Grand County advisory board elects Chris Wilson chair, Melissa Jeffers vice chair; Erin named secretary

MOAB, Utah — The Grand County Economic Opportunity Advisory Board on Wednesday elected Chris Wilson to serve as its chair for the year and Melissa Jeffers as vice chair, and appointed a volunteer secretary for the meeting as members adjusted to a change in county staffing.

Rogers moved to elect Wilson and the motion was seconded by the mayor of Castle Valley, Jasmine Jerkett. The board voted by voice and raised hands; the chair announced the motion carried with no opposition. Wilson thanked members after the vote, saying, "Thank you all for trusting me," and asked for help running meetings under Robert's Rules and support with the agenda.

The motion to elect Jeffers as vice chair passed by voice; the chair announced the result as unanimous with one abstention. The board then nominated and unanimously approved Erin (nominated in the meeting) to act as secretary for the session.

Members discussed why the board needed a volunteer secretary: the commission administrator's office has taken over duties previously handled by county staff member Ben Alter and the board currently lacks a dedicated staff person to take minutes and manage administrative tasks. With that gap, the chair asked for volunteers to help with minute-taking and outreach for future meetings.

The changes to officers come as the board prepares to oversee and prioritize a set of upcoming grant efforts. The board recorded the officer elections in its minutes and will include the appointments in the official packet submitted to the county administrator.

What happens next: the newly elected chair and vice chair will oversee the process of drafting a public call for proposals for state economic development grants; the board agreed to continue meeting monthly and to assign a small group of members to draft the application materials and screening rubric.