Department of Public Works director to retire

Public Works Director Frank DeMarco has decided to retire.

“I’m sorry to lose Frank, but at least I got my eight months,” Mayor Harry Kim said Monday.

DeMarco, 64, who is retiring for the third time, said being the boss of such a huge department turned out to take much more time than he originally anticipated and his family life was suffering.

His family is spread between Arizona and Oahu, he said. He plans to sell his Big Island home and move to Arizona.

“I’m leaving to spend more time with my family,” DeMarco said. “And this time, it’s true.”

DeMarco will continue as director until Aug. 31.

“It’s a big department,” DeMarco said. “It just demands so much time.”

Kim said he hadn’t required DeMarco to spend so much time on the job, but he still found him in the office hours before it opened and working as late as midnight during emergencies. DeMarco said the job demands the hours.

Kim said he’s not yet decided how to fill the $110,000 position. The director is required under the county charter to be a registered professional engineer. The mayor’s nominee faces confirmation by the County Council.

DeMarco was one of Kim’s earliest picks, being named to the position in mid-October. Allan Simeon, a DPW employee chosen by DeMarco to be deputy director, also is a licensed professional engineer.

DeMarco served a short stint as former Mayor Billy Kenoi’s Environmental Management director in 2010 and 2011 before suddenly stepping down. He had been with the county since 2007, working primarily with the DPW’s floodplain management program since February 2008.

He returned to DPW and retired in 2014. Before that, he was employed 26 years by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

The Department of Public Works is composed of six divisions: Administration, Automotive, Building, Engineering, Highway Maintenance and Traffic. The divisions administer regulatory and code enforcement.

Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.