County engineer celebrates retirement, passes torch

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The Montgomery County Engineer is celebrating “no work ahead.”

Paul Gruner has served as the Montgomery County Engineer for 13 years, after serving in the private sector for 30 years.

On Thursday, his office celebrated his next chapter — retirement. Colleagues from throughout his career joined in the party, signing a construction sign made for the occasion.

In his time working for the county, Gruner has worked on several major traffic improvement projects, but he says the people were the most memorable.

“Well, there are a lot of fond memories, just of the people, working with the people,” said Gruner. “But we’ve done some great projects over the years. We’ve replaced four river bridges, Ridge Avenue, Harshman Road, Needmore Road, and Third Street is really our flagship project.”

When asked if he had any parting words of wisdom, Gruner recommends working hard, treating people well along the way and taking advantage of opportunities.

Gruner will be succeeded by Andy Shahan as acting engineer, who will be appointed by the county commissioners on July 30. Shahan is running unopposed in November’s election, and will fully take over the title in January.

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