Environmental and Public Works director to join Energy Coalition after 25 years serving City Hall
CITY HALL After serving the city of Santa Monica for nearly 25 years, helping it become a leader in sustainabil-ity and environmental protection, Craig Perkins, the director of environmental and public works management, will step down in March to lead the Energy Coalition, a non-profit that helps cities reduce their energy demand and greenhouse gas pollution.
Perkins, 54, whose last day on the job will be March 14, is credited with the creation of City Hall’s Environmental Programs Division, which is responsible for developing and executing water and energy conservation policies and enforcing most of the city’s environmental protection laws.
The division is also responsible for overseeing City Hall’s Sustainable City Plan, which includes goals for local government and all sectors of the community, to conserve and enhance local resources, safeguard human health and the environment, maintain a healthy and diverse economy, and improve the livability and quality of life for all community members in Santa Monica.
“This decision has been very difficult for me both because of the critical importance of the many … projects and programs that are currently underway and the close and productive professional relationships that I have been able to develop with my colleagues over many years,” Perkins wrote in a resignation letter to City Manager Lamont Ewell.
“It is now the right time for me, however, to transition to a new and different phase in my career,” Perkins added.
Under his leadership, Santa Monica was named one of the five most sustainable cities in the country. He also played a pivotal role in City Hall’s attempts to hold major oil companies responsible for polluting local wells with MTBE, a toxic fuel additive. A lawsuit filed by City Hall against Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobile for the contamination netted Santa Monica a $131 million settlement, money which is being used to construct a water treatment facility.
“Craig has put Santa Monica on the map by creating a number of cutting edge environmental programs that are highly regarded and have been replicated throughout the country,”City Manager Lamont Ewell wrote in a letter to city employees. “While I am sorry to see Craig leave Santa Monica, I recognize nonetheless that this is a great opportunity for him and the many communities that will benefit from his leadership in energy reduction demands and greenhouse gases.”
As the director of public works, which boasts a budget of nearly $71 million with 388 employees, Perkins is responsible for making sure that streets are paved, trash is collected, the sewer system runs smoothly and traffic lights turn from green to red.
In addition, Perkins oversaw the construction of the Public Safety Facility, the new Main Library, and the Civic Center Parking Structure, which is often referred to as the nation’s first sustainable, solar-powered parking structure.
Perkins, who has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UC Berkeley, a master’s in Latin American studies from UCLA and a degree in public administration from Cal State Dominguez Hills, started his career in City Hall as a temporary employee on a two-month stint in the City Manager’s Office analyzing the budget.
He worked his way up to become the budget director before moving on to public works, where he created the Environmental Programs Division.
“It was really a combination of things,” Perkins said of what motivated him to create the division.
It was right around the time that cities were forced to develop a waste management plan to reduce the amount of waste deposited in landfills. Santa Monica was also working on a plan to capture ozone depleting chemicals and keep storm water from reaching the Santa Monica Bay.
“At that time, it was a multi-agency effort,” Perkins said. “We had to come together to figure out a plan of attack and it was a great opportunity to bring everything together and better focus our resources. It was the right time.”
Looking back on his career, Perkins said he is most proud of three things, the first being the creation of the Sustainable City Plan.
“I feel, more than anything else, that that was my baby,” Perkins said. “Although we worked very closely with the Environmental Task Force, initially, that was something I was here to help create and I was here to make real, and to see it mature, that has been a really big deal … It’s very fulfilling to know that it is in place and will influence policy decisions for many years to come.”
In addition to the plan, Perkins is proud of what he calls the “nuts and bolts,” which include the adoption of the city’s vehicle management policy, the replacement of an aging sewer system following the Northridge earthquake, and other projects that keep the city up and running.
“The nuts and bolts are those things that really enhance the quality of life of residents,” Perkins said. “They do a lot for our image in the community.”
Perkins is also pleased with the amount of public construction that has occurred over the past 15 years he served as director of public works. Those projects include a new fire station, a Big Blue Bus maintenance facility (which is under construction) and the new sewer pumping station near the Santa Monica Pier.
Being the director of public works is a thankless job that can often draw the harshest criticism from residents, mostly because the director is in charge of maintaining the city’s infrastructure. When something goes wrong, such as a sewer failure, he or she is the one who is targeted. When water and trash rates are raised, directors, and the City Council and city manager, are the ones who take the heat.
“It is definitely out of sight, out of mind,” Perkins said of his profession. “People never really think about you until something goes wrong or something breaks. I make the joke that I’m in charge of everything that can break, and that’s fine with me. I can’t think of anything more important from that standpoint.
“Our job is to make people take us for granted,” Perkins added. “If that happens, then everything is running as it is supposed to and that means we are doing are jobs.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 31, 2008. Read the original PDF.