Hartselle starts search for a city engineer

For the Enquirer

After 29 years without a city engineer, Hartselle is now looking to hire one.

Human Resources Manager Melee Laney told City Council members d u r i n g t h e i r regular meet ing last m o n t h , ” t h e need was v o i c e d that the city was large enough now that we could use an engineer on staff.” Laney had been asked to create new job descriptions for a city engineer and the director of development because of the upcoming retirement of Jeff Johnson, development director, at the end of the calendar year.

The council voted to approve the new job descriptions, which take effect Oct. 1. Mayor Randy Garrison hopes to have an engineer in place by November. The current city planner, Jeremy Griffith, will become director of development when Johnson retires, the mayor said, and the council agreed to start the search for a suitable civil engineer.

The pay range for the job is $87,900 to $101,900, with the rate depending on the candidate’s experience, the mayor said. Garrison said the finalists for the job will be interviewed by both the council and the personnel board.

The city used to have an engineer but did not replace the last one it had in 1995, Laney said.

Garrison said the impetus for the change was in part the upcoming retirement of Johnson but also the increasing realization that an engineer is needed. Over the years, the city hired Garver Engineering to do work for the city, the mayor said.

“Jeff (Johnson) was engineer in all but degree and he learned along the way,” Garrison said. “But things are getting more technical. We need someone who has that degree, who has that experience to work with the way things are changing now.” He said a licensed civil engineer is needed on many projects.

“With a degree they will be able to sign off on different things such as subdivision plats,” the mayor said. “We will be able to do that here without having to hire that out.” According to the job description, the engineer will be responsible for the city’s engineering functions and for providing engineering support for a variety of city projects as well as maintaining the integrity of the building inspection division and managing day-to-day operations of the engineering and building divisions of the city.

Whether having an inhouse engineer will save the city money or whether it will be a break-even arrangement is unclear, the mayor said.

“The city will still need to use outside engineering at times,” Garrison said. “You can’t develop your own plans and sign off on them. Another engineer is needed for that. There could be some outside engineering need. It’s hard to say; depends on the situation.” According to the job description, responsibilities of the engineer will also include receiving and responding to calls and requests from Hartselle citizens about drainage, road and sidewalk repairs, traffic signals and other issues relating to the city’s infrastructure.

The engineering job is “very closely intertwined with the director of Public Works,” Laney said, “because a lot of their job duties involve the city’s infrastructure.” One of the changes made to the workflow with the creation of the engineering position includes merging the street side of the Public Works Department into engineering, but not landfill or sanitation, Garrison said at the meeting. Building inspectors will report to the engineer, the mayor said.

City attorney Larry Madison said having an engineer will also help the city on legal issues.

“Jeff Johnson has knowledge beyond his education. He’s not an engineer but he knows the engineering world. When it comes to drafting contracts, I need assistance because I don’t know the technical aspects and Jeff does,” Madison said. “He’s going to be missed when he retires.

“Having an engineer on board should make that transition a little more seamless. Someone who knows how to put the technical aspects in a contract.”