New director of Grant County Public Works talks about his role, career

EPHRATA — Two months into his new job as Grant County Public Works director, Sam Castro said he has enjoyed his career in public works, including working in the field and as an administrator and public works director.

Castro started his new role May 4. He replaced Jeff Tincher, who resigned to take another job.

Castro came to Grant County after two years as assistant public works director in Blaine and a long career in urban and rural areas prior to that.

“I love what I do. I really feel blessed, fortunate to be in a position where everything I do matters,” he said.

The biggest job for the department is taking care of the county’s roads and bridges. Public works department personnel are responsible for about 2,800 miles of roads and rights of way in Grant County, he said, paved and unpaved roads, guard rails and road signs.

The department also oversees the county’s solid waste landfill.

Castro said that when he came to Grant County, he was “very pleased with the maintenance levels (of the county’s infrastructure) that I saw. I really feel good with the skill sets of the employees here.”

Citizens pay taxes to maintain infrastructure, he said, and have the right to expect good service. It’s part of his job to make sure roads and bridges are safe to travel and in good condition.

Bridges present a challenge.

“The cost to maintain and repair (bridges) is tremendous,” he said.

Based on his experience, he said a large city and a rural county have different challenges. An urban public works department has to figure out how to work around large volumes of traffic and lots of people. But urban areas have better funding sources than rural counties, he said.

Castro’s entire career has been in public works, he said, starting with a job with the city of Bellevue at 21 years of age. For almost 20 years he worked for Bellevue public works and didn’t really consider joining management.

But as time went on, administrative personnel in the department retired or got new jobs, and Castro said he saw an opportunity. The city of Bellevue offered its employees a chance for continuing education, and he took it.

He spent five years working for the city of Auburn after leaving Bellevue, he said, while Auburn went through a growth spurt, about doubling its population.

He worked with Auburn’s engineers and planners to write development standards.

“That was a very rewarding position for me,” he said.

The next step up the career ladder was director of public works, which led him to Pend Oreille County.

He was public works director there for 10 years, but his son and daughter lived on the west side and wanted him to move closer, he said. But both moved after he had taken the job in Blaine.

His children have both returned to the state, and Grant County offers a central location for his family, since his parents live in Tri-Cities, he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].