The Nye County Public Works Department has been under the leadership of acting director Tom Bolling since February but Bolling is no longer acting the part, having been officially confirmed to his new position on April 19.
Bolling replaces former public works director Tim Dahl, who took over the department in late 2017 and then retired earlier this year.
Bolling has been employed with public works for just under two years. He joined the department in July 2020 as assistant director.
“When I was hired as the assistant director, I didn’t know the director was going to retire so early,” Bolling told commissioners during their meeting on Tuesday morning. “So it was kind of a crash-course in the last year and a half on what the county is and what the county deals with, what the public works department actually deals with, all the facets. I have been cramming and crashing and over the last year and a half, I’ve learned that we need a lot of things done, and a lot of stuff fixed, basically. And that’s what I am here to do.”
Nye County Commission Chair Frank Carbone told Bolling that he knows the job is not an easy one and Bolling will have a plethora of responsibilities to balance, not least of which is being responsive to each of the commissioners as well as the public.
Commissioner Debra Strickland did not seem to have any worries about Bolling, noting that she has known him for many years and watched him grow with his family’s business, Bolling Construction. “Thank you for stepping up,” Strickland remarked.
Commissioner Leo Blundo commented on Bolling’s deep roots in the community too, adding that thus far, he has successfully taken the reins of the department and has proven a good choice for the position. Bolling has the knowledge to tackle the job, commissioner Bruce Jabbour noted, and following that Blundo made the motion to ratify the selection of Bolling as public works director.
Before the motion could come to a vote, however, commissioner Donna Cox chimed in to state that she would like to have a six-month probation period added to the motion. This would allow the commission to review how Bolling has performed before giving him the position permanently.
Blundo said he thought that condition was already part of the management employees bargaining agreement but county manager Tim Sutton explained that was not the case. The probation period only applies to new employees, Sutton said, and therefore would not cover Bolling.
Blundo did not seem to find this a problem, telling Cox his motion would stand as stated. As a result, the vote was 4-1, with Cox the sole voice against ratification.
Bolling is a longtime Pahrump resident, with a news release detailing that he graduated from Pahrump Valley High School in 1996. “He brings 25 years of public works type of experience to the county, having worked for various private companies in multiple jurisdictions involving multiple private and public development contracts,” the release reads.
His duties include organizing, directing and coordinating the various divisions of public works, which encompass road maintenance for over 2,800 miles of county roads, solid waste management, fleet maintenance and oversight of the Gabbs, Tonopah and Beatty airports.
For more information on the public works department visit www.NyeCountyNV.gov
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com