By Staff
Says he’s willing to help complete some projects during next several months
By PATTI TRUJILLO
Special to the Daily News
In less than a year on the job, Bob Trescott, Downtown Washington on the Waterfront’s executive director, has offered to resign.
His offer was made Thursday. Trescott also offered to stay in Washington to assist with the transition involved with bringing in a new DWOW executive director and the completion of some DWOW projects. Except for issuing a written statement to DWOW board members, Trescott declined to comment further on his offer to resign.
During a telephone interview Tuesday, Ross Hamory, president of the DWOW board of directors, made the following statement:
In July, Trescott came to Washington from Tallahassee, Fla., with downtown redevelopment, urban planning, maritime industry and real estate experiences.
Asked if he was sorry to see Trescott go, Hamory hesitated, then said, “Yeah.”
Trescott’s offer to resign drew varied responses.
Jean Thompson, the Historic Downtown Washington Merchants Association’s liaison to the DWOW board, said, “It’s unfortunate. I like him.”
Washington Mayor Judy Jennette said, “I’m sorry that he made the trek all the way to Washington. I thank him for all the good work that he did while he was here.”
On Wednesday, Washington Councilman Archie Jennings, the council’s liaison with DWOW, said, didn’t know the results of a meeting between Trescott, Hamory and City Manager James C. Smith on Monday.
Smith, reached by telephone on Thursday and while on vacation in Oregon, said Trescott had not been evaluated because his probationary period had not been completed. Trescott would have been evaluated after six months on the job.
Asked who is going to pick up the pieces of DWOW initiatives, Smith said, “That’s part of the problem. When DWOW was created to bring together the downtown merchants, the tourism authority and other agencies, all the pieces never came together. Other players in the mix haven’t played either.”
Smith said Washington has not been able to develop a vision because of the “divisions that exist within the community. If it’s going to work, people are going to have give up a little of their personal fiefdoms to make it happen.
Smith expounded on his comments about a lack of vision.
Trescott, in a guest editorial he wrote and that appeared in the Washington Daily News on Oct. 8, addressed the lack of a unified vision. He wrote, “In a time of changes such as we are undergoing, folks get frustrated, frightened and defensive. Rather than promoting our strengths, many lament our shortcomings and lash out at others whom they blame for either pushing or holding back a particular view of progress.
Asked who could be enticed, at this point, to lead DWOW with its history of rancor and fractionalism at this point, Smith said, “That’s a good question; that’s a good question.”
Trescott’s offer to resign