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Commissioners interview four finalists, select county public works director as top pick; HR and DA to negotiate
Summary
After interviewing four finalists for county manager, the Churchill County Board of County Commissioners selected Public Works Director Chris Spross as the preferred candidate with Jennifer Savage as alternate and directed human resources and the district attorney’s office to negotiate employment terms.
The Churchill County Board of County Commissioners interviewed four finalists for county manager and voted to designate Chris Spross, the county’s public works director, as the board’s top candidate and Jennifer Savage as the alternate.
The commission conducted structured interviews with four finalists: Pete (Pete Jankowski), Leif Steinbaugh, Chris Spross and Jennifer Savage. The board used standardized questions for fairness and allotted time for written assessments to supplement oral interviews. County legal counsel and staff explained the interview rules and the timeline. After deliberation and a short roll call, the board passed a motion naming Spross as the selected candidate and Savage as the alternate and directed the human resources manager and the district attorney’s office to negotiate employment conditions and return to the board with a recommended agreement.
Candidates’ backgrounds, as presented in the interviews, included a range of local‑government, military and public‑service experience. Pete Jankowski described decades of municipal management experience in New England. Leif Steinbaugh emphasized his 30‑year Navy career and command experience, including leading Naval Air Station Fallon. Chris Spross, who has worked for Churchill County since 2020 as public works director and previously held senior roles in construction and project management, said his work at the county included managing capital projects and grants; commissioners cited his inside knowledge of ongoing county projects during deliberations. Jennifer Savage presented a background in state and local health and administrative leadership with experience in modernization, data reporting and technology adoption.
A motion recorded in the meeting text said: “I will move to approve, Christian Spross as the selected candidate for County Manager with Ms. Jennifer Savage as the alternate and direct the human resources manager and the DA to go into negotiations contractually for that position.” The motion was seconded, taken to voice vote (“Aye… motion carries”), and recorded by staff as adopted. No roll‑call vote with named votes was taken in the public minutes; the board instructed staff to negotiate terms and return with a negotiated employment agreement for final approval.
Why it matters: The county manager is the county’s chief executive for daily operations and capital projects; the board’s choice determines who will oversee implementation of priorities such as courthouse renovation, infrastructure improvements and active land‑use projects referenced during interviews.
Process notes and next steps: The county attorney explained the interview process was standard and that written assessments would be considered in deliberation. The board asked staff to negotiate employment terms with the selected candidate and an alternate so the board would have options if the first negotiation failed. Commissioners set a follow‑up meeting to receive negotiated terms and approve a final employment agreement.
(Reporting note: Quotes and paraphrases are drawn from the public meeting transcript; the motion text is verbatim from the record.)
