Personnel
Bridge Engineer - Scott Basinger, P.E.
Bridge Supervisor - Mike Wood
Assistant Bridge Supervisor - Erik Nezbeth

Responsibilities
The Bridge Department at the Stark County Engineer's office has the important duty of maintaining roughly 339 bridges throughout the County. These bridges are defined as any structure spanning 10 feet or greater on County and Township roadways. In addition, the bridge department also maintains approximately 130 culverts spanning 4 to 10 feet on County roadways.

An essential tool in the condition evaluation of these bridges is our annual bridge inspection program. As mandated by law, every one of our structures over 10 feet in span is inspected by a qualified two-person team annually. These reports are reviewed by the Bridge Engineer and then forwarded to the Ohio Department of Transportation. Bridges that were poorly rated are evaluated for possible future replacement or rehabilitation. Using this process, a comprehensive future bridge program can be developed. Additionally, the smaller culverts that are our responsibility are inspected at three year intervals.

Most smaller bridge projects are funded from our own budget, which relies heavily on local license plate fees. Large projects typically require additional funding sources. We typically utilize Ohio Public Works Commission funds, in the form of either grants or loans.  Federal funds are also used for large-scale bridge projects, although this significantly increases the amount of time and cost necessary for project development due in part to more involved environmental requirements.

Recently, force account laws which restrict the amount of work that may be completed by our forces were revised. This now gives us much more flexibility when replacing smaller bridges.

An additional responsibility of the Bridge Department is the maintenance of all guardrails along County roadways. This includes repairing railing damaged by accidents, replacing dilapidated railing, installing new guardrail where needed, and also bringing older guardrail up to current design standards.

The Bridge Department is also in charge of issuing special hauling permits for oversize and overweight trucks that plan to use our County roads. These permits are thoroughly reviewed to ensure that no severely overloaded trucks do damage to our bridges or roadways in transit.

Personnel
Tom Yankle, Budget Officer
Mike Cline, Human Resources Manager

Responsibilities
The fiscal department provides oversight, control and management of all budgetary functions for the organization. It is the responsible for the handling of requisitions, purchase orders, payment for goods and services, payroll and benefits and that proper accounting controls are in place to insure efficient operation of the Engineer's office. These controls include operational efficiency and compliance with established and accepted government accounting policies and principals. In addition to those typical accounting functions this department is involved in inventory control, asset accounting, cost accounting, budget management and finance planning. Many of these functions are in coordination with the Office of the County Auditor.

Personnel
Dave Torrence, P.E., P.S. - Chief Deputy Engineer
Troy Uphold - Highway Superintendent
Troy Hysong - Assistant Highway Superintendent
Don Bendetta - Utility Coordinator

Responsibilities

The Highway Department is the largest of the Stark County Engineers departments and is responsible for maintaining approximately 410 miles of roadway.

The duties of the Highway department can vary due to season and climates. During the spring, summer, and fall we patch and spot pave the pavement, improve berms, mow roadside vegetation, and clear trees and brush.

Winter is typically our busiest season. We continually monitor weather conditions for approaching hazardous weather. When it is determined that attention is needed due to approaching snow or ice, we call out our personnel. Within 30 minutes we have 20 single axle dumps and 4 tandems rolling from 4 outposts and our main garage.

Each year we evaluate our roadways and rate them in order of their condition. The information is turned over to the Project Engineer who determines which roadways are in need of pavement upgrades.  Using this information we develop our annual paving program utilizing hot mix asphalt, cold mix asphalt, chip seal and micro-surfacing.

The Highway Department also prepares plans for or oversees design consultants preparing plans for roadway and intersection improvement projects.

Goals
The Highway Departments goal is to ensure the public has the safest roads on which to travel. We strive to handle every complaint in a timely manner.

Personnel
Staff Engineer
Hydraulics Construction Supervisor - Mike Wood

Responsibilities
The Hydraulics Department has the vital responsibility of maintaining all culverts on the County highway system as well as keeping over eight hundred miles of roadside drainage ditches and storm sewers functioning. Maintenance of the culverts includes cleaning or flushing with a jet truck as well as replacing an average of twenty to thirty deteriorated or inadequate culverts each year. The Stark County Hydraulics Department is not responsible for maintaining driveway culverts to private property, which exist for the convenience of the landowner; however because deficient or deteriorated drive culverts can negatively impact highway drainage we frequently work with property owners in situations where the drive culvert is an integral part of a larger roadside drainage improvement. Property owners interested in installing a new roadside driveway culvert must contact the Stark County Engineer's Hydraulics Department for a "driveway permit" for guidance on installation.

Highway/Roadside ditches are maintained and cleaned periodically by the Hydraulics Department of SCEO on an as needed basis.  SCEO maintains approximately 700 lane miles of noncurbed highway, and an estimated 500 lane miles of roadside drainage facilities ranging from minor swales to deep roadside ditches.  As such, there are many sections of ditch that currently need maintained or cleaned/deepened to restore positive drainage.

