Dothan says goodbye to retiring public works director after 37 years of service

Dothan commissioners and city officials lauded the vigor and professionalism Metzger has exhibited in his role during their Tuesday meeting before and after his retirement announcement.

“He has certainly had a big impact on this community,” City Manager Kevin Cowper said. “There are so many things that are going on, so many orange barrels out there.”

Metzger choked up while thanking God and the city commission for the opportunity for his lengthy and fulfilling career in public works, showed appreciation for his staff for their hard work and friendship, and thanked his family for their support.

“It’s been a great career,” Metzger said. “I’ve seen a lot of growth… Dothan, when I got here in 1984, was kind of growing… We had a lot of subdivisions, commercial development going on at the time.”

Metzger noted the “growing pains” associated with widening Westgate Parkway that ultimately helped strengthen its role as a connector road all the way from Highway 431. That project is continuing with the planned widening and extension of Honeysuckle Road to Campbellton Highway to serve as a bypass to Ross Clark Circle.

Reopening the city’s landfill to save the city around $1 million a year was also a huge project for Metzger that was completed last year after years-long legal battles with nearby residents.

As part of a list of Metzger’s accomplishments, Cowper also noted the introduction of roundabouts and adaptive traffic signals to improve traffic flow.

Working as the head of the city’s public works department is often a thankless job, Commissioner David Crutchfield pointed out, while thanking Metzger for his responsiveness and dedication in his role.

Metzger receives complaints about roadwork, traffic signals, and weather-related issues more often then he gets compliments from the public.

“I feel like I grew into the job. It took time, and your skin gets tougher and tougher over time,” Metzger said.

“It’s a service we provide to the community and so everybody is our customers, so we want to provide a good service to them and that’s what the staff does.”

Choosing to retire was a hard decision for Metzger.

“It’s hard to kind of put it all down and just let it go and especially leaving the staff and the people I’ve hired and the projects still in progress,” Metzger said. “When you try to think ‘I’ll stay until the end of this project’ or ‘I’ll stay to the end of this project,’ there are always more projects going on.”