Tim Austin

The Wichita Eagle

March 01, 2008

On the wall of Tim Austin's office is a map of a lake that never was. The proposal to create a lake in Cowley County collapsed four years ago under protest by local landowners, but Austin hasn't given up. Last year, he helped find backers to pay for an economic impact study of a lake somewhere in the area.

'We'll get there,' he said with a smile.

Austin, an engineer with Poe & Associates, has made an art of getting his way.

He is an operator. He knows everybody, on the development side and the government side. He's worked on scores of developments, big and small, and faced many a hostile crowd at public meetings.

He wins by doing his homework, knowing how the bureaucracy works and taking the long view. As a result, he's developed a reputation for being able to push through projects -- the lake is only one -- that sometimes take years to happen.

Austin, 46, claims Tescott as his hometown, although his family moved all over the state with his school superintendent father. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Kansas State University and a master's degree in public administration from Wichita State University.

He has served on a number of professional and community boards. He just got off the airport board, which voted to build a new terminal during his tenure, and has started on the city's design council.

He is divorced and has three children.

You're an engineer, but you seem to do more than the engineering. What is it that you do?

'I like to think of myself as a engineering consultant, more of a facilitator. With the regulatory environment always changing, not only at the local level, but the state and federal level, with new rules coming into place, obviously it affects my clients and their ability to develop projects. And there is a certain process that has to be followed. I look on myself as a guide to help them navigate that process. It can be pretty complex.

'One of the things I enjoy about this job is I deal with government on so many levels, whether it be community policing issues or the Fire Department on building codes or the department that might affect development on code enforcement, obviously engineering with drainage and public works and traffic engineering, and the law department, just pretty much every aspect of City Hall gets touched on.'

So you know all those people?

'The vast majority of them.'

You've been in lots of public meetings where you represented some project that has gotten the neighborhood riled up. People get so angry and make it so personal. How do you stand that?

'I don't try to distance myself. I really try to maintain a professional decorum, a respectful decorum. I may not agree with the opinions being expressed, but I try to understand the underlying concerns.... It doesn't serve any purpose to get into an argument.'

Ever lost your temper at one of these meetings?

'I've had to catch myself a number of times.... I'm as human as anyone else. The older I get the more mature I get, and the easier it is to take it. I've had many people come up to me after meetings and make that same observation. They'll ask 'How do you keep your cool?' or 'You have a big target in the middle of your chest, how do you take the shots?' It's part of the education and training of a professional engineer. It's what we do.'

Ever protested a development near your house?

'No. I've always lived in the middle of the neighborhood out of the flood plain.'

What is the status of the lake project now?

'I'm on the board of a nonprofit called Kansans for a Great Lake, and that entity has contracted with a group to perform an economic impact study of what a lake project like what was proposed in the south-central Kansas region, what the benefit is to this region. We felt like at the time that the site in Cowley County was an excellent choice, but it doesn't have to be the only choice. And that study is not looking at a specific location.'

Is the lake one of your disappointments?

'No.... That's because we've never gotten to finality about it. Obviously some people had a significant amount of misunderstanding about what was trying to be achieved. It's an ongoing dream. We've got that economic impact study that's being worked on, and until we get to closure on whether its appropriate for this community to have it or not... I can't say I'm disappointed at all.'

So, you take the long-term view?

'I take a very long-term view on most of my projects.'

You don't get flustered or frustrated easily, do you?

'Can't afford to.'

So what hobby do you pursue, something exacting like woodworking?

'No. I'm kind of a Type-A guy. I usually work out a lot. I do

Copyright © 2008 The Wichita Eagle, All Rights Reserved.