The position left vacant by late Malibu Parks and Recreation Director Bob Stallings has officially been filled. New director Jesse Bobbett began his role on Monday, Nov. 21.
Bobbett comes to Malibu with 14 years of experience working in the field of municipal parks and recreation, including eight years with the City of El Segundo. He said that experience has helped prepare him for the challenge of leading the Parks and Rec department in the City of Malibu.
“You don’t come here thinking you’re going to put together second-rate programs or second-rate projects — you come here because residents expect the best, and that’s a unique challenge I think it’ll be exciting to live up to,” Bobbett said in a brief interview with The Malibu Times.
The new director hails originally from Kansas, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in sports and fitness management from the University of Kansas. According to information provided by the City of Malibu, Bobbett “prides himself on developing lasting working relationships with the public, fellow city employees and partner agencies while bringing strong leadership and a positive attitude to his work.”
City Council Member Laura Rosenthal also praised the new hire, saying he would be a good replacement for Stallings; however, she pointed out he may have his own ideas or ways of doing things.
“Jesse is his own person, and he’s got a lot of experience and has done things we haven’t even looked yet,” Rosenthal said. “He also has a lot of experience working pesticide- and rodenticide-free protocols, so he’s going to have experiences and ideas that he will bring, and we’ll see — I’m sure he has his own management style, as every person does.
“This is the first time he’ll be running a whole department, but I think he’s up to it and I’m very excited to have him on board.”
Bobbett and Rosenthal were realistic about challenges he will likely face in the coming months, in light of the purchase of land at Trancas and the ongoing Malibu Bluffs Park plans. Malibu residents are well known for their engagement in the local community, stewarding the natural resources in town.
“I think that we have some big potential projects coming up — I don’t know what they’re going to look like, or anything like that, but between Bluffs Park and Trancas Park, I think those are challenges, certainly, to take what the residents have said they wanted — at least at Bluffs — and be able to see what we can get there, and be able to follow through the public process and see what people want and don’t want up at Trancas,” Rosenthal said.
“I think Malibu in itself is unique, and so when you see the different projects that we’ve been working on here — such as Trancas Canyon and Malibu Bluffs and stuff like that — the really unique part is the residents here are very vocal about what they want and what they don’t want, and the challenge is doing what’s best for the overall community,” Bobbett said. “That’s the case in all cities, but it’s more challenging in Malibu.”
Bobbett will come face to face with that challenge come Nov. 30, the next and final Trancas Field Community Workshop, to be held at Malibu City Hall.
“The staff here has been so unbelievably awesome over this past year with Bob being out and losing him. They’re ready for it,” Bobbett said. “I’m definitely going to be there [at that meeting] and I plan to integrate and get started and push forward from there.”
The Trancas Field workshop will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. at city hall. Residents are encouraged to come and weigh in.