Leadership changes brew in the city of Ventura
Ventura has appointed a longtime employee as interim community development director, one of the city’s most visible and significant positions.
Most recently, David Ward has been the city’s planning manager.
In other personnel news, the head of the city’s water department, Kevin Brown, is leaving his post effective Jan. 25.
Brown was chief of Naval Operations Strategic Laydown Assessment in Washington, D.C., before becoming general manager in September 2017. He’s leaving to become chief facilities officer at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Dayton, Ohio, where Brown is from and where he still has family.
Brown said he wasn’t looking for a job, but it was a “really great opportunity, and I couldn’t ignore it,” he said.
Ward returned to the city in 2010, after spending roughly three years working in Santa Barbara County. He has also worked in Monterey County and the cities of Morro Bay and Rancho Palos Verdes in a career that has spanned 23 years, according to a news release sent Wednesday from the city.
He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Cal State Northridge and is a member of the American Planning Institute of Certified Planners, the release states.
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“From rural issues and resource protection to form-based codes, redevelopment and community plans, David has actively engaged with community stakeholders, project applicants and decision-makers to implement a local vision and create great places in our neighborhoods and community,” the news release states.
Ward will take over for Jeff Lambert, who has served in the post since 2009. Lambert is “on leave,” said acting assistant City Manager Barry Fisher.
Fisher said he didn’t know if Lambert would return to the city.
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Lambert referred questions to the city manager.
The Community Development Department has more than 50 employees and is made up of four divisions: Building & Safety, Planning, Code Enforcement and Economic Development.
During his tenure, Lambert has led much of the city’s economic development strategy, served as the liaison between developers, residents and government and coordinated Thomas Fire rebuilding efforts.
The city hasn’t named an interim or successor for Brown’s position.
Brown started just weeks before the Thomas Fire destroyed more than 500 homes in the city. He has led a department that has worked to improve the infrastructure and better prepare for emergencies — including adding several generators to ensure water systems can maintain service when the power goes out, cited as a problem during the fire.
He has also focused on advancing the city’s plans to connect to state water and embark on a new potable reuse project to repurpose millions of gallons of treated wastewater that used to be discharged into the Santa Clara River Estuary.
“It was a wild ride,” Brown said of his time in Ventura, adding that it was exhilarating with so much going on.
Brown said he felt confident the work staff was doing would ensure the city’s water systems were “solid, robust and resilient for the next 150 years.”
Much of the city’s leadership has recently changed. City Manager Alex McIntyre began in November, nearly a year after the previous one left. The heads of the Finance and Technology and Public Works continue being filled on an interim basis.