by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
Joey Duncan’s conflict resolution skills have come in handy, whether he’s talking down a parent on the soccer field or calming down a citizen over the telephone.
The recently-promoted Public Works director is a certified soccer referee, but his official task – overseeing a department of more than 700 people who work on most of Jacksonville’s infrastructure projects – can sometimes draw just as much frustrated feedback. Public Works is in charge of the improvements on Hendricks Avenue in San Marco, for example – a project that hasn’t always proven popular with business owners along the street.
“Sometimes people want us to fix a problem that we can’t fix,” he said. “Every citizen is a customer ... It’s hard to tell them that it (a project) is on schedule. The people who live in the middle of these projects, it wears on them.”
Duncan is still settling into his new job, along with a new office in the Ed Ball Building. Part of the department moved there just a week ago. One of the major complications of his department is overlap, Duncan said. It’s difficult to explain to citizens that Public Works’ responsibilities often overlap with those of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and JEA. Duncan worked for JEA managing projects for 24 years, but he said one of Public Works’ biggest challenges can be as simple as knowing where to direct a call.
“That’s one of the hardest things we deal with when we get a customer call,” said Duncan. “We’re mixed with them (other organizations and departments).”
Duncan said he wants to keep a customer service focus in the midst of any confusion, from phone calls to projects. His favorite tasks are simple ones.
“Sometimes, you could go a couple years and go, ‘What have we really done here?’ ” he said. “It’s really fun to tell somebody, ‘Yes, I can fix that – and I can fix that tomorrow.’ ”
The scope of Public Works’ projects grow along with the city, but Duncan said he wants to preserve the “big city with a small town feel” he fell in love with when he moved to Jacksonville.
“I fell in love with the city. I’ve watched it change,” he said. “Now we’re experiencing growing pains, but we’re still trying to keep that friendly feeling.”