THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 29, 1996 TAG: 9607290029
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 81 lines
At the end of this month, this city will be lacking four top positions - planning director, development director, fire chief and an assistant city manager.
Brought on by a combination of retirements and job changes, all four positions will become unoccupied as of Aug. 1. Two city officials have left in recent months. Two more are scheduled to leave Wednesday.
The absences will both challenge the city and provide an opportunity to set new directions for core city policies, said City Manager James B. Oliver.
``We are doing major national searches'' for every job, Oliver said. ``We are close to filling one of the jobs, perhaps two, in a matter of weeks.''
The departures have been accumulating since early this year, when assistant city manager George C. Crawley announced his retirement. The vacancies will mean no disruption to city services. However, long-term planning is made more difficult the longer they remain unfilled.
The most recent announced departure is that of Planning Director John M. Dugan, who surprised City Hall officials in June when he said he would leave Aug. 1 to become a consultant after five years as planning director.
Dugan says he wants to try his hand in the private sector after 25 years in government work. He is starting a private company, Dugan Planning and Design, which will be based in Norfolk.
Before arriving here, Dugan served as planning director in Aurora, Colo.; Loudoun County, Va.; and Sonoma County, Calif.
During his tenure, the city re-wrote its comprehensive plan and zoning ordinances for the first time in 30 years. The revised plan sought to promote more middle-class housing by encouraging less dense neighborhoods with more single-family homes.
Dugan said he was proud of the new plan, as well as his efforts to focus on helping neighborhoods through the code enforcement ``sweeps'' program, and by assigning planners to specific areas of the city.
Assistant City Manager Shurl R. Montgomery said there should be no basic shift in the city's planning philosophy as a result of Dugan's departure.
Also leaving is former Development Director Robert B. Smithwick, who will retire his position as assistant to the city manager on Aug. 1. Smithwick stepped down as development director in May to become special assistant to the city manager on development issues.
Smithwick said he left his longtime position to prepare for retirement. It was later revealed that staff in his department had lodged complaints of sexual harassment against Smithwick, which Oliver said were a factor in his decision to relocate Smithwick.
Smithwick led the city on developing the MacArthur Center mall, including signing Nordstrom, the luxury department store, to the project. He also attracted several high-profile companies to the city.
The city may use Smithwick's departure to begin recruiting more small businesses and high-tech companies, Oliver said. Smithwick did a wonderful job of developing the city's ability to attract top national companies, but now the city needs to concentrate as well on promoting entrepreneurs and high-tech ``New Wave'' companies, both of which are the future of economic development, Oliver said.
The third official to leave was Ronald T. Wakeham, who departed in May to become fire chief in Bangor, Maine. Wakeham served five years as the first director of the city's combined department of fire and paramedical services.
When the city's fire and paramedical services were combined five years ago, the decision was made to make the director a civilian instead of a para-military leader, like the police chief. But firefighters and paramedics recently said they preferred having a uniformed officer at the top, according to Oliver. As a result, Wakeham's replacement will wear a uniform and again have the title fire chief.
Assistant City Manager Crawley retired in February after more than two decades with the city. Crawley was in charge of many of the city's basic services, including fire, police, social services and libraries. He was also the city liaison with courts and schools.
Crawley helped start the city's community policing program, which is credited with reducing the city's crime rate, and has become a model for others around the country. ILLUSTRATION: George C. Crawley
John M. Dugan
Robert B. Smithwick
Ronald T. Wakeham by CNB