RIChard A. Marsico | Chronology

Here are some milestones in the life and professional career of Richard A. Marsico, the retiring Mahoning County engineer:

1953: Graduates from Woodrow Wilson High School.

1958: Graduates from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

1958: Commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army reserves, attending artillery officer training school and later rising to the rank of captain.

1960-68: Design engineer and field operations manager for Engelhardt & Associates.

July 1968: Founds his own firm, Richard A. Marsico & Associates, Consulting Engineers and Surveyors.

December 1983: Then Youngstown mayor-elect Patrick Ungaro names him deputy director of public works.

March 1996: Defeats two-term Mahoning County Engineer William Fergus by nearly 16,000 votes in the Democratic primary

November 1996: Defeats J. Robert Lyden in the general election to become county engineer.

March 1997: Lays off nine engineer’s department workers to cut personnel costs shortly after taking office and vows to improve department’s work ethic.

March 2000: Wins the Democratic primary by a 3-1 vote and runs unopposed in the fall to retain his job as county engineer.

2002 and 2003: Leads engineer’s office through the $4.4 million widening of South Avenue from two to five lanes between Presidential Drive and Western Reserve Road.

January-October 2008: Leads his department through the rehabilitation of the 1949-vintage Fallen Firefighters Memorial Bridge (formerly the Spring Common Bridge) in downtown Youngstown.

2008: Serves as president of the County Engineers’ Association of Ohio.

March 2010: Becomes embroiled in a dispute with Teamsters Local 377 over layoff of 11 Teamsters as the department is squeezed financially by rising fuel, asphalt and salt costs and falling license-plate fee and gasoline-tax revenues.

2011 and 2012: Leads his department through completion of the widening of Western Reserve Road from Tippecanoe Road to U.S. Route 62.

Source: Vindicator files