The creation of a new position within the City that focuses on economic development has been announced, following a push to do so last year by the City Council.
The motion—largely directed by Vice Mayor Robert Garcia with the support of fellow councilmembers Gary DeLong, James Johnson, and Patrick O’Donnell—revolved around the City’s need to be not only more business friendly, but more powerful in its ability to create jobs and strengthen neighborhoods.
The new position, the Business and Property Development Director, will be headed by Mike Conway, who currently serves as the Public Works Director. His goal will be to serve as a central point of contact for businesses, not only helping businesses access what they need from the City but also guide them through planning and permitting processes. Furthermore, given the Redevelopment Agency’s dissolving in 2012, Conway will also help develop the publicly held properties that were once under the RDA’s jurisdiction.
According to Garcia, a caveat to creating the position was that it would be revenue neutral, leading City Manager Pat West to consolidate the Public Works Director and the City Engineer positions to save money that will allow creation of this position.
“I’m excited about this opportunity to expand our economic development programs, and to create a single point of contact for business,” said Garcia. “Mr. Conway is well prepared to help businesses cut the red tape, and lead efforts to recruit new business to Long Beach.”
Current City Engineer Ara Maloyan will act as interim Public Works Director/City Engineer while West searches for a permanent hire. All of these changes are effective March 1.
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