Strolling downtown, it's hard not to see Pat McGarvey's work in one form or another.

Town Center, the flowers, even the streetlights shining on the path, McGarvey has had a hand in it all.

But on April 30, when he retires, those big reminders are all that Austin will have of its 11-year city administrator who helped change the face of the city.

One of those big reminders is the Austin Public Library.

By the time McGarvey joined the city in February of 1992, two previous votes to levy money for a new library had failed.

McGarvey wrote up a plan. In 1995, the council authorized a bond sale for the Port Authority. The city then used, and is still using, interest from building funds to make payments on those bonds. Once the bonds are paid off, which should be in 2016, ownership of the library transfers from the Port Authority to the city.

There's one thing about that plan that McGarvey emphasizes: there was no increase in taxes.

"The new library, I think, is one of the finest facilities of its type in the state," he said. "We made a huge transition from an inadequate facility for a city of this size to one that's one of the nicest for a city of this size."

The most difficult project, according to McGarvey, was changing the old Woolworth's building into the Town Center.

The Woolworth's building had sat empty for about 10 years when McGarvey presented his plan to the council. That plan, converting the building into office units, was met with heavy opposition.

"People thought that it was a project that probably should have been strictly done by private enterprise," he said.

But it passed, barely, by one vote in the Port Authority and one vote in the city council. Tom Purcell, the city council member At-Large at the time, worked closely with McGarvey during that project.

"That kind of kicked loose a lot of stuff," Purcell said. "People soon turned around and Main Street was full of business."

There were other projects: the Courtyard and Chauncey Apartments, the Mill Pond Trail and Packer Arena are a few. Again, McGarvey proudly points out the price tag.

"All these things were accomplished, as well as running the day-to-day services of the city of Austin with a cumulative total property tax increase over these years of $344,740," he said.

Mayor Bonnie Rietz said all of these things demonstrate his greatest strength.

"His visioning. Looking to the future, looking at areas of the city, envisioning what could be and getting it done," she said.

Tom Dankert, director of administrative services, has worked for the city since 1996.

"Pat's a dreamer. He likes to put these big projects together. Where I come into play is to swing the numbers for what his goals are," he said. "It's nice to have a dreamer with big ideas."

A dreamer with a little attitude, it seems.

"Pat is Irish and has a hot temper," said Rietz, who has, on occasion, had to help cool him off after heated discussions.

McGarvey won't deny it.

"I don't come with a whole bushel-basket full of patience," he said.

However, Rietz said his flare-ups cool off pretty quickly.

"He doesn't hold grudges," she said. "He has a fiery temper, but he doesn't hold grudges."

"We didn't always get to see eye to eye on all the issues," Dankert said. "But the bottom line is, those couple of times in particular that got heated, we walked away, came back a half hour later and got the job done."

You cannot please everyone, Purcell said. As a city administrator, anything you do will make some people happy and some people angry.

"He has a lot of courage," Purcell said. "He took a lot of flack, stood his ground and got a lot of good stuff done for Austin."

"I'm very thankful to him for all the help he has been to me throughout the years and the projects we've been able to get done," Rietz said. "I will miss having him as a sounding board for various issues. I will miss him … and the city will miss him."

McGarvey will miss the city as well.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed my 11 years here," he said. "I appreciate the opportunities I've been given. I want to thank (the city), and I wish them the best."

Matt Merritt can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at :mailto:matt.merritt@austindailyherald.com