by Andree Niswander
Reporter
Akron -- Appointed to his position in 2003, Summit County Engineer Greg Bachman ran uncontested in the 2004 election. This year, the opposing ticket will provide competition.
They are vying for responsibility over the county's 200 miles of township roads, 314 waterway bridges, and some storm water drainage functions. Three-time Democrat candidate for the engineer office, Alan Brubaker is running once again, attempting to unseat the 2008 Republican incumbent.
Born and raised in Summit County, Bachman, 53, said he hopes his accomplishments of the past five years will earn him another term.
"I've proven myself ... and would like four more years to continue to improve the county," Bachman added.
A lifelong resident of Summit County, Brubaker has been a professional engineer for 35 years and presently is a senior project manager at McCoy Associates in Akron.
His engineering experience includes more than two decades with the city of Kent, where the 60-year-old served as city engineer from 1980 to 2002.
Greg Bachman
As the county's engineer, Bachman listed among his accomplishments the fact there now are no county road intersections on the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study's list of the area's 50 worst intersections. He also pointed out that the list of "load restriction" bridges in the county has narrowed from seven to one.
The remaining bridge with a load restriction status -- the VanBuren Bridge over the Tuscarawas River in Barberton -- is slated for a 2009 replacement, according to Bachman.
With 130 employees presently operating under an approximately $17 million annual budget, the county engineering department's payroll has been lowered 10 percent since Bachman started, he added.
Five years ago, county engineering fiscally was, "in the red," said Bachman, but now has a $2.5 million carry-over.
The ability to manage finances while maintaining and improving roadways is crucial to the county engineer position, he said.
With the department's revenue increasing only 2 percent annually, Bachman added, "we're dealing with the escalating cost of materials versus the slow growth of our revenue."
Alan Brubaker
Managing county roads and bridges will be better accomplished with a more regional approach, said Brubaker.
Especially in cases where numerous municipalities are involved with a roadway, he said, "we need an overall plan for the county ... I don't believe that our current engineer ... looks at issues in a regional manner."
In addition to a more regionalized approach to roadway, bridge and storm water drainage issues, if elected, Brubaker also would revise departmental staffing.
Presently, the county's engineering department has one bridge engineer, no on-staff traffic or storm water drainage engineers, and three attorneys on payroll, according to Brubaker.
If elected, he said, "I'd take a real hard look at it, and see what these people are doing."
For the challenging candidate, running for office is about community service, he said.
"Frankly, I'm not a person who needs a job. I have a good job now," said Brubaker. "My goal is to make sure our county dollars are used wisely, and I intend to seek the pulse of the community ... to make sure we are providing the services they want."
E-mail: aniswander@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-686-3947