The Port of Long Beach, already short several key executive staff members, lost another last Monday when the overseer of the Middle Harbor and Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement projects, Gary J. Cardamone, announced his retirement.
Cardamone, the Port’s Director of Construction Management, announced that it would be his “last day physically here at the port” via email to Port directors on Jan. 6, according to the Long Beach Register. He also said that he will be taking a vacation followed by a personal leave before his retirement is effective on March 4.
Cardamone, who has been with the port since 2002, did not indicate where he would vacation nor explain his timely personal leave, Port spokesman Lee Peterson said.
At this Monday’s Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners meeting, Suzanne Plezia was appointed Acting Director of Construction Management to replace Cardamone.
“[Plezia] is very familiar with the bridge and the other projects that construction management will receive,” Peterson said. “She’ll be able to step right in and do her job of overseeing the individual project managers on each of those jobs.”
The Commissioners also appointed Richard Cameron to be the Managing Director of Environment Affairs and Planning, replacing Robert Kanter who retired last spring. Plezia and Cameron will begin their positions as new acting directors Jan. 25
“Sometimes there are eras when there are a lot of people leaving, a lot of people coming and going, but it’s not anything that should disrupt the activities of the port,” Peterson said.
He said that these projects are “moving right along” and that the Port is one year into construction of the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement and about three years into construction of the Middle Harbor.
The bridge project is expected to be finished in 2016.
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