A contract with the county’s interim road and bridge superintendent has been extended and the search continues for a permanent hire after a “wrinkle in the recruitment process,” Board of County Commissioners Chairman Ben Tisdel said Tuesday.
The county has been trying to hire a new superintendent for more than a year. Bill Frownfelter, engineer with Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. has served as interim road and bridge superintendent since the position was vacated in October 2019. His compan...
A contract with the county’s interim road and bridge superintendent has been extended and the search continues for a permanent hire after a “wrinkle in the recruitment process,” Board of County Commissioners Chairman Ben Tisdel said Tuesday.
The county has been trying to hire a new superintendent for more than a year. Bill Frownfelter, engineer with Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. has served as interim road and bridge superintendent since the position was vacated in October 2019. His company was previously called Russell Planning and Engineering.
The new contract is for 18 hours per week. Frownfelter was originally contracted for only eight hours per week He travels to the county one day a week from Durango, and mileage costs of $425 for nine travel days are added to his rate of $190/hr.
The estimated cost to the county for the contract to be extended until the end of March is $31,205, bringing the total since October ano to 8229,681.80. The full-time roads superintendent position is advertised to pay between $91,397 to $102,927.
County Administrator Connie Hunt attributed the high cost of Frownfelter’s position to him also serving as an engineer for the county, which would be an additional cost if he was not already qualified and willing to provide that service.
Commissioner Lynn Padgett asked why a new contract was needed, as the last update to commissioners in January indicated the recruitment process was going well and the county had a good candidate lined up for the position.
Tisdel, who is on the hiring committee, said the “wrinkle in the recruitment process” was “regarding full time availability” of the candidate.
“We thought we were good to go last time,” Hunt said, adding the hiring committee was surprised by “another counter-offer,” indicating the chosen finalist is considering other options.
Though negotiations are possibly ongoing with the candidate, Hunt said she would again seek help from a recruiting firm.
“I don’t want to settle for less on this position. I think it is really critical that we get the best person,” Hunt said.
A similar situation occurred last spring, when the county also had a good candidate for the position and made an offer That person ultimately declined the offer over housing and pay concerns, according to Hunt. The county suspended the search in summer of 2020 and resumed it again in September.
