Sequoyah County Commissioners at their Jan. 8 meeting elected District 3 Commissioner Jim Rogers to chair the county board for 2024.

District 2 Commissioner Beau Burlison, who chaired the board in 2023, was elected vice chair for 2024.

Rogers, who has served as a county commissioner for the past 13 years, also serves as president of the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma.

Jonathan Teague, director for the Sequoyah County Emergency Management, was also appointed floodplain administrator for the county. The commissioners also approved a hazard mitigation assistance sub-application local match commitment letter as well as an application for federal assistance, both for Sequoyah County Emergency Management.

In addition, Burlison was appointed as a new board member for the Community Economic Development (CED).

In other business, the commissioners opened bids “to build or repair guardrails.” The commissioners approved installation of 200 linear feet of guardrail on Indian Road at the intersection of S-4453 (Hubler) and installation of 500 linear feet of guardrail on S-4450 Road south of Vian. They also approved repair of guardrail on Indian Road, as well as guardrail repair on Old U.S. Highway 17 (South 4600 Road).

Two bids for the guardrail projects were received — Custom Pavement Maintenance and Safety LLC of Van Buren, Ark., for $48,250, and TNT Concrete Services of Park Hill for $82,551. Since the projects are to occur within District 2, Burlison will review the bids to ensure they meet specifications for the jobs. The commissioners are expected to award the bid at their Jan. 15 meeting.

The commissioners also approved a lease renewal for the county assessor’s office of a Kyocera copier from Wight Office Machines, and also approved an equipment upgrade.