Flood control veteran to leave post
Appeal-DemocratJan 16, 2019
After more than seven years with the agency, SBFCA Executive Director
Inamine is credited with overseeing the design, state and federal financing, and implementation of
"I'd just like to thank everyone in the community for the tremendous support for SBFCA, in their voting, both with the ballots and their pocketbooks, to put this project into place. It's their project; they are the ones that really built this," Inamine said. "It's just rare that you see a community center themselves around such a large project."
From the time he joined the agency's engineering program in 2011 to today, approximately 37 miles of levee has been improved, with even more in the works. He took over the executive director position in early 2012 after his predecessor was appointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board.
The most difficult part of the job for him, he said, was navigating the environmental and regulatory climate, both state and federal, required of any large project like the ones SBFCA focuses on. Inamine said every reach of levee improvement was met with some sort of issue. However, he joined the agency because he recognized how important the work was.
"I was very interested and motivated in making things better. It was a great project to be associated with and work on," Inamine said.
"Mike's leadership, experience and expertise helped us overcome significant challenges -- such as funding, permitting and cultural resources issues, to name a few -- that should have derailed the project," Lambert said. "Thanks to his tireless efforts and 'never take no for an answer' approach, we received more state bond funding than we anticipated, finished 37 miles of levee repairs in four years, supported an expedited federal feasibility study that resulted in an upcoming
"The community of
What's left
Inamine said there is never a good time to leave the agency with work still to be done, but with some of the projects currently underway and others in the planning stage, now is as good a time as ever.
SBFCA started a
Other projects planned for the future include some critical repairs to the flood control system south of
Friday marks Inamine's last day with the agency. In February, he will join
He credits his colleagues at the agency and the board for remaining focused throughout the project and providing the leadership needed to get the job done. He also credited the agency's diverse collection of consultants who also played a huge part in the process.
"I think that it's been a fairly successful formula, but it wouldn't have been possible without such a diverse and talented team," he said.
SBFCA Director of Engineering
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