Pickerington narrowing candidates for in-house engineer
BY MICHELLE GEORGE
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
PICKERINGTON - City officials in Pickerington are inching closer to selecting the city's first in-house engineer.
A panel of seven people, including City Manager Tim Hansley and Mayor Mitch O'Brien, will meet Monday to review the 25 applications the city has received for the position.
Hansley said the panel will narrow the applications down to 10 at the meeting and start conducting interviews within the next few weeks.
''We'll eventually get the list down to five and then it will be up to council to select the person for the job,'' Hansley said.
Pickerington Mayor Mitch O'Brien cited two main reasons behind why hiring an in-house engineer will be a beneficial change for the city: cost and convenience.
The city currently contracts projects out to Columbus-based W.E. Stilson Consulting Group and operates with a staff engineer and two engineer inspectors.
But hiring an in-house engineer will save an estimated $75,000 to $95,000 as opposed to contracting the projects out, Hansley said.
''A lot of people think spending more money, but in fact, we're doing it to save money,'' he said.
O'Brien added the move will make it easier for city officials to work with an engineer who is in-house.
''The current contract we have doesn't allow for an engineer to be on-site all the time, so a lot of business has to be handled through phone or e-mail,'' he said.
O'Brien said the decision to hire an in-house engineer is one city officials started discussing last year. He said he would like to have the engineer hired by June or July.
''We started looking at cost savings and our engineering costs from previous years,'' O'Brien said. ''It was really a council decision.''
Hansley said city officials started collecting applications earlier this year to search for a candidate that would compliment the experience of staff engineer Brenda VanCleave.
''Our staff engineer has a more utility background, so we're looking for someone who has a traffic and transportation background,'' Hansley said.
Hansley said the person the city hires might earn around $80,000 a year, although the exact salary has not been determined at this time.
Hansley said he expects the city will continue to contract out some projects to W.E. Stilson.
O'Brien said he wants to stress that the city is not hiring an in-house engineer because of any problems with W.E. Stilson.
''I hope no one thinks that this has to do with dissatisfaction for W.E. Stilson,'' O'Brien said. ''This is strictly a cost savings move.''
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I guess we DO have a new sheriff in town. I can't imagine the previous administration wouldn't have taken this opportunity to really slam Stilson.
Great Job Mayor!
BY MICHELLE GEORGE
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
PICKERINGTON - City officials in Pickerington are inching closer to selecting the city's first in-house engineer.
A panel of seven people, including City Manager Tim Hansley and Mayor Mitch O'Brien, will meet Monday to review the 25 applications the city has received for the position.
Hansley said the panel will narrow the applications down to 10 at the meeting and start conducting interviews within the next few weeks.
''We'll eventually get the list down to five and then it will be up to council to select the person for the job,'' Hansley said.
Pickerington Mayor Mitch O'Brien cited two main reasons behind why hiring an in-house engineer will be a beneficial change for the city: cost and convenience.
The city currently contracts projects out to Columbus-based W.E. Stilson Consulting Group and operates with a staff engineer and two engineer inspectors.
But hiring an in-house engineer will save an estimated $75,000 to $95,000 as opposed to contracting the projects out, Hansley said.
''A lot of people think spending more money, but in fact, we're doing it to save money,'' he said.
O'Brien added the move will make it easier for city officials to work with an engineer who is in-house.
''The current contract we have doesn't allow for an engineer to be on-site all the time, so a lot of business has to be handled through phone or e-mail,'' he said.
O'Brien said the decision to hire an in-house engineer is one city officials started discussing last year. He said he would like to have the engineer hired by June or July.
''We started looking at cost savings and our engineering costs from previous years,'' O'Brien said. ''It was really a council decision.''
Hansley said city officials started collecting applications earlier this year to search for a candidate that would compliment the experience of staff engineer Brenda VanCleave.
''Our staff engineer has a more utility background, so we're looking for someone who has a traffic and transportation background,'' Hansley said.
Hansley said the person the city hires might earn around $80,000 a year, although the exact salary has not been determined at this time.
Hansley said he expects the city will continue to contract out some projects to W.E. Stilson.
O'Brien said he wants to stress that the city is not hiring an in-house engineer because of any problems with W.E. Stilson.
''I hope no one thinks that this has to do with dissatisfaction for W.E. Stilson,'' O'Brien said. ''This is strictly a cost savings move.''
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I guess we DO have a new sheriff in town. I can't imagine the previous administration wouldn't have taken this opportunity to really slam Stilson.
Great Job Mayor!
