Last Updated:  Wednesday, June 17, 2009

 

Created and Published by Michael Benza & Associates, Inc.

Principal - Michael Benza, P.E.

The Principal of the firm, Mr. Michael Benza, P.E. is responsible for the engineering deliverables produced by the firm. He provides for the quality of all projects and gives direction to Project Managers and other staff members.

 

Mr. Benza has successfully guided the firm through over 1,500 projects over the past 35 years. These assignments have ranged in size from small studies to several million dollar construction projects. He recognizes the importance of personal service, client-engineer communications, scheduling and quality control.

 

Mr. Benza has extensive experience in the design of sanitary and storm sewer collection systems, water distribution systems, wastewater and water treatment plants, and municipal roads and streets to the standards of various agencies. He is the Project Manager for all environmental and water projects prepared by the office staff. As City Engineer and company representative for the City of Bay Village and other municipal clients, he is actively engaged in the design and construction of a variety of projects.

 

Mr. Benza is familiar with various governmental policies, procedures and regulations through his work on federally funded projects by such agencies as the EPA, FHWA, FmHA, HUD, EDA and the National Park Service. He has attended the ODOT seminars on managing ALocal Project Administered” projects.

 

He was the Project Manager for the preparation of the wastewater system analysis for the Cities of Cleveland Heights, East Cleveland, Bay Village, and Mahoning County, and the preparation of the capital improvements included therein.

 

Mr. Benza has prepared reports on the operation of the water treatment plant serving the City of Vermilion, Village of New Middletown, and Village of South Zanesville. These reports have resulted in a capital improvement schedule for each plant. In addition he has prepared reports on other water treatment plant operations.

 

Mr. Benza has prepared reports on the operation of several wastewater treatment plants for various communities. These plants ranged in size from less than 100,000 gpd to 2,500,000 gpd. The reports included staffing requirements, operations, safety upgrading, process changes and capital improvements. He has also prepared the design of several water and wastewater treatment plants and supervised other engineers in the design of these facilities.

 

The firm has at its disposal computer programs to assist with the evaluation of water and wastewater treatment facilities. The firm is familiar with the requirements of the Ohio EPA for the operation and design of these facilities.

E-mail: mbenza@mbenzaengr.com

Engineering Manager - Joseph N. Schaller, P.E.

The Engineering Manager of the firm, Mr. Joseph N. Schaller, P.E. is responsible for the periodic and final review of plans and specifications prior to their submittal to the client or approval agency.  He also provides direction to Project Managers and other staff members and is a key technical resource of the firm.

 

Mr. Schaller has more than 30 years of civil engineering experience and has been a city engineer for various communities for more than 20 years.  This experience across many different administrations and exposure to numerous engineering projects both as the engineer of record and as an approval authority gives Mr. Schaller a unique perspective for project delivery and plan preparation.  He utilizes this breadth and depth of experience when providing guidance or plan review comments.  Mr. Schaller is the firm’s engineering representative for the City of Olmsted Falls.  His duties include plan review for all new private developments, municipal improvements, and engineering related support services.  Mr. Schaller was also the City Engineer for Vermilion, Ohio on a part-time basis for 8 years.

 

Mr. Schaller has been a Project Manager responsible for the design and plan development on a variety of projects.  These projects include water lines, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, roadway upgrades, bridge rehabilitation, culvert replacement, and site design for private developments.  He is also responsible for coordination of construction observers and resident engineers on construction sites for various projects.

E-mail: joes@mbenzaengr.com

Staff

President - Steven R. Benza

Mr. Steven R. Benza joined Michael Benza & Associates, Inc. as President in 2004.  He possesses an effective combination of business and project management skills that will continue the traditions of providing personal service, emphasizing client-engineer communications, professional project scheduling and accentuating strict quality control procedures that have proven successful since 1972.

 

Prior to joining Michael Benza & Associates, Inc., Mr. Benza was a Principal and Project Manager for the business consulting firm Logan Consulting in Chicago, Illinois.  Mr. Benza was responsible for delivering a wide range of projects across a broad spectrum of industries.  He delivered strategic consulting services, managed major software implementations and performed cost analysis and modeling projects to clients ranging from $1M in Revenue to Fortune 10 companies.  Mr. Benza was part of the Executive Team that directed the firm through the growth from three employees to over 40 employees.

 

Mr. Steven Benza is responsible for expanding Michael Benza & Associates, Inc. by continuing to deliver quality engineering and surveying services to Michael Benza & Associates, Inc. clients and maintaining the positive work environment for the staff that has promoted innovative, effective and efficient delivery of services for over 30 years.

