Calexico hires Public Works director

CALEXICO — The city of Calexico announced Thursday the hiring of its new Public Works Director, David Dale, who will oversee an aggressive attempt by the city to implement its five-year $80 million Capital Improvement Program (CIP).

Dale had begun working with the city as a contract city engineer in May, and had previously worked on local construction management Dale projects with

the city of El Centro, Imperial irrigation District, Heber Public Utility District and Seeley County Water District.

The California State Polytechnic University, Pomona graduate has 17 years of experience in a wide range of civil engineering, construction, and land surveying projects, and is licensed in California as a professional engineer and a land surveyor, a press release stated.

Dale assured the public that its well-being and safety will be his utmost priority, and that the department will be responsive to its needs.

“We will reshape the city’s image and the perception of the city to the community at large,” Dale said in a written statement.

Starting Monday, Dale will be responsible for the overall management of the city’s land development and engineering, public parks, streets, fleet, public facilities and utilities, which include its water, wastewater, airport and transit systems.

City Manager Armando Villa expressed confidence in Dale’s abilities to help the city implement its five-year CIP, as well as the pending reorganization of the Public Works Department and utilities.

“We are very fortunate to have David Dale serving as our Public Works director/city engineer,” Villa said in a written statement.

The city’s five-year CIP implementation will include citywide street rehabilitation, Fire Department Station 1 rehabilitation, design and funding of Heber and Cordova parks’ improvement plans, extensive rehabilitation of the Water Treatment and Wastewater Treatment plants, and backlogged city maintenance needs, the press release stated.

For the past three years, much of the city’s CIP projects had been placed on the “backburner” as it attended to other matters, such as its shaky financial situation and turmoil within the Police Department, Villa said in a June 6 interview.

“We haven’t invested in our city’s infrastructure in a long time,” he had said.

Yet, the city has also been busy for the past four months packaging and designing rehabilitation projects that are anticipated to get underway by year’s end, Villa said.

Currently, the city has about $26 million in unspent CIP funds and an expectation of being able to secure another $20 million, leaving a difference of about $30 million, Villa said.

The difference is likely to be made up by grants, low interest loans and funding from the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission, which was created by the United States and Mexican governments in 1993 to help the bi-national border region improve its environmental conditions.

“We have three years to find money to put together the $80 million,” he said.

Dale’s hiring also signals the city’s desire to fill administrative positions that have sat vacant for some time, including those of its finance and economic development directors.

“We’re assembling the executive team,” Villa said.

Dale will take over the position that had previously been held on an interim basis by Nick Fenley, who recently retired.