Roosevelt commissioners vote to move second meeting time later

Roosevelt County commissioners on Tuesday voted 4-1 to have their second meeting each month start at 6 p.m. That’s so more community members can attend.

Commissioner Ron Lee Criswell suggested the change. He said he had received many suggestions for a later start.

“I know a lot of the public would like to come and voice their concerns to us about the county. Since we work for them, I think we need to see if we can be accommodating to them,” Criswell said.

County commission meetings are generally held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, beginning at 9 a.m., though adjustments are made to avoid conflicts.

The second meeting of the month will start at 6 p.m. starting in March.

Newly named Chairwoman Tina Dixon suggested trying it for a year to see if the later meetings start to bring in more people. “I think it would be better for us to lay that out there for the public and give them the option to attend,” she said.

Paul Grider opposed the 6 p.m. starts, saying they’d tried later starts before and attendance did not increase. He said later starts would conflict with local sports events.

Also Tuesday:

• Dixon was elected chairwoman on a 3-1 vote. Rodney Savage, nominated by Criswell, received the other vote.

• A special meeting is scheduled Jan. 25 to discuss a 20% increase for law enforcement insurance.