If you talk with those with whom he worked, they will tell you Ruben Salinas certainly knows his stuff and is more than happy to share it. But what they will miss most is the friendship and camaraderie he provided, not only to his co-workers, but to all who came into the office thinking they knew what was going on, only to leave knowing for sure.

“I really enjoyed working with people,” Salinas said. “I liked to say we don’t have problems, we have opportunities for solutions.”

Former co-worker Santiago Mota said it was amazing how people would come into the office with plans under their arms and chips on their shoulders. After talking with Salinas, however, who would explain not only why their plans wouldn’t work, but what would, “they would leave laughing out the door.

“He educated people on how codes worked,” Mota continued. “He was really, really a people person. He would say, ‘Remember, at one point or another, we are all customers.’”

Born in Laredo 65 years ago, Salinas graduated from Martin High School in 1965, and then attended Laredo Junior College for a bit before entering into six months of active duty with the U.S. Army Reserves in 1967. Four years later, he graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Building Construction.

While in college, Salinas started out in architecture, before the days of computer design. “I used the old drafting tables and T-squares,” he said. “But I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life. I really wanted to put it all together.”

And for the next eight years after graduating, Salinas did just that, adding to Laredo’s skyline while working for three different construction firms. In 1979, he saw that his hometown needed a Building Official. He got the job and stayed there for the next 32 years and six months.

During that time, Laredo grew from a town of 70,000 or so to its current population 225,000. Salinas grew along with the town, taking certification exams whenever he could so he could size up construction from all angles.

“I could change hats and do whatever needed to be done—plumbing, electrical, or the whole thing,” Salinas said. As the department grew, he was able to hire staff such as Mota to help with the growing job demands. Another of his employees was Gilberto Iruegas, now Senior Plans Examiner for Laredo.

“What I learned, I learned from him,” Iruegas said of Salinas. “What to look for at different stages of construction, that kind of thing. He made our lives a lot easier. It’s like a part of our family left, like a brother going off to college or to the service. We do miss him.”

Administrative Assistant Sandra Escamilla said Salinas was a great boss, knowing every building inside and out, as soon as she gave him an address. And she said his word was golden in the industry, so great was the respect people had for him. “He knew the codes,” Mota added, “and he kept up with them.”

Among Salinas’ special projects was overseeing renovation of the city’s high schools, including his alma mater, Martin, which achieved landmark status, and the construction eight years ago of a 10,000-seat convention center—all while navigating the intricacies of local government.

“He wouldn’t back down,” Mota said of Salinas’ dealings with tough issues. “He would tell them, ‘You guys approved this (language). Now let’s stick to it.”

“Five different city managers,” is all that Salinas will say on that subject.

Now, Salinas is his own boss, picking up enough consulting work to where “I’m busier than when I wasn’t retired.” That includes helping out some other former Laredo officials who moved on to Cotulla, Texas, a small town becoming an oil and natural gas giant.

When he’s not working, he’ll be doting on his two grandchildren, making sure there’s enough ice cream in the freezer.

And while going forward, Salinas also can look back on a career that included membership with the Building Officials Association of Texas, the Code Enforcement Association of Texas, the International Association of Electrical Inspectors, the former Texas Industrialized Building Code Council (appointed by former Governor George W. Bush and re-appointed by Governor Rick Perry), the Texas Flood Plain Management Association, the Laredo Kiwanis Club, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University.

And if he needs to be reminded of his legacy in Laredo, all Salinas needs to do is look around the city. “On my last day of work, I was driving to the office,” Salinas said. “I would see a building and say, “I remember working on that.’ And then another. It was a little sad, but it was time.”