photography / Troy Boman Cary Campbell stands in Tooele City’s garage Tuesday. Campbell is both the city’s Community Development and Public Works department head.

by Tim Gillie

STAFF WRITER

Cary Campbell is a man who’s always racing to keep up. As head of Tooele City’s Community Development/Public Works department, he’s spent the last seven years working to ensure the city’s infrastructure keeps pace with rampant residential and commercial growth. This spring he’ll tackle two more ambitious projects: the completion of 1000 North and the expansion of the city’s sewer treatment plant.

The city’s new treatment plant completed in 2001 at the northeast end of the city is near capacity.

“We have turned down some developers that want to start new subdivisions due to limited sewer capacity,” Campbell said.

The expansion of the sewer plant began last year and is expected to be completed this fall. The expansion will boost capacity from 2 million gallons a day to 3.2 million and will cost $2.5 million.

The extension of 1000 North to 600 West is scheduled to start this spring. The city will spend about $15 million to extend the road to the Glen Eagle subdivision on the city’s west side. Eventually, city plans call for the extension of 1000 North all the way to SR-112, making it a major conduit to the Deseret Peak Complex and Grantsville. The property owner at the northeast intersection of 1000 North and SR-36 already has preliminary plans for a commercial complex approved by the city.

As spring comes and things begin to thaw, road maintenance will also be a priority for Campbell. Potholes inevitably appear as a result of the freezing and thawing cycle.

Campbell’s department is also busy replacing a culvert under Smelter Road at its intersection with Droubay Road.

“That’s where the drainage ditch from Middle canyon crosses under the road. We want to complete it in time that there won’t be any flooding from the spring thaw up the canyon,” Campbell said.

As Tooele city’s guardian of growth, Campbell directs city planning and zoning, permitting, inspections, and enforcement of city codes and building regulations.

Since he joined Tooele City in 1999 as a building official, Campbell has seen the city grow in tandem with his responsibilities.

“I remember driving into the city for my interview in 1999,” Campbell said. “I looked to the west in Overlake and there was bunch of wafer board covering new construction, then to the east there was a bunch more wafer board, and again to the south. It was an exciting time for growth in Tooele, and I wanted to be part of it.”

Campbell’s career started in the private sector. He graduated from Idaho State University with a degree in architecture in 1974 and went to work for a construction company in Pocatello, Idaho. He joined the volunteer fire department in Chubbuck, just north of Pocatello. When he left to come to Tooele, Campbell was the fire chief, building official, and zoning officer for Chubbuck.
In 2001, then Tooele Mayor Charlie Roberts promoted Campbell to director of community works. In 2006, Mayor Dunlavy added the public works department to Campbell’s job.

“It made sense, since we had building inspectors in both departments. The consolidation brought everything under one head,” Campbell said.

Today Campbell is responsible for everything from repairing potholes to long-range city planning.

All building plans, permits and inspections — both residential and commercial — go through Campbell’s department. City employees make sure plans meet zoning requirements and building codes, and make recommendations to the city planning commission and city council.

Campbell cites the new Wal-Mart and Mountain West Medical Center as major projects his department has handled since he came to Tooele.

“The hospital was particularly interesting,” Campbell said. “A building official might see one new hospital in their lifetime — they are not that common. The code requirements for a hospital are unique and very specific.”

Aging infrastructure is another challenge for his department, Campbell said.

“Some of the original sewer lines in the city were made of clay, and they are now 60 years old and starting to deteriorate,” Campbell said.

Future residential growth will probably be on the city’s north side, as that is where most of the undeveloped land lies, according to Campbell. The city council just approved the first plat for the Eagle Bend subdivision located at 3200 North Main Street. Plat A, the first phase of the subdivision, will consist of 51 lots.

tgillie@tooeletranscript.com