Hwy commissioner to retire Sept. 3

Jim Griesbach, Marathon County’s Highway commissioner for the past 20 years, is turning the wheel over to his deputy next month as he steps into retirement.

Griesbach, who has worked for the county for a total of 35 years, announced at last Thursday’s Infrastructure Committee that his deputy, Kevin Lang, will be taking over for him after he retires on Sept. 3.

“I’m leaving you in excellent hands with Kevin,” Griesbach told the committee. “He will serve you well.”

Supervisor John Robinson, former chair of the Infrastructure Committee, called Griesbach “an outstanding employee” who has been a “leader, not only in the county and but in the state of Wisconsin,” when it comes to highway safety and securing state and federal funds for road projects. “We have a highway system that’s in good shape because of his foresight,” Robinson said. Griesbach returned the compliments, saying he has served under some “excellent county board chairs and Highway committee chairs” during his time at the county.

“I appreciate everything the county has done for myself and my family,” he said.

The Highway Department’s shop supervisor, Jeff Hahn, is also retiring one day before Griesbach, who said the department is looking to hire an internal candidate to fill that position.

Griesbach’s retirement comes as the county is looking to relocate the Highway Department headquarters from West Street in Wausau to 25 acres in the village of Kronenwetter.

Having worked on the relocation for over a decade as commissioner, Griesbach told committee members that a proposal for architectural services will come before the committee at its next meeting in September. A total of 18 design firms interested in responding to the county’s request for proposals (RFPs) attended a mandatory meeting a couple of weeks before the proposal deadline, he noted.

“We are anticipating having a stack of those to go through today,” Griesbach said. “After the meeting today, Kevin, myself and Troy (Torgerson, Facilities Management) will be going through those RFPs. At that point, we’ll determine if we need to interview anybody or somebody that raises to the top.”