Feldmann Adjusting to New Position as Franklin County Engineer

Franklin County’s new engineer said he’s still settling into his new position, but he’s hitting the ground running.

County Engineer Joe Feldmann is working on six federally funded bridge projects he hopes will be under way later this year.

Feldmann said he’s working to get the projects through the federal application process.

He has been working for the county for about three months.

Feldmann, a Krakow resident who serves on the Public Water Supply District No. 1 Board of Directors, has never worked in government before, but said his previous work experience with BFA, Washington, and Budrovich Crane, St. Louis, involved dealing with a lot of governmental entities.

He’s been working in engineering since he graduated from the University of Missouri at Rolla — now Missouri University of Science and Technology — in 1983 and has been a certified professional engineer for over 20 years.

Feldmann is the only engineer currently employed “in-house” by the county.

Highway Administrator Eva Gadcke said previously he was selected from eight finalists for the position.

“We wanted someone who had not only the ability, but disposition to come into this kind of job,” she said. “He really seems to fit the bill.”

Feldmann said he hopes to avoid politics in his position and simply wants to do what is best for the county.

“You’re not going to please everybody, but you have to strive to find a happy medium,” he said. “I think we’re starting to see everyone going in the same direction. There’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

In addition to working on federal cost-share projects, Feldmann said he’ll be inspecting work that county highway crews do.