Common Pleas Judge Eamon Costello (left) administers the oath of office to Bryan Dhume, appointed on Jan. 4 by the Madison Couny commissioners to serve as county engineer following the death of David P. Brand.
(Posted Jan. 12, 2016)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
On Jan. 4, Somerford Township resident Bryan Dhume was appointed as Madison County engineer, replacing David P. Brand who passed away on Dec. 31 as the result of cancer.
Madison County commissioners Mark Forrest and Paul Gross made the appointment to fill the immediate vacancy. Commissioner David Dhume recused himself from voting as Bryan is his son.
Bryan is serving in an interim capacity until the Republican Central Committee makes the final appointment on Feb. 2. He will complete Brand’s term which expires at the end of this year. The central committee has already endorsed Bryan for the new term that starts in January 2017; Bryan is running unopposed for the seat in the March 2016 primary.
“The circumstances leading up to me sitting here are unprecedented,” Bryan said of the commissioners’ appointment. “My heart is with the Brand family. I appreciate (David’s) 15 years of service to the county…there is important work to do out there and it must go on.”
Bryan, 37, holds a degree in civil engineering from Ohio University where he also completed courses for his surveyor’s license. While at college, he worked for then Madison County engineer Neil Babb over summer and winter breaks. He said the practical knowledge he gained while working for Babb was invaluable.
“Working at the county through college exposed me to the importance of that work to the community,” he said.
After graduation, Bryan worked for Jones-Stuckey, an engineering consultant firm in Columbus that specializes in bridge design and construction. While there, he helped with construction of the Woody Hayes bridge on the Ohio State University campus.
After a short stint as project engineer with the Erie County Engineer’s Office, Bryan moved on to become assistant engineer and later chief deputy for the Logan County Engineer’s Office in Bellefontaine. He said Logan County operates similarly to Madison County, with much of the engineering and construction work taking place in-house.
Bryan also has worked as an on-site project manager and engineer for C.J. Mahan, a heavy civil construction com-pany in Grove City. There, he helped with barge dock rehabilitation for Marathon Petroleum, on the State Route 315 and Powell Road intersection with the Ohio Department of Transportation, on a retaining wall project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and on dam gate replacement on the Ohio River near Pittsburgh. Most recently, Bryan has served as a construction manager for M.S. Consultants, working on water lines and other infrastructure projects.
“I’ve been fortunate to work in different industries in the civil engineering world,” he said.
Gross said it’s difficult to find someone who has both surveying certification and engineering education as Bryan does.
“I think Bryan will be a great asset (to the county),” Forrest said following the appointment.
The Madison County Engineer’s Office is responsible for maintaining 343 miles of county roads, 189 bridges and 1,669 culverts. The county’s ditch program includes 164 ditches covering 179 miles.
