Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler handed in his resignation to the commissioners Monday night.
Ritzler told the commissioners that it was a hard decision, but it was the best one for him and his family as he moves on working with Traffic Control Specialists in Knox.
“I thought hard about it,” stated Ritzler. “I love being the highway superintendent, I love doing things for Starke County. As you probably know, I work really hard at it and try to do the best I can. I almost did not make the decision. I will always be here to answer questions. I will always care about the success of the highway department – even when I leave I won’t be able to prevent that. Any help you guys need or any questions about things in the past I’ll be more than happy to help.”
Commissioner Bryan Cavender commented, “We love you to death!”
“I know and I love being here,” Ritzler relied.
“We don’t want to lose ya!” Cavender countered.
“But I will always be here for you,” Ritzler responded. “I’m telling ya, I drive roads and every time I drive a county road now I look at every road and I say ‘hey this needs to be done’ and I will do that until I’m 90 years old.” [laughter]
During his eight years as superintendent at the Starke County Highway Department, he assisted the county in improving all bridges to bring them out of deficient status, pursued grants to upgrade the county’s truck routes to hot mix asphalt to make them more manageable when it comes to truck traffic, and had a hand in saving the county $150,000 a year by employing a construction inspector. He also implemented a vehicle and equipment replacement schedule to ensure the fleet is well maintained with newer equipment.
He also built up the training budget and noted to the commissioners how hiring HKM employment lawyers and the purchase of protective equipment for crews have saved the county thousands of dollars in workers compensation claims.
Ritzler was honored by the Indiana Association of Indiana Counties as Highway Superintendent of the Year in 2019, and is a Road Builder and Master Road Builder from the Purdue Local Technical Assistance Program.
Ritzler said he will continue to serve on the Starke County Park Board, Bass Lake Property Owners Association Board of Directors and Starke County Community Foundation Board of Directors.
Ritzler mentioned several items that will need to be looked after by the new superintendent or by the commissioners following his departure on March 12. He said he will have everything in order during the transition.
Commission President Charlie Chesak, Commissioner Mark Gourley, and Commissioner Bryan Cavender all thanked Ritzler for his dedication to the county and for the effort made to get the department to where it is today.
