by Bailey White
Staff Writer
He’s traveled the world, and now Matthew Dominy is in Jacksonville to work as Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s new deputy executive director and chief engineer. Nov. 4 was his first day on the job, which greeted him with an overwhelming number of projects.
“I’m jumping in with both feet,” said Dominy of the myriad of plans JTA has in the works. “It’s different than other jobs I’ve had in terms of scale. There is a lot going on. It’s an exciting time for JTA because of the Better Jacksonville Plan and so many long term commitments.”
As chief engineer, Dominy will be responsible for all of JTA’s highway projects.
“From their planning to the design and construction,” he said.
Current JTA projects include numerous road improvements, such as the ones Hendricks Avenue will soon see, and starting a San Marco trolley route.
Dominy, a native of Long Island, came to Jacksonville from his most recent position as Alachua County’s public works director, a position he also held in Allentown, Pa. and Torrington, Conn. For the most part, his duties here are similar to past jobs where he managed road systems, waste collection, animal services and parks and recreation. It’s the size and scale of projects that is changing. He has gone from populations of 12,000 in Allentown to Alachua County, where there are 220,000 in the area and he managed a staff of 198 and a $36 million budget.
One element linking the positions is the lack of resources at the disposal of the director of public works.
“One recurring problem with local government is the perennial lack of funding. The reach always exceeds the grasp,” said Dominy.
His job with JTA will draw on experiences from different jobs because of his close work with road systems as a public works director, but Dominy is hoping the job will be free of bureaucratic red tape.
“This job is similar to other jobs because I’ve done a lot of transportation projects. The difference is that the amount of day-to-day politics is reduced, which was fairly attractive,” he said.
Dominy has had an interest in local government since his father was in elective local politics when he was growing up.
“I came to know and understand it and it’s an environment that intrigues me,” he said.
Dominy has also had the opportunity to broaden his view of the world, having spent time oversees and in virtually every part of the United States.
After he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Bucknell University, Dominy joined the Army Corps of Engineers, traveling to Vietnam, Germany and Washington, D.C.
He was in Vietnam in 1971, building 26 miles of roadway and a 200,000 square-foot warehouse.
“We were pretty much left alone during the day, but the enemy used the roadway at night. When you’re so young, you think you’re invincible,” said Dominy of the turbulent time he was in Vietnam.
During his four years in Germany, Dominy was stationed in different parts of the country, doing engineering work and strategic planning. He was in charge of a group of 135 soldiers and was the number two person in an engineering unit of 650.
“The Army Corps gives you an excellent opportunity to take on a lot of responsibility at a young age,” said Dominy.
When Dominy returned to the U.S., the Army sent him back to school, allowing him to choose Utah or Florida as the place to earn his master’s degree in civil engineering management.
“I chose the Gators,” he said.
He worked in Washington, D.C. as a personnel manager for three years before leaving the army and moving to California, where he managed a manufacturing plant.
Balancing his career as an engineer and as a force in local government, Dominy has worked as a consultant for firms in Connecticut and Texas.
In Houston, HNTB Corp., a national firm he worked for, sent him to Washington, Missouri, California, South Dakota and other parts of the country to work with municipalities, helping local governments improve the efficiency of their public works departments and utilities.
Though consulting has taken him to different places, engineering is what truly excites him.
“What I like is that you have the opportunity to build something that will exist at the end of the day that didn’t exist at the beginning of the day. It gives me a psychic charge,” said Dominy.
Dominy gets the same pleasure from sailing and, of course, traveling. He and his wife, Day, do a fair amount of traveling, making an annual trip to Mexico in February to escape the cold.
Another excuse for travel is their grown children. One works as a graphic designer in Phoenix and another lives in Connecticut with the couples’ five-year-old grandson.
Still, Dominy is looking forward to settling down in Jacksonville. He and his wife purchased a house in the Julington Creek area and should be fully relocated here soon.
“I’ve moved 38 times and I’m excited to make Jacksonville my permanent home,” said Dominy.