Officials address DMV outage, report on county-wide projects

At the Sept. 2 Eureka County Commission meeting, officials asked residents for patience as they worked through a backlog of services caused by a recent statewide system security breach. Beyond the immediate issue, county leaders provided a comprehensive overview of ongoing projects across various departments, from technology and public works to natural resources.

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Following the statewide system security breach, Eureka County Assessor Michael Mears reported that the DMV website was down, though the county later announced that services had resumed. Officials requested patience from the public as they worked to clear the backlog created by the outage, which stemmed from a state-level security breach. Mears noted that some data had been breached and that the FBI was involved. 

“We hope everybody will be patient when we are back up and running,” Mears said, “because…we’re already seeing what kind of backlog we’re building up with this being down just a week, so the longer it goes, the more people we’re going to have to try to take care of, and we’ll get all of you as best we can, but we appreciate patience.”

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Technology and Public Safety Upgrades

In a comprehensive report on county-wide initiatives, Chief Information Officer Misty Rowley provided an update on several key projects. The Sheriff’s Office phones have been integrated into the SMARSH archiving system, and a new fingerprint server has been installed in partnership with Sybernetworks. Rowley’s team is also working on a range of IT projects, including o365 Backup deployment, the DMARC project, and single sign-on integration for the County ERP program.

Jeb Rowley and Misty Rowley are also troubleshooting radio connectivity issues. New equipment for Eureka Dispatch is currently being tested; while it can send and receive information, it’s not yet connecting to the phones, a problem being addressed by the company, E-Dispatch.

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Roads, Buildings, and Infrastructure

Assistant Public Works Director Raymond Hodson outlined progress on road maintenance and winter preparations. Crews have bladed several roads, including Mustang, Third Street, Mark Damele Road, and 6th Street, with work ongoing on 7th Street and Sadler Road. Additionally, the county has secured two loads of salt to mix with sand for the coming winter.

Jeb Rowley noted that crews have completed work at the Diamond Valley Fire Station and are now at the Sheriff’s Office to install a door and cover bulletproof material. Other ongoing projects include HVAC work, meter installations, water testing, and tree trimming along Spring Street in Eureka to address potential hazards to power lines.

Looking ahead, micro-paving for Airport Road in Crescent Valley is scheduled for September 8, with concrete work in Eureka aiming for a tentative pave date of September 16. The county has also received grant funding for the Airport Project, which will kick off next spring. In a move to improve energy conservation, the commission approved advertising for bids to upgrade 27 windows at the Eureka County Courthouse, with the work slated for next year.

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Natural Resources and Water Management

Natural Resources Director Jake Tibbitts provided a detailed report on several critical environmental and land-use matters. The Natural Resource Advisory Committee (NRAC) recently met, and Tibbitts is actively following up on meetings related to mining permits.

The BLM is opening a 30-day public comment period on September 3 to address “significant changes” to the Greater Sage Grouse Plans. Tibbitts and the NRAC will review the extensive 50-page document of proposed changes. Additionally, Tibbitts highlighted the Fish and Wildlife Service’s rescission of section 4B of the Endangered Species Act as a significant development for the county.

In a move to update the County Water Resources Master Plan, Tibbitts presented a preliminary draft and noted the plan is now a mandatory requirement for all counties. The commission also approved an RFP to find a new contract hydrogeologist to replace Dale Bugenig, who has served the county for 20 years and will be stepping down on September 30.

The Eureka County Commission approved:

• Expenditures of $3,585,156.44 with a pass-through of $729.04.
• Purchase of Ironclad contract management software, in the annual amount of $41,000.00 (with a one-time service fee of $17,500.00; a total of $58,500 for the first year) for 20 users and to allow the Clerk to sign outside of the meeting for a 36-month term.
• A resolution authorizing the lease of real property consisting of Assessor’s Parcel No. 001-221-14 containing approximately 83,181 square feet to the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows to be developed as The Boys and Girls Club of Eureka County.
• A right of entry to allow development activities to begin to build the Boys and Girls Club.
• The Lease Agreement between the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows and allow Chair Rich McKay to sign outside of the meeting.
• Providing monetary assistance to the Tri-County Victim Witness Services Program in an amount not to exceed $5,800.00 for fiscal year 2025. Funds are to be monitored in tandem by the Eureka County District Attorney’s Office and Eureka County Sheriff’s Office.
• A one-time credit card increase for the month of September for Deputy District Attorney Holli Else of $1,000.00 ($1,500.00 total) to pay for hotel fees for the 2025 Prosecutors Conference  held at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on September 10-12, 2025, and registration fees and hotel fees for the 2025  Nevada Government Civil Attorneys’ Conference held at Bally’s Lake Tahoe on October 1-3, 2025.
• The medical, dental, vision and life insurance plans for Calendar Year 2026 for benefited employees and retirees including designation of the sponsored medical plan and authorize signing of all related documents and agreements outside the meeting.
• Setting retiree health insurance premium subsidy rates for Calendar Year 2026 for Eureka County retirees hired prior to July 1, 2009.
• A permanent credit limit increase, for a $3,500.00 recurring monthly limit, on the County purchasing card issued to Jessica Santoyo to accommodate ordering and purchasing supplies, software and subscriptions for the IT Department.
• A yearly recurring payment for web application firewall services from Cloudflare in an amount of $2,400 on Jessica Santoyo’s Credit Card.
• Renewing the Digital Solutions Agreement with GHD Digital for the annual recurring fee of $13,388.76 for the term September 1, 2025 – August 31, 2026, which covers hosting and licensing of the website, to be paid with monies budgeted for contract services (010-018-53010-058) in the Technology Support budget and authorize the CIO to sign outside of the meeting. 
• Estimate #1451 ECSO – LiveScan Server from Syber Networks for a not to exceed amount of $8,327.93 utilizing funds budgeted for capital outlay (010-018-55010-000) in the Technology Support budget.
• Ratifying a 3/4-inch residential water meter and service application to serve APN  002-052-24 in the Town of Crescent Valley.
• A capital outlay purchase for one new 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe Sport Utility Vehicle 4×4, four-door, five-to-six passenger, not to exceed amount of $70,224.25, utilizing capital outlay funds budgeted for the county carpool (042-140-55010-091) in the Capital Projects Fund to be made under the State of Nevada Fleet Vehicle Purchasing Agreement #99SWC-S1495.
• Authorizing Public Works to engage a qualified general appraiser, selected from the appraisers identified by Resolution of the Board (adopted December 5, 2023), to conduct an appraisal on the property (a portion of APN 001-221-14) located in the Eureka Canyon Subdivision and designated as the site for the Eureka Boys & Girls Club.
• A credit card increase of $1,000.00 for Irma Davila, for the month of September, to purchase the hotel registration for Melissa Schweble to attend Girls Circle Facilitator training in Oakland, CA on September 10-13, 2025.
• Out of state travel for Melissa Schweble to attend Girls Circle Facilitator training in Oakland, CA on September 10-13, 2025.
• Response on the Draft EA for the Callaghan Complex Wild Horse Gather.

Find more county commission updates at EurekaSentinel.com.