Winslow Council Considers Options For Hiring Engineer

By Sam Conner
   The Winslow City Council held a brief special meeting on Monday to discuss the city engineering position and how to fill it.
   City Manager Jim Ferguson said that little progress had been made in the search and suggested that the city consider searching for an engineer who could do some of the work the city now has to contract out to get done.
   Utilities Director Allen Rosenbaum added that he believed it would be wise to hire someone who could plan and oversee well field development projects and wastewater issues.
   Ferguson and Allen both noted that much of the city’s engineering work would still have to be contracted out, at least in part.
   City staff members indicated that now might be a good time to hire an engineer as some firms are laying off some of their engineers due to the struggling economy. It was also noted that Taylor and Springerville have both hired in-house engineers and that this practice seems to be a trend.
   Ferguson recommended that the city retain the ability to contract out engineering work, and not lead someone to believe that being hired as city engineer guaranteed a permanent position. The council unanimously approved searching for and hiring an in-house city engineer.