By Nolan Madden The Navajo County Board of Supervisors and managing staff transitioned their administrative duties Tuesday as the new year began. Notable this week were the appointments of District III Supervisor Jason E. Whiting as board chair, succeeding District V Supervisor Dawnafe Whitesinger, and District II Supervisor Jesse Thompson as board vice chairman. Whitesinger is highly regarded as a pioneer among her peers, and in the communities of Navajo and Apache counties, bridging the gap between cultures as the first White Mountain Apache to serve on the county board and the first woman to serve as chair. “I am grateful to the board, staff and public, not only for your kindness, but I really do marvel at your convictions to serve the community. It strengthens all of us, and we become a strength to one another. And I’m grateful to be a part of that and to have had the opportunity to grow from that,” she said. Whiting joined the board in October 2014 to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Sylvia Allen. He represents District III, including the communities of Holbrook, Snowflake, Taylor, Woodruff, Joseph City, Shumway, Silver Lake Estates and White Mountain Lakes. He expressed gratitude to his fellow supervisors for the honor of being elected chairman, noting, “I want to first say thank you to my fellow supervisors for their trust and support in electing me and Supervisor Thompson as chairman and vice chairman. As far as for me, I hope that I can serve our citizens well on the board as well as Supervisor Whitesinger has done.” In presenting with Thompson a plaque of appreciation for 2015 service to his predecessor, Whiting expressed how much he has valued Whitesinger’s leadership. “You are intelligent, you’re wise and you’re fair. It’s been an honor working with you and continuing to work with you. Hopefully, I can follow in your footsteps,” he said. Another transitioning official honored Tuesday was former Assistant County Manager Homero Vela, who began his retirement Jan. 8. Vela served the citizens of Navajo County for 11 years, beginning his local career in 2005 as deputy director of flood control. In 2009, he became the interim public works director, and was appointed public works director in July of that year. He became assistant county manager in June 2014. Vela received a worthy sendoff of well-wishes, gifts and heartfelt words of appreciation from county supervisors and staff, as well as local and federal officials with whom he has worked, including former County Supervisor J.R. Despain, representatives of the Navajo Nation, White Mountain Apache and Hopi tribes, the City of Winslow and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Vela is succeeded by new Assistant County Manager Bryan Layton. In other action Jan. 12 the board: * Approved the acceptance of a Police Data Sharing Grant in the amount of $45,000 from the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission to the Navajo County Attorney’s Office and the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office. With these funds, both offices propose a dramatic increase in communication, productivity and information sharing between the agencies. * Approved the acceptance of a pre-disaster mitigation grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) in the amount of $30,000. This grant will be utilized to update the Navajo County Hazard Mitigation Plan. The current plan incorporates the cities and towns of the county, as well as the unincorporated areas. The grant will be used to retain a contractor to assist the county with the review and update of all areas of the plan. Also approved was the acceptance of the balance of a Homeland Security grant award in the amount of $5,500. USDHS reallocates the remaining balance of previous partially awarded funds to eligible agencies. The funds will be used to purchase sheriff’s office first aid response kits, used to outfit sheriff’s deputies with first aid supplies needed in the field. * Approved the purchase of residential property by the Navajo County Flood Control District for $25,000 in the Pine Meadows area owned by Thomas and Sheila Winkelspecht. The property was approved by the county for the installation of a septic system and later determined to have been assessed in error by the county not to have been located in a floodway. The property was later found to be almost entirely in a floodway and prohibited by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for construction within the designated area of the floodplain, and the construction permit was denied by the county. All concerns presented by the Winkelspechts have been satisfied by the Navajo County Flood Control District purchasing this property for $25,000. * Received a county finance update from Finance Director James Menlove. * Approved the consent agenda, including Dec. 8, 2015, meeting minutes and Dec. 29, 2015 special meeting minutes, warrant and voucher reports over $1,000 for December 2015, Clerk of the Superior Court and Juvenile Probation reports for November 2015, November and December 2015 constable reports for Snowflake Precinct No. 5, and Pinetop-Lakeside Precinct No. 6 constable reports for November 2015. Also, November 2015 Justice Court Reports for Holbrook Precinct No. 1, Winslow Precinct No. 2, Snowflake Precinct No. 3, Kayenta Precinct No. 4, Show Low Precinct No. 5 and Pinetop-Lakeside Precinct No. 6 were approved. An independent contractor agreement with Vela was approved, for professional services for Navajo County Public Works, Flood Control, Health District, and intergovernmental relations with the Navajo Nation, the White Mountain Apache Tribe and the Hope Tribe. A contract for public defense services performed by Dirk LeGate for cases assigned out of Superior Court Division II from Jan. 4 through June 30, 2016, was approved. A March 8 election date for the City of Winslow was approved. Contracts to be signed by the county manager per board resolution included the modification of a grant or agreement with the USDA Forest Service for services administered by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests service unit in Springerville. All properties sold as auctioned on the back tax land online auction and allowance by the Clerk of the Board to sell the unsold properties over the counter for the amount due were approved. A sympathy letter to the Leonard Haskie family was approved. * Approved a proclamation declaring Jan. 27-29, 2016, as Hashknife Pony Express Week, and presented a certificate of appreciation to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Hashknife Posse in recognition of their efforts in supporting the event’s legacy. * Approved the Navajo County Public Health Services District Consent Agenda, including: renewal of professional services contracts with Kristi Wahl, RN, Rebecca Sowers, RN, and Mauriah Walker, RN, for Public Health Nursing services through the HIV, STD, Immunization, TB and Family Planning grants, as well as billable nursing service programs, effective Jan. 1-Dec. 31 in the amount of $35 per hour; a professional services contract with Debra Smalley, CNM, for Nurse Practitioner services through the Title V Family Planning Grant, and Family Planning Insured Programs, effective Jan. 1-Dec. 31 in the amount of $2,000 per month; a professional services contract with Tamra Cannon, RDH, for dental hygiene services through the Dental Sealant Program effective Jan. 1-Dec. 31 in the amount of $45 per hour; and amendment No. 2 of a contract with the Arizona Department of Health Services for the Healthy People Healthy Communities grant in the amount of $411,701.50. * Approved the appointment of White Mountain Lakes County Recreation Improvement District Advisory Committee members. The next regular board meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at the county complex in Holbrook.
