a cooperative agreement with the Town of Snowflake for animal impoundment.
* Approved a pledge of $23,927 of the Navajo County’s total Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF) allocation to the National Center for Public Lands Counties for the next two years. Once capitalized, the National Association of Counties would be able to hire the necessary talent to conduct important public lands-related research and create associated content. It will also place The Center on a sustainable financial course. Importantly, The Center’s resources will not be used for partisan political purposes.
* Authorized the extinguishing a public roadway easement over the South 25’ of the southwest ¼ of the south east ¼ of Section 21, Township 12 North, Range 17 East of the Gila And Salt River Base and Meridian Recorded On Fee# 1962-04550.
The next meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28, in the board chambers, located at 100 E. Code Talkers Drive.
