Commission meeting highlights: Healthcare concerns, sheriff search, and community updates

The Eureka County Commissioners held their regular meeting on March 4. 

Local healthcare matters

Laura Shivers, Vice Chair of the Crescent Valley Medical Services Advisory Committee, read a statement from CVMSA Chairwoman Kim Sewell in which Sewell related that “the board is not satisfied with the level of care we are currently receiving at our clinic. Two days a week is not accommodating, especially when you are referred out for everything. We are very displeased at the fact that last fall, October/November 2024, our provider was out of the office for a lengthy time, at least three weeks we are aware of.”

Sewell said that while telehealth was offered during this time, only two telehealth visits were performed during the 2024 calendar year. November saw only five visits. She also noted, “The current contract does not mention telehealth when a provider is out.”

The committee chair questioned the fact that while the provider was out of the office for an extended time, the MA was still working three days a week, even though there were no patients. The committee voted to have the commissioners look into this and have them short-pay William B Ririe Hospital or the provider. 

Sewell noted the committee wants to bring Vitality Unlimited in to provide local mental health services. A client base already exists in the north end. This would allow patients to receive better care without the stress of having to find transportation. The committee is hoping for one to two days a week initially. Once a proposal is received, they will vote in committee and present it to the commissioners. 

Additionally, the committee is looking for transportation drivers for non-urgent medical visits and is assessing how to prevent EMS burnout. 

Elected official salary revisions

County Assessor Mike Mears continues to monitor SB116, the Elected Official Salary Bill, and negotiations are underway for a percentage catch-up revision of somewhere between 21 and 25 percent. They are trying to determine whether the annual increase would be tied to the state or local level. Mears said assessors are in favor of local control and out of statute “so we’re not at the mercy of the legislature every two years.” 

Applications for sheriff’s position

As the commission is in the process of advertising and accepting applications for the appointed sheriff’s position to begin April 1, 2025, HR Director Tasha Dunlap said she is receiving letters of interest, and interviews will be conducted at the next Commission meeting on March 25.

Healthy Paws 

Cindy Beutel, president of Healthy Paws of Nevada, came before the commission to request $5,000 towards the spay, neuter and well-being of animals in Eureka County. Beutel began by saying she missed Barbara Dugan, who was a tremendous help in Crescent Valley. Beutel said, “We helped with rescuing about 20 puppies that were starving to death in the heat of the summertime.” 

She said it costs $1,000 dollars to fix a litter of four. Nevada Gold Mines donated $5,000 last year, and the Elizabeth Warren Foundation donated about $3,000 to help with emergencies. 

The commission approved the request.

Increased library hours

Shivers came before the commission to request they consider increasing the Crescent Valley Library contract to 18 hours a week from 13.5. “I am asking for another 4.5 hours a week to be added as an extra day so our library would be open four days a week,” Shivers said. “We’re closed more days than we’re open. We need more hours to service our community.” She noted that residents who don’t have the internet and don’t have the funds to get to Carlin or Elko to get library books need those locally, especially when many individuals need a cool space during the summer.

Commissioner Michael Schoenwald noted the position will remain “casual,” and all the commissioners supported the change. The contract will be renegotiated in July. 

Fiber optic 

In IT news, Mike Mears related that “SkyFiber was awarded the contract to bring fiber optic to all the houses in Diamond Valley by the end of 2026, with up to one gigabyte of service available to each site for somewhere around $100 a month” based on federal funding for rural fiber development. Mears said Diamond Valley out to 20th Street will be served by the end of 2026.

The fiber will be a combination of aerial, utilizing existing power lines and underground, with easement agreements being negotiated. “They’re going to use as much aerial as possible,” he said. 

Job openings and upcoming trainings

Tasha Dunlap related there is a position open for a deputy district attorney, an equipment operator in Crescent Valley and a telecommunicator. There were interviews for the Crescent Valley EMTs on Thursday, March 5, and EMT interviews have been completed in Eureka. A verbal de-escalation training is tentatively scheduled for April 7-9. There will be a supervisor training for reasonable suspicion on March 27, and finance training in Ely on March 28. Dunlap reported the recent anti-harassment training had over 50 participants.