When a section of roadside ditch is selected for routine maintenance/cleaning, the following guidelines apply:

  1. Ditches will be regraded to establish positive drainage with the intent of returning the function of the ditch to its original operations.
  2. Material removed from the ditch will be hauled off site unless arrangements can be made with the adjoining property owners.
  3. Bare areas created by ditch maintenance/cleaning operations will be stabilized/seeded within 7 days of the completion of the operation, or if the operation in not completed, within 7 days of the last day worked, until such time as the project resumes.  Where the area maintained/cleaned is within fifty (50) feet of an open water outlet, this area will be stabilized/seeded within 2 days of completion of the project of the last day worked until the project resumes.
  4. There will be no assessment to the adjoining property owners for ditch maintenance/cleaning of the roadside ditch performed by SCEO.  The Ditch Maintenance Program is intended to restore ditch operations for the adjacent highway specifically, not necessarily the lands of the adjoining property owners.
  5. Adjoining property owners may clean roadside ditches on their property for individual property benefits, provided that there is no degradation in the ditch operation in terms of the county highway.  Property owners desiring to clean roadside ditches on their property must obtain a Highway Use Permit from the SCEO, and all the above guidelines apply.  Additionally, in property owners are intending to pursue ditch maintenance/cleanout for the purposes of septic system outletting, the owner must seek approval of the Stark County Health Department in addition to the approval/permit of the SCEO.

Water on a County highway can present a hazard to the traveling public and we encourage the public to report instances of water or ice on a County highway immediately to the Stark County Engineer's Hydraulics Department.

Other duties of this department include review of drainage plans for new subdivision and site developments through the Stark County Regional Planning Commissions process; as well as providing drainage technical support for the seventeen townships. By statute, the County Engineer serves as the township's engineering advisor and we provide advice upon their request.

The Stark County Engineer's Office is not responsible for any storm sewer system installed by property owners, past or present.  The Stark County Engineer's Office is not responsible for establishing new roadside drainage for new septic systems.  The Stark County Engineer's Office will be responsible for piping or repairing roadside drainage that has failed.  The Stark County Engineer's Office will be responsible for any storm sewer system that has failed that was installed by our office.

It should be noted that all off-road drainage issues and projects are the responsibility of the property owner.  The only off-road drainage review performed by this office is upon notice of a ditch petition filed with the Stark County Commissioners.  For more information, click here.

Personnel
Steve Gronow, Maintenance Superintendent
Steve Belopotosky, Garage Supervisor

Responsibilities
The maintenance department is separated into two ares: buildings and fleet.  The building section is responsible maintaining six facilities throughout the county.  These include the Main Garage / Office, four outpost garages, and one additional salt storage facility.

Currently our fleet consists of 170 pieces of on and off road equipment.  To maintain a fleet of this size we purchase light equipment (cars, pickups, vans) with an average turnaround time of 7 to 10 years.  The large dump trucks / snow plows we expect to keep for 10 to 15 years.  Because of the high replacement cost of loaders, graders, and large backhoes we attempt to keep them for 20 to 25 years.

The County Engineer’s primary duty is the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of county roads and bridges.  This is accomplished through the judicious use of vehicle license fees and gasoline taxes.  These funds, by law, cannot be expended on non-road activities.

However, this office is frequently asked to evaluate the maintenance and improvement of storm drainage facilities affecting agricultural, commercial, or residential properties throughout the county.  There are several methods under Ohio law for government to potentially manage storm water drainage or for property owners to privately protect their property rights. 

However, the County Engineer’s Office is only authorized to act upon petitioned county ditches filed with the Stark County Commissioner’s Office pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Chapter 6131.

The County Engineer does not administer storm drainage facilities for private properties outside of the petition process which requires a bond with filing and property tax assessments to benefitting properties.  In any case, it should be recognized by property owners that storm drainage improvements or maintenance on private property cannot be performed by or paid for by the County.  Finally, the Stark County Engineer has no authority to enforce or monitor property rights or activity related to drainage and storm water issues on private property.

For more information regarding off road drainage and the petition process, click here.

Records
The County Engineer's office has a vast array of historical files associated with road improvement projects.  All drawing files have been scanned and are available in the TIFF format.  The following list shows the types of files available in our archives.

  • Aerial photographs from 1932 to present
  • Construction plans for road improvement projects. (state, County and Township roads)
  • Topography maps last updated in 1995
  • Road Records
  • Railroad Valuation maps
  • Public Lands surveys
  • Historical road maps
  • Survey field books
  • Survey of County and Township properties

Drafting
The Drafting department develops construction plans for both County and Township road improvement projects.  The department also develops drafting standards for the county and maintains the Stark County Road Map.

Personnel
Stephen D. Gronow, Safety Compliance Officer
The Stark County Engineer Safety Committee

Responsibilities
Safety is a very important component of the Stark County Engineer's operations.  It is absolutely imperative that the work done by the Engineer's office be completed as safely as possible to ensure the safety of our employees and the general public.

