The following are highlights from today’s Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting:
1. Board provides direction to staff to appeal possible move of Post Office operations to Sacramento: The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has put forward a plan to convert the Vassar Street Post Office, which currently serves as a Processing and Distribution Center, into a Local Processing Center, effectively transferring the processing of outgoing mail to Sacramento. This is part of a $40 million investment strategy to upgrade and improve postal service.
Concerns raised by staff and commissioners center on the impact of sending mail over Donner Summit, which is often impacted and even closed by inclement weather. This could slow down the delivery of important mail, including tax and permit notices, election mail, public meeting notices, and other county correspondence, as well as mail for the state capital and businesses across northern Nevada.
“I’m concerned that the quality of postal service would diminish by moving this sorting center across state lines, across a major mountain pass; you have a great distance, weather, traffic, wrecks, a lot of reasons why I think it would diminish the quality of service,” Commissioner Mike Clark said. “I look at so many unintended consequences: people getting medicines, bills, late fees, things that will cause people hardship. As our community grows, the last thing we need is less postal service.”
2. Board appoints Eric Crump as director of the Community Services Department: The Board unanimously appointed Operations Division Director Eric Crump to the position of Director of the Community Services Department (CSD). This role was previously filled by Assistant County Manager Dave Solaro, who has served as both CSD director and ACM since 2017.
Human Resources received 82 applications for the position. The Screening Committee, composed of representatives from the City of Sparks, City of Reno, and the Sun Valley General
Eric Crump
Improvement District, reviewed candidate materials for 10 candidates who met the minimum qualifications. They subsequently recommended five candidates to move forward to the first round of interviews, and three candidates were recommended to move forward to the final round of interviews.
The interview panel unanimously selected Eric Crump to be recommended to the Board of County Commissioners for appointment as Washoe County Director of Community Services. Crump received his Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Administration with an emphasis in Park and Natural Resources Management from California State University, Chico. He also completed the Advanced Leadership Academy program through the University of Nevada, Reno Extended Studies. He has held several positions within the Washoe County Community Services Department, including Park District Manager and Park Operations Superintendent. He is currently the Operations Division Director for the Washoe County Community Services Department and has been in this role for approximately 10 years. In addition, he served as the acting Director of Community Services for approximately six months during his tenure.
“I’ve had the pleasure to work with Eric for many years, and I have seen his dedication to the residents of our county firsthand,” Solaro said. “I want to congratulate and thank him, I look forward to seeing his vision for the Community Services Department and the work we do for our community.”
3. Board approves turf replacement at Jan Evans Juvenile Justice Center: Artificial turf that has been in place for nearly 20 years at the Juvenile Justice Center has exceeded its useful life and needs to be replaced for the safety of the juveniles housed at Wittenberg Hall. The turf replacement is a $300,000 Capital Improvement Project will have a net-zero impact on the Washoe County budget as it will be paid with cross-fund budget appropriation.
“Those kids deserve a great place to be outdoors and our managers saw that and advocated for that project, so thank you so much for making that happen,” Hill said.
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