When working for the City for 53 years isn’t quite enough, there’s just one way to complete it: work one more day.
Friday is that extra day for Ray Rountree, who is retiring from the Public Works Department. He has seen a lot of changes in that time, including working for nine Jacksonville mayors, beginning with Haydon Burns.
After being discharged from the U.S. Army on Oct. 8, 1968, Rountree went to work exactly two months later for the City’s highway and sewer department, repairing potholes.
“I worked on the back of a truck and we patched roads. I made $1.22 an hour,” said Rountree.
Several years later, he was transferred to the survey department and worked as a rodman until 1972, when he took an office job as a survey research analyst in the engineering department.
Rountree said he knows every square foot of the city like the back of his hand when it comes to property lines and rights of way.
He developed a reputation for having an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject matter since he rarely has to check any reference material to locate the correct map or survey when a contractor or engineer has a question.
Rountree also is a bit of a historian when it comes to Duval County’s topography.
He said one of his most prized finds during his career was a map of the Northside signed by George Washington’s brother, who was a cartographer. It showed the original survey of the Kingsley Plantation.
Another artifact in the City’s collection is a set of diagrams drawn by architect Henry Klutho in 1928.
Rountree said he rescued the maps from the trash bin when the department moved out of the old City Hall on Bay Street and into the Ed Ball Building.
“I love the research and I really like finding old stuff,” said Rountree.
Asked what he plans to do Monday morning, the first day in more than 53 years that he hasn’t had to report to work, Rountree said he has a plan.
“I’m going to stay home and swing on my swing,” he said.
What about becoming a consultant like so many other City retirees who turned their years of experience into a new and lucrative career?
“Oh, I’ve had offers from title and survey companies who called and wanted my home phone number,” Rountree said.
“But I couldn’t charge them anything. We’ve helped each other so much over the years.”
356-2466