Each employee is fully responsible to carry out the provisions of the Department's Comprehensive Safety Program (CSP) as it pertains to operations. The responsibilities listed in the CSP are MINIMUM guidelines.

The Safety Department conducts an aggressive Loss Prevention Program. The Safety Department is fully responsible to the Stark County Engineer for the direction and administration of the CSP, and will take all actions deemed essential to produce a positive reduction in accidents and their causes. Specifically, the Safety Department:

  • Provide technical guidance and direction to administrative personnel at all levels in the implementation of the Comprehensive Safety Program.
  • Monitor the implementation of the safety program and provide assistance as needed with the overall safety and health effort.
  • Consult with administration, and departments on design and the use of equipment, work areas, and safety standards.
  • Provide qualified persons to inspect facilities for accident and health hazards and recommend corrective or preventive measures where deficiencies exist.
  • Recommend that adequate personal protective equipment and safety equipment will be used by personnel requiring such items by regulatory decree.
  • Coordinate safety related activities with the Stark County Engineer, Insurance Carriers, Insurance Administrators, and other safety organizations including environmental health agencies.
  • Represent the administration at safety meetings.
  • Monitor all safety inspections and surveys.
  • Provide leadership and direction of the in-house safety committee.
  • Notify department supervisors when required precautionary measures are not being practiced at the job sites.
  • Incorporate into the program the current practices and philosophies adopted by the safety profession as most effective in preventing injuries, occupational diseases, vehicular collisions, liabilities, and damage to equipment and material.
  • Evaluate compliance of the program periodically and report to the Stark County Engineer.
  • Attend department staff safety meetings to promote maximum understanding of the program objectives.
  • Participate actively in the efforts of safety professionals and groups striving to promote accident prevention.
  • Maintain and update the manufacturers Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and related files.

Goals
The Stark County Engineer's employees and management are committed to sharing responsibility for workplace safety. Our goal is to pro-actively prevent workplace accidents.

Personnel
Dan Houck P.S., Chief Surveyor

Responsibilities
Survey

The Survey Department provides vital survey data for bridge, roadway, and public land projects. In addition to county matters, the Survey Department also assists townships with establishing the right-of-ways and other survey related matters upon request.

The Engineer's survey department maintains the Stark County Section Corner Program.  The section corners points were established in the early 1800's by the Federal Government and are referenced by every parcel in the county.  Our survey crews inventory, re-establish and use GPS receivers to obtain horizontal and vertical data for each point.  This data is then published on the Engineer's website for use by the Stark County GIS department, private surveyors and the general public.  This information is located in the Carrousel on the Engineer's home page and is named Survey Control Map.

Right-of-Way
The duties of the Right-of-Way Department are to verify exiting easements for public use and acquire additional easements and agreements from individuals or corporations for roadway improvement projects. Daily inquiries are handled from individual landowners, township trustees, city or village engineers, local surveying and engineering firms, lawyers, researchers, and utility companies regarding the inventory of existing and proposed county easements and ownership.

GIS Applications

  • Section Corners - An application showing the inventory of Section and Quarter Section monuments for the Public Land Survey System in Stark County.  The information includes a downloadable DATA SHEET with the geodetic position and elevation for each monument.

  • Right of Way Acquisition - An application showing the Easements and Fee Tile properties acquired by the Engineer's office in conjunction with roadway improvement projects.  The information includes the recorded instrument for the transfer, Owners of the property prior to acquisition and the Name of the Project the acquisition was associated with.

  • Survey Repository - An application for Surveyors to store Retracement Survey Plats in a public place for public searches.  The application is for Survey Plats that do not subdivide property.
Roadway Vacation Procedure

Section Corners

Survey Monument Search

Section Corner Spreadsheets

Personnel
Traffic Engineer - Brian Cole, P.E.
Traffic Supervisor - Nick Rodriguez

Responsibilities
The Traffic Department is responsible for ensuring the safety of the motorists of Stark County through the use of traffic signals, highway signs, and pavement markings.

The Traffic Department is responsible for the maintenance of 91 signals, 20 intersection beacons, 16 school beacons and 5 flashing warning signs.

Our annual pavement marking program involves over 420 centerline miles of County roadways, and auxiliary pavement markings that include railroad crossing markings, school symbol markings, turn lane arrows, stop lines, and crosswalks.

The department installs, repairs, and maintains more than 10,000 highway signs on County roadways, handle road closures for bridge and culvert maintenance projects, and oversees emergency road closures for high water, fallen trees, downed power lines, etc.

The Traffic Engineer is involved in the planning, design and review of new traffic and highway safety projects. The Traffic Engineer coordinates the County's Speed Zone Study Program with the 17 Townships and the Ohio Department of Transportation, develops work orders, designs new traffic signal installations, and reviews the Maintenance of Traffic and Traffic Control portions of proposed construction projects.

The Traffic Engineer also investigates and addresses complaints and suggestions from the public regarding traffic signal timings, highway signing, and other traffic-related issues, and performs intersection studies of problem intersections to develop recommendations to reduce traffic accidents.

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)