E-mail: srbenza@mbenzaengr.com

E-mail: adamt@mbenzaengr.com

Survey Manager - Adam Treat, P.S.

Surveying will be under the direction of Mr. Adam Treat, P.S.  Mr. Treat is new to our team and brings many years of survey experience so that we can continue to deliver quality services to our clients.  In the past ten years Mr. Treat has grown from Survey Technician to Survey Manager.  He has been responsible for managing project resources and budgets for various Northern Ohio projects.  He has experience in preparing right-of-way plans for ODOT as well as preparing survey data for the Corps of Engineers; preparing, entering and adjusting traverses and bench loops; and plotting utility plan information.  As a surveyor, he was responsible for the QA/QC of calculations and basemaps.  He has prepared property boundaries, secured current deeds of records for property map preparation and gathered utility, centerline and right-of-way plan information.  As a Manager, he was responsible for weekly and monthly reviews of project budgets, invoices and status reports, preparing price estimates and quarterly projections for projects in Ohio .  He has coordinated projects with various Engineering Department Managers and Architects in the Columbus area.  

Besides being a Professional Surveyor, Mr. Treat is also an Engineer in Training in the State of Ohio .  He is also designated for ODOT R/W Plan Designer.  He is proficient in AutoCad, Land Development, Autodesk Survey, Eagle Point, Microstation, GEOPAK, Star*Net and Trimble Geomatics Office.  

Project Managers

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Project Engineers

Design Engineers

Nicholas Pietro, P.E.

 

Mr. Pietro has designed a variety of civil engineering projects. He is experienced in AutoCad, WaterCad and MicroStation programs. He has assisted in the design and preparation of detail plans for site and public infrastructure improvements, private developments, bridge improvements and industrial projects. In Florida, he was responsible for site plan design, surface water management design and water distribution and sewage collection design for various site development projects. As a design engineer at Michael Benza & Associates, Inc., Mr. Pietro has been responsible for the site development, site grading, layout and utilities, infrastructure design of storm sewers, sanitary sewers, water mains and oil/water separators and roadway design for numerous projects in northeast Ohio. He has worked on the site development and design plans for numerous gas station locations. Mr. Pietro has been responsible for assisting with the coordination of architects for the design and construction plans for various streets, parking garages and campus locations for the Cleveland Clinic.

 

Hugh Thomas, P.E.

 

Mr. Thomas has been the designer on a variety of civil engineering projects. His responsibilities as a construction crew member and Co-op student for the City of Akron Engineering Bureau have helped to develop his engineering skills. As a Project Engineer, he has been responsible for industrial, commercial and residential development site plan designs. This experience includes storm management design, detention/retention basin design and storm sewer system design. His field survey experience includes construction staking for waterline, storm and sanitary sewers. Mr. Thomas is experienced in AutoCad Land Development, Civil & Survey Modules, Hydraflow Storm Design and Hydraflow Hydrographs computer programs. He has assisted in the preparation of SWPPP plans, NOI and plan submittals to the Ohio EPA.

 

Resident Engineer

Vanetta Ellerbrock

 

Ms. Ellerbrock is responsible for a variety of construction services provided by the firm.  She is responsible for site observation, review of progress payments and coordination with office staff on projects that she is assigned.

 

Ms. Ellerbrock also has experience in concrete testing.  She has attended ACI Certification Training presented by OCRMA and is currently certified in ACI Grade I.  She has also attended Ohio Bridge Inspection School in conjunction with ODOT.

 

Ms. Ellerbrock has done numerous proof-roll inspections and roadway and drainage inspections for many contractors and municipalities.  She has also done many rough grade checks for different subdivisions in Olmsted Falls.  Ms. Ellerbrock has been the inspector for the Pump Station Rehabilitations in the City of Vermilion, the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Orwell and the Country Lane Wastewater Treatment Plant in Mahoning County.  She is currently the inspector for the Wayne County Bridge type projects.

 

Assistant Surveyor

Burke Rawson

 

Mr. Rawson has over 17 years of experience in the supervision and direction of a survey field crew, digital mapping, and civil design.  He supervises and conducts boundary, construction, control and location surveys; establishments of centerline and right-of-way control; and securing data in the field.  He also coordinates and supervises the field crews for the Survey Department.  He calculates and downloads daily data and facilitates mapping contours.  Mr. Rawson has over 18 years of experience involving CADD operations.

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Roger C. Newberry, P.E.