Sheriff’s Office 

Acting Sheriff Miles Umina reported the retrofit at the Sheriff’s Office by Public Works is “coming along great,” with ballistic material for the front expected in a couple of weeks. Umina noted the AT&T contract for the Vesta 911 system has been signed, but he doubts the work will be done during this fiscal year.

Two candidates are in background check and will probably go to Crescent Valley. Umina affirmed the Sheriff’s Office is selective about who they hire and explained the hiring process can sometimes take two to three months.

The Sheriff’s Office is focusing more on Main Street in Eureka, with the hopes of reducing speeding.

Public Works

Raymond Hudson, assistant public works director, said the Road Department has been running the shredding plant at the Collingwood Pit for most of the month. They’ve made a big pile of road waste and moved the equipment to Roberts Creek, where they’re making material for culverts. The rubber pile was returned to Reno. Approximately 11 pallets of rubber were used. They finished mowing on the JD, Tompkin and Willows Roads and are blading shoulders. They have everything ready on the North End to haul to Sadler Road. The North End crew did hauling on the Dry Hills Road and has been blading and reworking cattle guards. 

Public Works Director Jeb Rowley related there are fire system repairs underway in buildings that have fire monitoring systems with Western States Fire, getting batteries and other minor repairs done ahead of inspections. They are also working on replacing delineators at the airport. Rowley said a lot of plumbing repairs are underway at the Sheriff’s Office Holding Site to bring them back up to functionality. The x-ray machine installation is slated for March 17.

The annual certification of the mileage of county roads is delayed, as there is a 30 mile-difference between NDOT’s numbers and the county’s. There will be a meeting with NDOT to reconcile the numbers.

Rowley noted there is SkyFiber fiber installation happening at Fish Creek Road, and they are doing plan review to make sure there is coordination as they bore under roads and cross drainages.

Rowley related ISO review is scheduled for March 19 in Crescent Valley, with the last review having been done in 2015. ISO is an independent organization that does evaluation of community fire protection and infrastructure that is the underwriting process for commercial and residential fire insurance and is “an intensive review of communication centers: the fire department, the water systems.” Rowley said, “It was very fortunate that we had an opportunity to get that Water Master Plan completed before this happened for hydrant locations and system access.” That will entail coordination with the Fire Chief Jeremy Rice and Public Works. The rating will determine insurance premiums. 

Kobeh Valley Well 

The commission approved accepting the Kobeh Valley Well and Transmission Main Preliminary Engineering Report, which ran concurrent with the Water Master Plan and is the supporting documentation for the future growth in the Eureka and Devil’s Gate area. The document will be used going forward to support existing and future applications with the Division of Water Resources for water rights and for future grant opportunities.

Rowley and Lumos met March 6 to discuss where the first test well will be located. Rowley said there are a series of exploration wells proposed, to be followed by a test well and then a production well.

Commissioners approved:

Expenditures of $310,631.17, including a pass-through to the Nevada Department of Taxation Room Tax of $84.55;

Minutes of the February 4, 2025 Meeting;

A request from Nona Kellerman to be removed as a member and to serve as an alternate member of the Crescent Valley Medical Services Advisory Committee;

Nicholas Collins to serve on the Crescent Valley Medical Services Advisory Committee as a member instead of as an alternate member;

A contribution to the Eureka County High School annual scholarship drive for the Class of 2025, to be paid with monies budgeted for miscellaneous grants in the commission budget;

A request by Cindy Beutel, president of Healthy Paws of Eureka, for funding in the amount of $5,000 towards the spay, neuter or well-being of animals in Eureka County;

A credit card increase for Jayme Halpin to $3,000 for materials and supplies to make building repairs at the Eureka Medical Clinic;

Purchase of a vending machine for the Eureka County Swimming Pool not to exceed the amount of $4,178, utilizing funds from Capital Outlay in the Buildings and Grounds Fund;

Accepting the Kobeh Valley Well and Transmission Main Preliminary Engineering Report prepared by Lumos and Associates.