Public Works Director calls it a career

Published on November 16, 2022

Spend much time with Jay McDonald and it doesn’t take long before the passion he’s had for the ideals of Weld County Government shines through. That’s because the Oklahoma native has never looked at his 20-year career with the Weld County Department of Public Works as simply a job. Rather, it was an opportunity to make a difference — both on Weld County’s transportation infrastructure and within the department itself.

As he formally steps away from his role as director this week — a position he’s held since May of 2014 after several years as the department’s Trucking and Mining Division Supervisor — and looks ahead to retirement, he does so knowing he accomplished those goals thanks to the hardworking people he’s met and led over the past two decades.

“Pat Persichino mentored me and several of us,” McDonald said, explaining the late former director’s impact on his career. “I was fortunate that the board selected me (as director) when they did. The last 8.5 years have been historic for Weld County, and I’ve just been blessed to be the director during that time.”

As the county has grown throughout the last two decades, the demand on the county’s transportation system has followed. Public Works has faced and met several challenges including reopening more than 100 roads washed out by the Weld County Flood in 2013, the construction of the award-winning Weld County Road (WCR) 47, 49 and the Parkway in 2017, completing the replacement of more than 200 load-restricted bridges in 2019 and the design of the county’s first roundabout at WCR 54 and 17, which opened in 2020. While McDonald credits the staff members across the nine divisions of Public Works for those accomplishments, Weld County Commissioner Mike Freeman, one of the commissioners who appointed McDonald director, said his leadership was key in all of those projects.

“Jay was absolutely the right person for the job,” Freeman said. “His ability to approach things from a team aspect was an asset to the department and to our goals for Public Works. He has set the department up for success, and we wish him the best in retirement.”

While his career can be measured in the number of road and bridge projects Public Works has designed or completed, many to regional or national acclaim, McDonald hopes his tenure is remembered much more simply.

“That I’ve been dedicated to the mission of his department and loyal to my employees,” McDonald said when asked how he’d like to be remembered. His comments then, though succinct, spoke to the overall gratitude he’s felt for such a meaningful career. “It’s been a humbling experience.”