Heir apparent to be nominated for county engineer's post
DANVILLE – Three years ago, Doug Staske became the county's assistant engineer with the intent of some day succeeding county engineer Bob Andrews.
That day has almost arrived.
Vermilion County Board Chairman Jim McMahon plans to recommend Staske for the county engineer's job at a joint transportation and executive committee meeting tonight. If approved by both committees, the full county board will consider the appointment at its meeting Tuesday night.
Andrews will retire June 15. Staske's first day would be June 16.
Staske has passed the state exam for county engineers and his state certification will soon be in place, allowing him to be considered for appointment as county engineer. The state determines and pays the $96,000 salary of the county engineer.
McMahon said he's saddened about the retirement of Andrews but delighted that Staske has prepared himself.
Doug Staske, who is standing in front of the newly comleted Webster Street bridge in Catlin, was named the Vermilion County engineer. By Rick Danzl
"He's an excellent candidate. I'm very excited that he will take over. I like people who plan for the future," McMahon said.
Staske, a Champaign-Urbana native, has worked for the city of Urbana and has engineering experience in the private and public sectors. He said the biggest challenge he will encounter as county engineer is the increasing miles of roads the county must maintain.
"The state is looking to get rid of roads," Staske said.
Currently, the county has 160 miles of roads to maintain, and there are another 70 to 80 miles of state road that have the potential to be transferred over to the county, he said.
Most recently, the state turned over 12.5 miles of Catlin-Homer Road to the county, and Staske said it's likely that the Fairmount-to-Sidell route will also be turned over.
When the state gives the county roads, it also provides one-time funding based on a formula. That money, Staske said, is supposed to be enough to maintain the road for 20 years, but at today's construction prices, and considering the shape of the roads when transferred, it's not working out that way.
"We find ourselves spending the money just to fix up the roads," he said.
The department is also charged with maintaining bridges in the county. Because of the river system here, Staske said, Vermilion County has a lot of bridges for its size, and some need to be rebuilt. The department oversees about 275 bridges.
"We spend a lot of money and effort maintaining the system, and with construction prices continuing to increase, it's a challenge to build as many as we have in the past," he said.
But Staske looks forward to the challenge and enjoys the municipal side of engineering.
"I'm looking forward to the new position," he said.
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