The Elko County Commission appointed two members to the county Planning Commission and deferred the remainder of contested seats so county staff and applicants could be heard at a later meeting.

Corey Rice, Elko County senior planner, told the commission there were four seats with expired terms; one seat had been vacant after a resignation and the Planning Commission recommended Naomi Roche to fill that vacancy. Rice said he needed at least two confirmed appointees before an upcoming Planning Commission meeting to achieve a quorum.

Scott Gavorski, an applicant and Elko resident, addressed the commission and said he applied because of his work on development and demographic issues and his interest in serving. “I’m interested in the Planning Commission partially for a lot of my work on development and demographic issues,” Gavorski said.

Naomi Roche, one of the applicants, spoke about her professional training. “I love Elko County... I am trained to design and to plan responsibly. I have a degree in architecture and I have recently been working toward getting licensed in architecture,” Roche said.

After discussion, the commission approved appointments to fill two seats: Mark Wetmore and Naomi Roche. The commission said it would leave the remaining contested seats open and revisit them at the commission’s next meeting so more applicants and commissioners could participate.

The commission recorded the appointments and scheduled the remaining vacancies to be considered at the second meeting in January.