Written by Ben Cox – It’s time to recognize the people who make our lives easier, to shine a spotlight on the men and women of our community that work for us, even if we never know it. We present to you “Civic Spotlight.” (And yes, this feature usually publishes on Tuesday, but much like our beloved city services, after a holiday things got done a day later than normal.)
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Today we focus our attention to a man who is very closely acquainted with the term “a few balls in the air.” Assistant City Manager Tim Airheart is in his third year over Public Works and is in charge of over 100 full time employees.
“I have 10 departments that I oversee and thank goodness I have 10 really good department heads that over see those because they keep me out of trouble,” he said.
Water, wastewater collection and treatment, landfill, sanitation, fleet management, fleet services, engineering and a few departments all fall under the umbrella of Public Works.
Airheart likens his position to that of a navigator on a ship. “The main thing is to keep the ship afloat, and headed in the right direction.”
Airheart credits City Manager Emily Crawford with charging him to “begin a culture shift” in his departments. A more approachable feel is the goal for Airheart and his department heads, a reversal from a previous “that’s just the way it is” mentality.
The varied focuses of the job are what keeps Airheart going, and he loves it. “This is the job of a lifetime… I get to do things on a daily basis and work on projects that I never thought I’d have gotten to work on.”
One project currently out for bids is the updating of Gordon Wood Stadium Drive. The soccer field stadium exit that leads to the Middle School will be widened some as well as resurfaced, and drainage will also be updated. The job is planned to be completed by mid-August.
Airheart offers another project as his personal favorite, even if “it was a simple job.” The Riverside project, as Airheart refers to it, was the rebuilding of a portion of the walking trail at Riverside Park for safety’s sake
“It had gotten dangerous after the flood of 2016, the walkway was very close to the edge, and you were 15 feet above the water.” An archeological survey and eventual “blessing by the Corps of Engineers” lead to the resurfacing of that stretch of the trails.
This is not the first time Airheart has worked for Brownwood, either. “I started out here right out of college, in the street department, patching potholes and spraying weeds.”
Learning his trade truly from the ground up.
Tim Airheart, thank you for your service to the residents of Brownwood, and for allowing us to shine our Civic Spotlight in your direction.
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