After 28 years of serving the City of Elizabethton in various roles, Joseph Barnett will complete his final day as the stormwater coordinator on Wednesday, July 31, and move into a new phase of life in retirement.
Serving as stormwater coordinator since 2008, Barnett began his tenure with the city as the electrical inspector before moving to chief building inspector. When his current position became available, he took on the role, aiding in keeping the city in compliance with the MS-4 permit required by the State of Tennessee, which helps to ensure waterways remain clean.
Matthew Balogh, GIS and engineering manager, said that maintenance of the catch basins was not part of the position, but more importantly, it was to make sure the MS-4 process is met by the city – currently, something that many may not even think about.
“People can work somewhere for years and you could never have known they were there, and Joe has been here for 28 years and really left a mark. Thirty years from now a lot of people will know he was here,” said Balogh.
“You go in his office and it’s spotless, which is a big part of that job in keeping files organized. At the end of the year, he does annual reports where he needs to know where everything is, and when state inspectors come, he has to know where those documents are.”
Meanwhile, for Barnett, the completion of his work career as a city employee came like sand through an hourglass as he filled various positions throughout his career.
“The day that I got hired, Larry Miller asked me if I wanted to be electrical inspector, and little did I know it would progress into other things — to building inspector and then on to stormwater,” said Barnett. “It’s gone fast, and the people that I have worked with have been wonderful. I am going to miss them.”
Barnett said his future plans are full, but he looks forward to spending time with his family and grandkids.
“I have a lot of plans. I am going to be an influencer,” said Barnett. “I have a grandson that is three years old, and I am going to influence him. It sounds like a joke, but I am looking forward to spending time with my grandchildren. I have one on the way, and I am going to spend time with my family.
“I am going to travel and do what I want to do. It sounds kind of weird when you talk about the amount of time you have left, and none of us know how much time we have left. So, I look at it like get busy — get busy living and spend time with your family and the people you love.”
Barnett added that the biggest accomplishment he felt he made as a stormwater coordinator was the relationships he built.
“The program was in its infancy when I came over here. The relationships were the biggest accomplishment,” said Barnett. “Keeping the streams clean for future generations is an accomplishment in itself. I hope the person that gets this job does even better than I did — it’s really that important.”
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