By the SFVS Staff
Wendell Johnson, the City of San Fernando’s director of public works, has tendered his resignation after nearly two years of service.
The resignation, which was presented to city officials on Sept. 22, takes effect on Nov. 7. He will be the fourth person to have served since 2018 in that position. Before Johnson, there were two interim directors, Yazden Emran and Martin Pastucha, followed by Matt Baumgardner.
According to a city official, Bill Evans will serve as the interim director once Johnson leaves and will also assist with recruiting a new public works director.
Johnson said his decision was not for health or personal reasons.
“I’m disappointed that I actually had to resign,” said Johnson. But, added, “it’s [important] to deliver what our mission is, and what our obligation is to the public. I wasn’t able to be effective with the tools that I had.”
When asked about the shortness of his tenure, Johnson replied, “Yeah, you know, you kind of look at it that it takes you six months to get the lay of the land, right? Get the structure of the organization. And then you come up with some ideas and a strategy to move forward with what needs to be improved. And you try that for about a year, and you kind of assess the effort versus the results.”
Although he would not say so directly, the indication was that Johnson wasn’t getting the results he expected.
But he also said he’ll leave with fond memories of the city.
“San Fernando is very unique,” said Johnson. “It’s what you’d call a very proud city. And it’s not false pride. They have a lot to be proud of.
“It’s very family-oriented. People here are very friendly, very nice. I even hear it from my vendors who are doing contract work with me here. They mention it without me prompting them. They really enjoy working with the people and the businesses, and everything else.”
He said he was proud of getting new traffic lanes and center lines put on the streets – “some of them hadn’t been repainted in years” – and getting city curbs refurbished. He was also proud of helping with the refurbishing of the Cindy Montañez Natural Park (formerly the Pacoima Wash Natural Park and renamed for the late city councilmember), which had fallen into disrepair.
But there is still more that can be done there, he said.
“We’re talking about the ‘natural’ park, right? Yeah, there’s still work to be done,” said Johnson. “[Workers] did a remarkable job of taking out some of the invasive species. But there’s a lot more work to be done.
“And the community really needs to define what a ‘natural’ park is to them. Because everyone has a different idea of what you should see there and what you shouldn’t see there. There should be more of an explanation of what is there and why it’s there.”
Johnson – who has also been a public works director for cities like Compton and Lomita, among others – said he is considering interviewing for a couple of director openings. “There’s nothing final about them, so I don’t want to jinx anything.” But he may also take the rest of the year off before seeking new employment once he departs in November.