Roosevelt County commissioners approve radios for fire chief, confirm multiple hires and a retirement notice

Roosevelt County commissioners approved the purchase of two radios intended to let the county fire chief and assistant communicate with mutual-aid agencies and aircraft, and they confirmed multiple personnel actions, including hires, pay raises and a planned GIS administrator resignation.

The board voted to accept a vendor quote of $8,493.90 to supply the two radios needed by the fire marshal and assistant chief, Speaker 1 said. Members asked whether the radios would include Roosevelt County frequencies; Speaker 1 said they “will be loaded.” The purchase will come out of the county budget, Speaker 1 said.

Why it matters: equipping the fire chief with interoperable radios is meant to improve coordination with other agencies and aircraft during large incidents; the expense will be borne by the county general budget rather than the fire fund.

In personnel actions, commissioners moved to accept multiple hires and pay changes. The board approved hiring Daniel Mann Steel for the library after additional background checks, hired Melvin Nesbitt (position referenced in the minutes), and approved Marissa Follett for 9-1-1 dispatch with a first day of Dec. 5. The board also approved annual pay raises for detention center employee Toby Clark and employee Nathaniel Clark; the transcript does not specify whether those two employees are related.

The board approved manual pay-rate adjustments for a library employee listed as Lisonbee and for dispatch employee Kayla Portra.

The commission accepted GIS administrator Clayton Vine’s resignation effective in six months. Speaker 4 described Vine’s departure as a retirement after “31 years, 31 years, 6 months,” and members thanked him for his service. Speaker 1 and others noted that Vine “took the system and brought it to life,” given the county’s prior lack of a GIS.

What’s next: commissioners said they will decide how to cover the volunteer TV district duties Vine also handled; no formal action was required for the volunteer role at this meeting.

Quotes: “They will be loaded,” Speaker 1 said when asked whether the radios would include Roosevelt County frequencies. Speaker 4 said of Vine’s departure, “I view it more as a retirement 31 years.”

The motions to approve purchases, hires and raises were made, seconded and approved during the meeting; the minutes record members voting "Aye" and Speaker 1 announcing the motions passed.