Ex-Port Chief Couldn’t Resist Lure of Convention Center

When Joseph F. Prevratil signed up last year as the new executive director of the Port of Long Beach, he described the job as “an opportunity that comes along once in a lifetime.”

Harbor Commission Chairman George F. Talin Sr. predicted that Prevratil “is going to be to the port what Babe Ruth was to baseball.” Prevratil showed promise of becoming a dockside version of the venerated Sultan of Swat by reorganizing harbor management.

Will Work on Other Project

Last week, however, he abruptly quit after about a year on the job to become a private consultant. His first client will be the city, which intends to hire him to direct the planned $80-million expansion of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. The city manager said Prevratil will also work on other redevelopment projects.

Switching from department head to consultant will allow Prevratil to handle other clients as well, which will boost his income. One of the stated reasons for Prevratil’s departure was his desire to earn more money.

Prevratil, 51, is known as a disciplined manager whose hard-nosed demeanor could leave port executives trembling. Port sources said he knocked heads with members of the Board of Harbor Commissioners on occasion, but Prevratil and harbor commissioners said no clash was serious enough to figure in his decision to resign.

Prevratil said he became interested in heading the convention center effort when he was involved in protracted discussions about the port’s role in financing the project. Harbor commissioners also acknowledged the importance of having their port chief, with his management and marketing skills, at the helm.

To a large extent, the city is staking the future of its revitalized downtown on the project. The expansion would allow the city to compete for mid-sized conventions, a step up from the smaller trade shows. Civic leaders envision hoards of delegates filling the three major new hotels built downtown--with a fourth on the way--and dining at new restaurants along Pine Avenue.

Though the port plans to put up the money, the city Redevelopment Agency is overseeing the expansion. The port is seeking a legal opinion from the city attorney about whether it can use its funds for a non-port use such as the convention center.

The expansion also would involve dealing with contractors, negotiating a new operating agreement and marketing an enlarged complex.

‘Gleam in His Eye’

During discussions about the expansion and the port’s role, Talin said Prevratil’s name came up repeatedly when talk turned to the issue of who would manage the project. “Over the last several weeks with the commission and Joe, you could see the gleam in his eye,” Talin said.

Prevratil said “it became evident” that the convention center project would be too large an undertaking to handle in addition to his port responsibilities.

As a consultant, he will report to Susan Shick, the city’s redevelopment director, and work with the harbor commission and Redevelopment Agency board. Donald L. Westerland, chairman of the agency’s board, said he is delighted to have Prevratil head the project. “We wanted someone to ride herd on this whole project,” he said.

Just how much authority he will be given in his role as a consultant remains to be seen. Shick said Prevratil will be handled “like any other consultant” and that decision-making “(will be) left to the (redevelopment) board.”

City Manager James C. Hankla said Prevratil’s consulting fee will approach the $110,046 annual salary he received at the port. He reportedly took a substantial cut in pay to come to work at the port last year. As president of Wrather Port Properties Ltd., where Prevratil led the Queen Mary/Spruce Goose complex out of a decade of losses, he reportedly earned more than $180,000 a year.

But harbor commissioners balked at trying to push Prevratil’s annual salary higher than Hankla’s $118,218.

“I hate like hell to lose a good man like Joe Prevratil,” Talin said. “If I had my druthers, we would have paid Joe another $40,000 or $50,000, but we couldn’t do it.”

While his city pay remains substantially the same, Prevratil’s new status will allow him to accept other work. Hankla said Prevratil will have to disclose his clients and cannot accept any other clients who would put him in conflict with his city duties.

The city charter forbids the city manager, city attorney and executive director of the port from taking outside consulting jobs or other employment.

As the port’s executive director, Prevratil shook up management with a major reorganization and cleaned house among top directors. He complained that under the old structure, too many department heads reported directly to the executive director. He streamlined the system by creating three managing director positions that reported to him. The managing directors were given responsibility for the departments. One of those directors, Paul Brown, has been named acting executive director.

Harbor commissioners generally concurred with Prevratil’s changes. But there were some differences, including times when commissioners would pass over Prevratil’s hand-picked candidates for key jobs.

“Yes, he had people he wanted and recommended but the procedures on personnel were followed,” Harbor Commissioner C. Robert Langslet said. “His people were certainly in the running.”

With firm management already in place, Langslet, Talin and Commissioner Joel Friedland said they are in no hurry to appoint a new executive director.

The port thrives. It handles more tons of cargo and moves more containers than any other port on the West Coast. About 5,400 vessels called on the port in the last fiscal year, discharging cargo ranging from bananas to cement to toys. About $35 billion of imports and exports moves across its docks.