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RANDOLPH – The Middle Logan Creek Floodplain mitigation project will be wrapping up this summer. When construction crews and heavy machinery make their exodus from town, the project’s superintendent plans to stay behind and become a permanent part of the community.
Tim Swatzell first arrived in Randolph and on the job at the Middle Logan Creek last July. He first noticed the hand waves from motorists passing by.
“As an adult in a bigger city, you don’t get the waving at everybody,” he said.
The quiet evenings of Randolph also reminded him of boyhood summers spent with extended family in a small farming community in central Illinois named Petersburg.
Next, he observed the friendliness of everyone he met. Conversations and small talk blossomed into friendships.
“There’s always something to talk about with somebody,” Swatzell said. “It’s so much nicer than the uncomfortable silence you get in a big city environment when everybody keeps to themselves. Growing up in Chicago, we could walk down the street and name every single person out on their front porch and stop and talk to them. That’s how this town is. All the people make time to talk to you. That’s what real life is about.”
Now almost a year later, he’s ready to call Randolph home on a more permanent basis by purchasing two lots with plans to build a residence here.
Swatzell’s work on the floodplain project is nearly complete.
The second and final phase of the project has been delayed due to an abundance of rain and severe weather this spring but is set to finish yet this summer.
Once construction is finished, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will submit their final paperwork and complete documents will be forwarded on to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for updated mapping.
Once Randolph is out of a designated floodplain officially, property owners with federally- backed mortgages will no longer have to pay flood insurance, in effect opening the floodgates to community growth.
One could say that objective is being met already with Swatzell and his family moving to Randolph.
“I’m a testament to our own work,” he said. Building plans are already in the works with Swatzell’s wife, Erika Rummel, her parents and her daughter all planning to make the move from Colorado Springs, Colo. They will also be bringing their four “big, drooling slobbering” Mastiff dogs.
He’s traveled all over the country for his work as a contractor with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and has never once wanted to stay on at a community after the job was completed - until now.
At 63 years old, Swatzell is eager to settle fully into retirement in Randolph within the next few years.
“Out of all my trips out of town, this has been the most pleasurable. It’s been a wonderful time and experience,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it, looking forward to meeting new friends and being in a new place, a nice quiet atmosphere without all the hustle and bustle.”
