By AMBER PATINO
The Washington County Board of County Commissioners met for their regular session on Thursday, October 23, approving contracts for disaster relief services and advancing the search for a new county administrator.
Commissioners approved a motion to contract with SLSCO LTD (SLS) as the county’s emergency food services provider for disaster relief catering. The contract was awarded following a previously advertised Request for Proposals (RFP), for which SLS was the sole bidder. County Attorney Clay Milton clarified that the agreement does not obligate the county to activate the contract in an emergency event, but secures the vendor as a resource in the event of a natural disaster.
In addition to food services, the board approved a motion to designate three vendors, Crowder Gulf, DRC Emergency Services, and Ceres Environmental, as contractors for debris cleanup following disaster events. After reviewing and scoring multiple RFPs, the motion to select the top three companies passed with a 3-2 vote. Milton noted that the county is not required to activate all three contracts simultaneously and may choose to engage only one vendor as needed, or choose to not activate any of them.
Tourist Development Council (TDC) Director Heather Lopez also addressed the board, announcing that Washington County has been awarded the America 250 Grant. The $50,000 grant will fund the Revolutionary Road Project, a self-guided driving tour featuring at least 10 interpretive panels tracing the path of a Revolutionary War-era road through the county. Commissioners approved motions to sign the grant agreement and to issue related RFPs.
In other business, the council made a motion to amend the County Administrator hiring process. Under the new procedure, all applications will be scored during a public meeting. The top-ranked candidates will then be contacted for interviews, also conducted publicly, rather than in one-on-one sessions with individual commissioners.
Following the review of current applications, the board announced the top five candidates: Andrew Fleener, James Thornton, Christopher Hyatt, James Williams, and Archie Cook. A special public meeting will be scheduled to conduct interviews with the finalists.
The next regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners is set for 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 13.
Ali Moreland