George Curtis

The Live Oak Community Redevelopment Agency voted 4-3 Tuesday night to name Live Oak Development Manager George Curtis as its temporary director until the end of the fiscal budget year which ends in September. Curtis will continue his role as the development manager while adding the duties of the director to his responsibilities.

Curtis will serve in the position that was once held by Shannon Ventry who was terminated at a recent board meeting.

Prior to the meeting, each board member was given a stack of applications of individuals interested in the position.

“The question is, do we go through the stack of applications and decide who we want to interview, or do we discuss making George our CRA director?” said CRA Chairman Jacob Grantham. With a vote and a second, the floor was then opened for discussion.

“George is already on board, I don’t see any problem with hiring internally,” said CRA member Bennie Thomas.

The biggest question among the board members was if Curtis can handle both responsibilities.

“Can you handle the position, George?” asked Thomas. 
Curtis responded by saying he could handle the position.

“One thing that our former director Shannon Ventry did was she was out there visiting the businesses. I liked that,” said board member Adam Prins. “Can you handle that on top of your already hectic schedule?”

Curtis said he could handle the administration duties of the director position, but was afraid that his schedule wouldn’t permit business-to-business visiting.

It’s Curtis’ hopes to hire an assistant in the near future that could also be the CRA’s face to the public as well as other significant duties.

Another concern is Curtis taking on the duties of the director without having a clear job description.

“I think we’re putting the cart before the horse,” said Councilor Keith Mixon. “We don’t even have a job description and we’re trying to give him a position without knowing what the job requires.”

The board voted 4-3 to allow Curtis to serve as the CRA director on a trial basis. Board members Tim Alcorn, Mixon and Prins voting against. The board members will readdress the temporary status at the end of September to see if Curtis has successfully managed both departments before either keeping him on board, or looking elsewhere.

Curtis agreed on a salary of $15,000 a year in addition to his current salary with the city of Live Oak.