Mr. Newberry is a professional engineer licensed in the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. His knowledge in computer methodology helps in site design projects as well as the preparation of construction documents and engineering reports. He has been the engineer for numerous health care and commercial/retail developments.

Mr. Newberry effectively utilizes his experience gained in over 30 years of civil engineering practice. This experience ranges from Stormwater and transportation projects to every aspect of site design. He puts this experience to use by serving on various boards and commissions for the local community.

Mr. Newberry has completed numerous site development projects in conjunction with various architectural firms. This experience has allowed him to form many lasting relationships with individuals in the architectural community. His project management style works well with the collaborative nature of this type of project.

Mary Ann Driscoll, P.E.

Ms. Driscoll is responsible for many of the sanitary and site design projects completed by Michael Benza & Associates, Inc.

Sewer - Ms. Driscoll has been responsible for several sanitary sewer installation, replacement, and rehabilitation projects. She has also been responsible for the rehabilitation of several wastewater pumping stations. The scope of each project included the preparation of plans and specifications, cost estimates, preparation of assessments, and construction administration.

Wastewater Treatment - Ms. Driscoll recently completed the Orwell WWTP Expansion and improvements at the Vermilion WWTP. She successfully completed the design of the improvements to the Wintergreen WWTP in Geauga County, and the Damascus WWTP in Mahoning County.

Grant Funding - Ms. Driscoll is skilled in the USDA review and approval process. The process was successfully completed for the Village of Orwell. The Village received $2.8 million in USDA Rural Development Loan/Grant funding as well as additional OPWC grant funding. The projects construction cost was $3.4 million and completed in December 2004.

Water Treatment - Ms. Driscoll was responsible for developing the plans and specifications for the Phase I improvements to the Vermilion Water Treatment Plant.

Site Development - Ms. Driscoll is presently the Project Engineer for the Marymount Health Systems Expansion. She has been responsible for the design of site improvements on several private projects. These site improvements include site grading, utility extensions and installations, storm water detention systems and parking lots.

Donald R. Phifer, P.E.

Roads - In the past, he has been responsible for roadway projects ranging from resurfacing of local streets to the design of the third lane installation for the Ohio Turnpike Commission. Representative clients include the Ohio Department of Transportation, and the Cities of Bay Village, Cleveland, Euclid, Olmsted Falls, and Vermilion.

Traffic - Mr. Phifer has been responsible for the design of traffic signal installations for several communities. These range from single installations at isolated intersections to interconnected systems. He has also prepared traffic reports and analyses for local communities. He has attended traffic training seminars and is familiar with the design of roundabouts and other types of intersection design.

Intersections - Mr. Phifer is presently the Project Engineer for S.R. 82 Intersection Improvements in the City of North Royalton. This project includes detail plans and specifications for upgrading and widening at four major intersections. The project included intersection design, turning lane analysis, storm sewer, etc according to ODOT criteria. The project was funded by ODOT through the LPA process.

He was the project/design engineer for the improvement of SR 45/SR 307 intersection in Ashtabula County for ODOT. This project included signal warrants, intersection design and right of way acquisition. He assisted with the pre-construction meeting and all other construction services.

Water - Mr. Phifer has been responsible for several water line designs undertaken by the firm. He has performed the hydraulic analysis of five water distribution systems for various clients utilizing current water modeling software. These included rate setting and capital improvement programs.

Sewers - Mr. Phifer was responsible for the Storm Water Utility project for the City of Wadsworth and many Stormwater projects in the City of Cleveland Heights. Mr. Phifer was also responsible for several storm and sanitary sewer replacement, installation and rehabilitation projects. He has also performed hydraulic analysis for various clients.

Site Development - Mr. Phifer has been responsible for several private and public site development projects. These include the development of sites for restaurants, hotels, hospitals, assisted living facilities, county governmental buildings, and residential subdivisions. Design of these projects includes site grading, utility extensions, storm water detention, and parking lot layouts, as well as assistance for the client during construction.

George W. Sendrey, P.E.

Mr. Sendrey is responsible for many of the water distribution and treatment projects completed by Michael Benza & Associates, Inc. He has extensive experience with ion exchange and membrane technology and applications. George applies this knowledge of water chemistry to conventional precipitation chemistries for the removal of metals and turbidity.

Mr. Sendrey has completed the plans and specifications for the Phase II improvements to the Vermilion Water Plant and the Johnnycake Road Sewer Extension for the Lake County Utilities Department.

Mr. Sendrey is currently involved in the Wainwright Water Systems Improvement project that includes the installation of a Booster/Chlorination Station, waterline and stand pipe expansion.