Forthcoming change in county Road and Bridge management

 The retiring Mike Salyards will spend his last day on the job as the Phillips County Road and Bridge Department Manager on Thursday, Feb. 29. He has been employed with the county since 1985. At the February 9 Phillips County Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board approved Salyards’ request to move assistant manager, Kevin Scott, to fill the Road and Bridge manager’s position, effective March 1. Scott works in the Road and Bridge District 2 office in Holyoke. 

The board also approved Salyard’s requests to move Dave Salyards to Road and Bridge Supervisor for District 3 (Haxtun) and Rick Hinck to Road and Bridge Supervisor for District 1 (Amherst), both effective March 1. 

During the meeting, the board met with Maintenance Supervisor Lonnie Vernon and Assistant Maintenance Supervisor Brandon Markert to discuss various topics having to do with property and business at the fairgrounds. The items regarded the racetrack, cleaning of the Event Center on weekends and associated overtime pay, diaper-changing stations at the BOC Pavilion, and the style of the gate to be installed between the racetrack and midway. 

Markert, who is also the president of the Phillips County Fair Board, updated the board about the application process for the Fair Manager position. 

The board met with Salyards and Scott to discuss the County’s in-kind support commitment to the Holyoke Childcare Center. A motion was approved to increase the previous commitment of 50 loads of fill dirt to 100 loads. The county will still provide, also in kind, a roll-off dumpster for construction debris and other trash. 

In additional business, the board approved the county clerk’s request to pay fees from online payment reports to the Colorado Department of Revenue. Hourly rate increases were approved for two part-time employees in the Road and Bridge Department