At
the December 8th Board meeting, Road Commissioners Doug
Fuller, Fred Veigel, and Ken Schwartz
announced their appointment of Roy Townsend as
the new Managing Director of the Washtenaw County Road
Commission.
Road Commissioner Ken Schwartz stated that Townsend was the best choice to take over as Managing Director because of his “connection with the community. Mayors, supervisors, Department of Public Works, they all know Roy and like working with Roy,” Schwartz said. “On a day-to-day basis he will be able to work with the townships and our other customers. Roy has an excellent reputation,” Schwartz said. All three commissioners agree that Roy has a “proven track record that will lead the agency through challenging financial times ahead as well as the insight to assist the board in determining a long-term vision for the agency.”
Townsend, who received a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University in 1984, attained his P.E. (Professional Engineer) license in California in 1987 and his P.E. License in Michigan in 1989. He went on to receive an MPA, Masters in Public Administration, from Eastern in 1998.
Roy began his tenure with the Washtenaw County Road Commission in 1987 as a Construction Engineer and was aptly promoted to Supervisor of Design and Construction in 1990. After furthering his knowledge and expertise within the agency, he was promoted to Assistant County Highway Engineer in 1995 and then Director of Engineering in 2001. In 2003 Roy became the County Highway Engineer along with his position as Engineering Director. Prior to coming to the Road Commission, Townsend worked for three years as a Civil Engineer at Caltrans (California Department of Transportation).
Townsend has been responsible for numerous projects and accomplishments during his career with the Road Commission, including the Dixboro Bridge realignment and widening, the Maple/Foster Bridge historic rehabilitation, East Delhi Bridge historic rehabilitation, Jackson Boulevard Phase II construction, and the Ellsworth/Platt Road improvements. He has served for over six years on the CRAM (County Road Association of Michigan) Engineering Committee in which he is still active, and has also served for over 12 years on the WATS (Washtenaw Area Transportation Study) Technical Committee. In 2008, Roy received the prestigious award of Urban Engineer of the Year from the National Association of County Engineers. Mr. Townsend also received the John B. Swainson Historic Preservation award in 2007 for his efforts on the Delhi Bridge project.
As Managing Director, Mr. Townsend states that his primary goals are to “contain road commission costs while securing additional outside revenue from various Federal, State, and local sources.” Townsend is charged with administering the operation and finances of the Road Commission, which encompasses the supervision of 109 Road Commission staff, consisting of Engineers, Field Supervisors, Technicians, Clerical staff, Operations and Maintenance crews, and a number of mechanics. Moreover, along with the assistance of his highly-qualified staff, Roy oversees the operation of five facilities maintenance yards, three fuel stations, three gravel pits, and two brine wells, as well as a vehicle fleet consisting of sedans, pickups, large trucks, graders and other pieces of maintenance equipment.
The Washtenaw County Road Commission is pleased to extend their congratulations to Roy D. Townsend, P.E., for his past achievements and promotion to Managing Director.