Harbor & Beach Community Alliance

Mike Powers and County Board of Supervisors:

Hi! Just wanted to pass on to you some of the frequent questions and comments we received from various harbor organizations and community members regarding the County’s search for a new Harbor Director. There is a lot of interest in understanding the type of candidate the County is seeking for Harbor Director. Here are the most common questions and comments we received:

– We need a Harbor Director that is as passionate about the harbor as we (the community) are.

– Maybe this is a good time to establish a Harbor Commission that will bring a wide range of experience and expertise to the harbor.

– Ideal candidate should be familiar with this harbor and its market strengths.

– Job description should put more emphasis on development experience and leasing strategies supporting visitor-serving and water recreational facilities.

– Who are on the selection committee and interviewing the candidates?

– Candidate should have strong planning and innovation skills. Long-term planning capabilities are essential for updating the Public Works Plan. This has been lacking for decades at the harbor.

 – If the harbor is to be categorized as an “enterprise”, it is significantly important for the candidate to have skill sets to entice business and development to the harbor.

– Candidate must be able to maintain a viable network of collaborative relationships with the City of Oxnard, the local businesses, and the community to meet the mission goals of the harbor in keeping with the visitor serving and boating needs of the community.

– Candidate should have a proven track record of attracting, incentivizing, and working with local and other commercial businesses to establish and maintain visitor-driving businesses at the harbor.

– Candidate should have experience in obtaining grants for public amenities and improvement of parks and recreational facilities.

– Environmental justice is important at all public coastal recreational resources. The candidate should be a proponent of environmental justice including maximum public access and public amenities.

We hope these comments help identify the best person for Harbor Director. The above themes were comments repeatedly given by several harbor organizations and many community members.

We hope the County will be patient in its search to find the right person to lead this harbor to fulfill its potential as one of, if not the best of 12 small boat harbors along the California coast. The harbor is a rare and irreplaceable asset of the County and its residents.

Rene Aiu on behalf of the Harbor & Beach Community Alliance.

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