Public Works Staff Showcase Operations for New Acting City Leaders During Recognition Week

Pasadena’s Department of Public Works used National Public Works Week to put its new acting city leaders behind the controls of a solid waste collection truck, giving Acting City Manager Matthew Hawkesworth and Acting Assistant City Manager Phillip Leclair direct exposure to field operations during the May 17-23 observance.

Maintenance Worker III Kelvin Turrentine instructed both Hawkesworth and Leclair on operating the hydraulic bin collection arm on a solid waste truck, according to a department press release.

The demonstrations, hosted by Public Works Director Greg de Vinck and department staff, showcased core trades and field techniques used by the department’s 282 full-time employees.

The observance came roughly five weeks after Hawkesworth assumed the acting city manager role on April 17, following former City Manager Miguel Márquez’s retirement.

Leclair, who joined the city in 2008 and previously served as chief information officer, is serving as acting assistant city manager during the transition.

The search for a permanent city manager remains ongoing after finalist Mike Futrell withdrew from consideration on April 25.

Pasadena’s Public Works Department operates on an adopted fiscal year 2026 budget of $99.6 million, according to city budget documents.

Its staff maintains more than 17,000 streetlights, over 60,000 urban forest trees, and more than 1.7 million linear feet of sewer main line across the city.

The department’s workload expanded sharply after the January 2025 Eaton Fire and windstorm.

Public Works staff cleared rights-of-way, restored lighting and traffic signals, and removed over 6,700 tons of organic debris in three weeks while staffing the city’s Emergency Operations Center, according to city budget documents.

Mayor Victor Gordo proclaimed the week of May 17-23 as National Public Works Week in Pasadena, stating in the proclamation that “it is in the public interest for citizens and civic leaders to gain knowledge of and maintain an interest in public works programs in our community.”

The American Public Works Association, which has sponsored the annual observance since 1960, carried the theme “Rooted in Service, Powered by Community” for 2026.

APWA President Vic Bianes said in an association press release that “public works professionals are the silent workers steadily doing their jobs for the benefit of their communities.”

De Vinck, who took the director post in December 2024 after a nationwide search, said upon his appointment that “making lives better through public infrastructure and municipal services is what public works is all about,” according to a city press release at the time.

The department’s press release described the demonstrations as intended to provide city leadership greater insight into the specialized skills, training, and coordination required to support citywide services.