Home › Breaking News
Pratt to lead Public Works Agency
STORY TOOLS 
More from Breaking NewsJeff Pratt, the director of the Ventura County Watershed Protection District, has been promoted to run the county's entire Public Works Agency.
Pratt, 51, had led the Watershed Protection District since 2000. The district is responsible for both flood controlling and preserving natural rivers and other waterways in the county.
During his tenure, the district brought in more than $90 million in federal and state funding for projects such as the planned removal of the Matilija Dam north of Ojai. He also led an overhaul of the district's operating procedures, which led to more efficient methods of planning and construction, according to a news release from County Executive Officer Marty Robinson.
The Watershed Protection District is one of seven divisions of the Public Works Agency. The agency also oversees county public works projects, water and sanitation systems, and road maintenance.
The position of agency director has been officially vacant since March, when the last director, Ron Coons, stepped down. However, the job has actually been empty since December, when Coons began using his accrued vacation time before retiring.
Posted by jd1511 on October 14, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Isn’t this the guy that called FEMA, to let them know we had possible flood issues?
Although I think it was a good idea to resolve those issues,
I think he should have approached the County and Cities first.
Saving us all a lot of grief and money.
As it was, FEMA came in, and was declaring all kinds of areas flood plains,
that where not.
Requiring people to buy special flood insurance.
It cost the cities thousands of dollars to fight these ridiculous claims,
There by saving the taxpayers huge issuance fees and lose of value to their homes.
I wonder what trouble he will cause now?
Posted by timmyT on October 14, 2008 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's about time! Way to go Jeff!! Ventura County is very lucky...
Posted by ebrockway on October 14, 2008 at 2:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Way to go Jeff. 51 huh? Thought you were younger than me! Guess I work too much!
As to getting FEMA assistance, a lot of those areas needing repair would still need repair today if not for the extra federal money.
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
- Posts that degrade others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability.
- Disparaging remarks, abusive language or obscene comments.
- Threats, whether obvious or veiled.
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.
There are 3 comments to this article.
Comments are found beneath the Yahoo! ad below.