Whimple retires after 13 years with county

The Churchill County Commissioners held their first meeting of the month on Thursday, and recognized Joseph R. Whimple for his retirement after 13 years of service to the county.

Debi Kissick, administrative aide for the Churchill County Planning Department, said Whimple started with the county Feb. 20, 2001, at 19 hours per week. As more people became aware of the county’s Code Enforcement Officer and growth in the community was booming, more and more complaints came in, she said.

“Rick was highly effective in this job because of his previous experience in the military, U.S. Marine Corps, and his experience as a police officer,” Kissick said. “Rick spearheaded working with the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and the Navy on some public lands clean-up jobs. From that, a group of interested and concerned citizens joined forces to clean up several locations along some equestrian trails and other recreational areas where people were illegally dumping their trash.”

Kissick said that movement led to the county changing Code Enforcement to a fulltime position.

She said Whimple assisted in identifying where the county needed to strengthen its code and by researching and drafting a number of amendments to the county code. Kissick said Whimple was aware of the various trainings and certifications he needed and dedicated the time and effort to that so he could do his job effectively.

She said he formed good relationships with the various state agencies that he worked with and really took Code Enforcement to a new level for Churchill County.

County Manager Eleanor Lockwood has nothing but positive things to say about Whimple.

“He’s worked really hard and has now made a good decision, I believe, to retire,” Lockwood said. “But I don’t believe he’s going to stay retired for very long from what I’ve gathered from him. I would like to show my appreciation to Rick by saying thank you for all of the hard work that he’s done.”

Other items discussed and/or approved by the commissioners include the following:

Approved a motion to submit the grant requested for $10,000 to the Nevada Court Improvement Program to support the implementation of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program as indicated by the signature of the vice chair of the Board of County Commissioners.

Approved authorization to the director of Social Services to electronically submit the grant request of $60,000 to the Hearst Foundation to support the implementation of the Churchill County CASA program.

Tabled Bill 2014-A, Ordinance No. 71, an ordinance making corrections, deletions, additions, and minor revisions to Title 13 Water and Sewer, Sections 13.02.010 through 13.04.1060 and Sections 13.05.110 through 13.05.1110.

Approved Planning Director Michael Johnson as the active Code Enforcement Officer when the current code enforcement officer retires, authorizing him to impose fines, fees and other duties assigned to the code enforcement officer.

Approved the request for a three-year extension from Simmie Dee Travis for presentations and final maps for the El Rancho PUD, APN: 008-263-14, 18 and 21, until Feb. 28, 2017.

Approved the New Nevada Lands Division into large parcels map for APN: 004-431-06, TCID 13-000, Section 5, Township 23 North, Range 29 East, on the Lovelock Highway, subject to acquisition of an encroachment permit from the Nevada Department of Transportation if required, in compliance with Churchill County Code.

Approved the New Nevada Lands Division into large parcels map for APN: 004-431-21, TCID 13-000, Section 19, Township 23 North, Range 29 East, on the Lovelock Highway, subject to acquisition of an encroachment permit from the Nevada Department of Transportation if required, maintenance of the 60 foot existing public road way of South boundary of Parcel 1, in compliance with Churchill County Code.

Approved the franchise extension agreement between the county and Southwest Gas to provide time to negotiate a long-term franchise agreement.