The former utilities director for the city of Santa Maria has been hired to lead the Pismo Beach Public Works Department.

Dwayne K. Chisam will start his duties as Pismo’s Public Works director/city engineer on Oct. 27, replacing Dennis Delzeit, who retired in late July.

Chisam is currently working for the city of Los Banos in Merced County, where he took a position in summer 2006 as the city’s first public works director/city engineer.

“There’s very few opportunities on the Central Coast for these types of positions,” Chisam said. “I wasn’t looking to come back, but when I saw the job, I knew I had to apply and see what came out it.”

Chisam still owns a home in Nipomo and plans to relocate to it when he moves back sometime next month.

“I couldn’t imagine a better place to come back to,” he said.

Chisam worked for Santa Maria for 15 years, starting as the city’s water resources engineer in its Department of Public Works. Prior to taking employment with Santa Maria, Chisam worked for two years in Guadalupe, where he was also that city’s public works director/city engineer.

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He also worked in Arroyo Grande as a special projects engineer from 1985 to 1989, and started his career in Hawthorne, where he worked as a junior civil engineer for two years.

Pismo Beach City Manager Kevin Rice said 31 people applied for Delzeit’s job. Six of the applicants were selected for board interviews — only five went through the process — and Chisam was chosen for the position.

“We had five excellent candidates who interviewed for the job,” Rice said. “(But) Mr. Chisam did an outstanding job on the

panel interviews; he was the best.”

Rice also said he believes Chisam’s extensive experience in planning and implementing long-range programs will benefit Pismo Beach and its citizens.

Chisam holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering he earned at California State University, Long Beach.

September 14, 2008