Director of Public Works Ara Maloyan announced Tuesday his resignation from the City of Long Beach to accept a similar position with the City of Pasadena, to start December 14, 2015.

“Long Beach has been an incredible City to work for and live in for the last three years,” said Maloyan in a statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served its residents, businesses and visitors, and I am honored to have worked with such incredibly talented and dedicated employees. I have established a close and professional working relationship with my peers and senior management staff and will miss each and every one of them.”

A long list of notable accomplishments were made under Maloyan’s leadership. The Department of Public Works has cleaned more than 150,000 graffiti sites, repaired more 63,000 potholes, resurfaced more than 91 miles of major and secondary streets, received $12.4 million dollars in grant funding to extend the city’s bicycle network and enhance pedestrian-friendly environments along major streets and completed several infrastructure improvement projects, including Chittick Field, as stated in the announcement.

“I will always be grateful to Ara for serving our city with dedication and professionalism,” said City Manager Patrick West in a statement. “He made Long Beach a better, safer and more sustainable city, and we hope that he succeeds in his new position as much as he did here.”

Following Maloyan’s last day on December 11, 2015, the city will conduct a nationwide search for a successor and will consider both internal and external candidates who apply. In the meantime, an interim director appointed by the City Manager will lead the Public Works Department until a successor has been chosen.

Maloyan was hired by the city on July 23, 2012 as Deputy Director Public Works/City Engineer and was appointed Acting Director of Public Works on March 2, 2013. On January 13, 2014 he was appointed Director of Public Works. Before setting his sites on Long Beach, Maloyan was also City Engineer for the City of Beverly Hills, where he also held a variety of engineering positions for 23 years. Maloyan earlier worked for five years for the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, according to the release.

For more information about the the Public Works Department, click here.  

This article was updated at 2:42PM with a clarification from the city regarding soon-to-be-built basketball courts at Marina Vista Park.