Zachary Gunsolley was named the next Union County engineer after being offered the position during a Union County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.
Gunsolley comes from Ringgold County, where he is currently the Ringgold County engineer, to replace Steve Akes, whose contract with Union County as engineer was not renewed.
“I felt Zach had the most experience as a county engineer, and he was kind of the most prepared to lead Union County as the engineer,” said Union County Board of Supervisors President Ron Riley.
Gunsolley was one of six who applied for the position, and one of four who were interviewed. Riley said he brings good county engineer experience and leadership skills with him to Creston and the surrounding communities.
“He’s involved in the community, so I believe he’s got good leadership skills,” Riley said. “I think he’s a level-headed person that will be a good listener.”
Gunsolley, 37, lives in Diagonal. He is a 1998 graduate of Diagonal High School and 2003 graduate of Iowa State University in Ames with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering.
After college graduation, Gunsolley began as an engineer intern at Garden and Associates in Oskaloosa, a consulting firm with a branch in Creston, as well. There, Gunsolley said he gleaned experience from the private consulting side of engineering.
In 2008, Gunsolley moved to Creston to be office manager of Garden and Associate’s Creston office.
“During that time, I got licensed as a professional engineer,” Gunsolley said, “so, now I am a licensed engineer in the state of Iowa.”
He remained there until 2010, when he took the position as Ringgold County engineer, his current position. He will remain in that position until his contractual obligations are complete and will take his position as Union County engineer in mid-February.
“The position, when it came open, attracted me,” Gunsolley said. “I can tell you what I said in the interview, that the Union County road funding is in a little bit better shape than Ringgold County road funding. You can do more with more money, and that’s attractive. It’s a better chance of sustaining the system.”
Gunsolley continued by saying the Union County position gave him more project opportunities, but that Ringgold County also gave him experience from a public perspective.
“It gave me the public side of the profession, some experience where I had already had private side professional experience, which, ultimately, in my career, I believe makes me a more well-rounded engineer,” Gunsolley said.
The position pays $91,000 per year, and is currently a non-contractual position. The supervisors also agreed to waive the requirement of living in Union County at this time, but Gunsolley said that does not mean he won’t consider moving to the area.
“I bring almost seven years of county experience from Ringgold County. It is not the richest county in the state, so you have to be frugal in the county. I have had to prioritize and watch every dollar in Ringgold County, and I think that will help me in Union County with the county budget,” Gunsolley said. “I’m looking forward to the new opportunity in Union County.”
Until Gunsolley takes his position in February, Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman is being utilized as interim for any projects or documents.
“We have our interim from Adair County that will be able to sign all the documents that need to be signed, and we have things in place that will make it (the county) run fine,” Riley said. “But, we will be looking forward to his (Gunsolley’s) start date, too.”