But Ki Bealey wouldn’t have it any other
way–because he loves his job.
And just as importantly, he loves where he
does it.
An independent consulting engineer in the
state for more than a decade, he headed to
the southeastern Washington city of Walla
Walla at the request of a former client who
called to gauge his interest in taking over as
director of publicworks.
Bealey conceded to needing a map to find
the place the first time around, but its
charms in the years since he arrived have far
outweighed the migraines that helping to
run a city can sometimes elicit.
He now oversees a department with 66 full-
time employees, an operating, capital, debt
service and reserve budget of approximately
$33 million and a responsibility to handle
the planning, programming, construction,
maintenance and operations of the city's
utilities(water, wastewater and storm-
water), solid waste and streets/roads/traffic
signals/street lighting.
It’s a tough job that takes a reliable and
talented team.
“These people that I work with, I’m
fortunate toworkwith them,”Bealey said.
62 | BusinessWorld |
June-July 2014
