Tekton begins design process of new engineer’s facility
The Holmes County Engineer's Office currently has several buildings and not enough space to house its many pieces of equipment. Tekton Engineering is currently working on a design that will mimic the Ohio Department of Transportation building on the west side of Millersburg, which will allow the county to put everything under one roof.
The Holmes County Engineer’s Office has done an admirable job in supplying the county with quality roads and strong water and sewer infrastructure over the decades, all while existing in a facility that is subpar in comparison to their work.
That will soon change. Recently, the county and the engineer’s office entered an agreement that will begin the pursuit of creating a new facility.
Resolution 03-20-25-01 was passed, accepting an agreement between the Holmes County Commissioners for the eventual building project for the Holmes County Engineer’s Office with Tekton Engineering in the amount of $655,600 for professional services.
Tekton Engineering President Robert Miller and Chris Reiser of Tekton met with the commissioners and Josh Galbraith, engineer with the Holmes County Engineer’s Office, to discuss the agreement and the future of the engineer’s new building.
According to Galbraith, the new facility will look much like the Ohio Department of Transportation facility located on the south side of Millersburg.
“We’re looking at having them start the design process,” Galbraith said of Tekton. “We’re looking at some funding down the road to build a new facility at our current location. This allows us to be ready when funding does become available.”
Galbraith went on to note the current facility is in very poor condition, and they are unable to store all their equipment inside.
He said there are currently issues, and the concrete flooring inside is broken with exposed electrical wires.
He said the hope in designing the new facility is it will be big enough — approximately the size of a football field — to house all their equipment while meeting all the department’s other needs.
“We don’t even have a place to wash our trucks in the winter,” Galbraith said. “I think we have the best roads in the state, and honestly, we probably have the worst facility in the state.”
Miller said they are excited to begin the creative process of building a new facility. He provided the contract that proposed the various phases of the process including the preliminary drawings, the preliminary design, and the bid process for if and when the county decided it was time to make the move toward committing to the building.
“It’s a full service within the contract,” Miller said. “We can’t move forward into any phase without prior approval, which allows (the county) flexibility.”
Commissioner Dave Hall said as part of the process, partnering in the purchase of the property on behalf of the engineer’s office is the initial step. Stage two would be searching for the funding to pay for the new facility, and in order to seek proper funding, the design portion of the process needs to be in place.
“It’s a process that is going to take some time, and we appreciate the vision,” Hall said.
Commissioner Joe Miller praised the engineer’s office and its staff for the work they’ve done in making Holmes County roads, water and sewer and more something the county deserves.