Road Engineer Committee to interview five candidates

The Road Engineer Committee members met Wednesday afternoon at the county courthouse, clockwise from front, Jimmy Parker (back to camera), Darrell Grubbs, Dana Applewhite, Mike Hall, Bill Ratliff, and Joyce Simpson with the county clerks office.

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The Titus County Road Engineer Hiring Committee met Wednesday in the county courtroom. Chairman Darrell Grubbs called the meeting to order at 1 p.m.

Grubbs reported there had been 15 applicants for the position, and he had forwarded the resumes he had received before the meeting to all the other committee members - Commissioners Jimmy Parker and Dana Applewhite, Mike Hall, and Bill Ratliff. There was one last-minute resume he handed out at the start of the meeting.

Grubbs started by noting there had been some discussion at a previous Commissioners meeting about having the position be part-time, with the Road Engineer working during the warm months of the year when construction and repairs are mainly done.

"I don't think we need to do this as a part-time job," he said, and after a short discussion the committee members concurred and subject was dropped.

The meeting then moved on to the consideration of the applicants. Ratliff suggested only considering the five who are professional engineers. Hall agreed. "I think we should consider applicants who are licensed professional engineers.

Grubbs asked how the committee wanted to move ahead. Ratliff said "I have no problem interviewing the five engineers."

Grubbs noted they are Paul Jeph of Gladewater; Michael Youssef of Phoenix, Arizona; Roger Ledbetter of Mount Pleasant; Dan Graham of Mount Pleasant; and Adam Crump of Mount Pleasant and Houston.

Grubbs said he envisioned the committee doing the screening and first interviews with the candidates, and then ranking them with a recommendation for the full commissioners court.

He handed out a set of proposed standard questions that could be asked during the interviews.

Hall suggested an additional question might be how they would approach the implementation of the unit road system in Titus County.

"For example, will he be running the department day-to-day, or will he hire a road manager for day-to-day operations?" he asked.

Halls also said the Road Engineer could decide to consolidate the employees from the four precimcts, or leave them in place and manage them centrally.

"He will probably have to see for himself how it all fits together," said Grubbs. "That will be his call."

Ratliff suggested the applicants be asked "how well they work getting along with elected officials?"

Jimmy Parker makes a point while Grubbs listens on

Hall agreed. "Most of these people have been their own boss in the past."

Applewhite suggested candidates should be asked how they will handle the transition to the new system.

Grubbs also agreed. "They've had their own staff, their own office in the past. This would be a new situation for them."

He said he personally knew of some people "who were interested but scared of it."

Hall said the candidates should also be asked about their salary expectations.

Grubbs said "the usual answer is that it's based on their qualifications." Ratliff said they should not start off naming a salary, that may be something to be negotiated by the commissioners.

Grubbs pointed out that four of the final candidates are retired from other positions, while the other didn't list a current job "so he may be unemployed and looking for work."

The committee would not pay for the candidate who lives out of state to travel here for an interview, he said.

Hall said in that case a video interview would be more than adequate.

After polling committee members as to their availability next week, the committee agreed to bring in candidates starting at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 1 p.m.

Grubbs noted that Crump works four days a week in Houston and returns to Mount Pleasant on weekend, so he suggested Crump be scheduled for an interview on Friday, Feb. 3.

If needed, candidates could also be scheduled on the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 6.

Grubbs said he will contact the and see when they can attend.

He said he envisions the committee afterwards will come up with an recommendation along with a ranking of all candidates for the commissioners to make a final choice.

Grubbs said the candidates should not be daunted by what lies ahead.

"It (the unit road system" could be highly successful if done right," he said.