Making a difference in public works

John Wilson freely admits he might not be the most exciting conversationalist at a cocktail party, but he still enjoys leading a city department that often operates behind the scenes.

“No one really wants to talk with me about manhole covers,” he says with a laugh.

“I like being able to make a difference in my adopted hometown,” he added. “I feel like I was able to do something that contributes to the community.”

Wilson has served as Public Works director for the city of Whitefish for the last 17 years. He begins work this month in the same position for Missoula.

He plans to work in Missoula for the about five years and then return home to Whitefish. He said he’ll still be spending his weekends here at the golf course.

“It’s exciting to be headed on to new projects, but I’m not really moving,” he said. “I can’t imagine leaving Whitefish completely behind.”

Wilson first arrived in the area from Texas at the age of 17 when he spent the summer working as a bus boy in the Swiftcurrent Inn in Glacier National Park. He worked several summers in Glacier and winters at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Wilson became a permanent resident of Whitefish in 1977. He was living on Whitefish Lake paying $150 a month in rent, owned a sailboat and was skiing 100 days a year. He was, “living like a king, as a lot of people were back then.”

Eventually he met and married his wife, Marjorie. In search of a career, he went to college and earned his engineering degree in 1990.

“Engineering was a new way for me to be involved in building things,” he said. “As a carpenter I always liked building something and at the end of the day you could see your efforts.”

He spent a short time in private work, but the public sector appealed with the ability to see a project through to the end and beyond into the maintenance that follows. Before working in Whitefish, Wilson served as assistant city engineer for the city of Kalispell for six years.

For some the public works department is the place to call with street plowing complaints and street reconstruction is often the most visible result of a job, Wilson said. But more often than not, the work goes unnoticed

“There’s a lot of people that work hard to make sure clean water comes out when the tap is turned on,” he said. “We’re all proud that we can pull that off.”

Wilson is most proud of Whitefish’s work to rebuild Central Avenue. The three-year project reconstructed Central and portions of First and Third streets. New sidewalks were installed, intersections were reconfigured, landscaping with irrigation was installed, and new street lighting, benches and bicycle racks were added.

“It was a hard project to make sure it had the least impact possible — working before the tourist seasons,” he said. “A whole lot of people, including city staff and contractors, worked to make that happen. I’m thankful I was part of that.”

He also cites the construction of a new water treatment plant in 2000 as a highlight of his career. He says he is disappointed he won’t be working for the city as it reconstructs its wastewater treatment plant in the next few years.

“It’s a fascinating process and interesting for an engineer when a large project like that comes along,” he said.

Wilson also looks forward to the construction of the Skye Park footbridge, which he calls a “beautiful and interesting project.”

“I’ll be sure to come back to check on that project,” he said. “I regret not being a part of that.”