County Commission | The Magazine April 2017 | Page 36

NEWS YOU CAN USE
COUNTY FAMILY FEATURE
The Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (ATRIP-1) pumped $12 million in Coffee County’s roads and bridges,
including maintenance and safety improvements to more than 7 miles of CR606.
Unity Despite Differences
Counties vary but engineers join forces seamlessly
T
he close collaboration of county
engineers is all the more
impressive when you consider the
differences in their duties, but these
contrasts have not distracted them
from the goal of new revenue for
county roads and bridges this year.
Exhibit A might be Coffee County,
where the engineer has an unusual
plate of work.
For starters, there’s the area’s
history of infrastructure-destroying
natural disasters, with the flood-
prone Pea River bisecting the
county diagonally.
Then there’s responsibility for a
regional landfill that has a track record
of turning a byproduct into a revenue
stream. And don’t forget the county’s
scrap tire recycling center serving parts
36 | COUNTY COMMISSION
of three states.
Not to mention, buildings and
grounds were added to his plate a
couple of years back with a charge to
find a way to pay for predictable capital
projects without borrowing money.
Randy Tindell, Engineer, Coffee County.
Whew. While some people
might run the other way from that
smorgasbord of duties, Randy Tindell
has held down the job since 1995.
When you meet him in person,
no supernatural powers are evident.
His county vehicle is not likely to be
mistaken for the Batmobile.
Rather, Tindell just seems like
one of the nicest people you would
ever hope to meet – the epitome of
an engineer, sense of humor on the
dry side. If you want to see him light
up, ask about Leila, his first and only
grandchild, born last year.
But he’s got that overachiever
habit that runs in the “county family,”
the gene that enables the 67 counties
to accomplish remarkable things
despite enormous challenges.