When a revamping of the agency utilizing its greatest asset — ATI’s influential board of directors — was suggested as a means of keeping the 10-year-old organization relevant in the development of the city, Weaver replied, “That might work, but I’m ready for anything. I’ve failed before.”
Asked to elaborate, Weaver said, “I’ve failed at jobs before, and even though I’d like to see things work out here, I’d be all right if this didn’t work.”
Two weeks later, on Jan. 30, Weaver announced his resignation.
In the almost five months since Weaver’s surprise announcement, ATI has floundered like a rudderless ship, coming under open fire from, among others, City Commissioner Bob Langstaff, who suggested that the city was getting little to nothing in return for the $300,000 it had committed to ATI through April of 2009.
With City Manager Alfred Lott’s confirmation Monday that ATI had failed to meet standards required by the city as a contingency for continuing the funding through the length of the contract, ATI sits of the verge of dissolution as it prepares for its monthly board meeting Wednesday.
“I’m a realist,” the group’s chairman, C.W. Grant, said Monday. “I know if the consensus is that ATI’s served its purpose, then that’s it.”
Lott said that, given ATI’s poor showing on a city staff-conducted evaluation, the Albany City Commission could vote to discontinue funding of the agency as early as Wednesday night. If that is the action that’s taken and the rumored fallout is the demise of the development group, more than a few insiders say — both publicly and privately — that a good place to start when dishing out blame is Weaver.
“In retrospect, he was not a good fit here,” Grant said. “After a short while it became clear that he was not what we were looking for to lead ATI. He wasn’t our first choice, but I took part in the hiring process, and he came highly recommended.
“But he never fit into what we were trying to do, and when you look at where we sit right now, hiring him could end up being the beginning of the end of Albany Tomorrow. I hope that’s not the case — I still feel we could have an impact on the development of Albany. But you get the feeling that time is running out.”
Weaver was hired by ATI Oct. 11 to replace interim president/CEO Greg McCormack, an Albany businessman who led the group after the sudden departure of Tommy Chatmon at the end of 2006. Weaver had served as city manager of Eunice, N.M., as borough manager of Greenville, Pa., and as city administrator in Lewisburg, W.Va., before coming to Albany.
A number of messages left seeking comment from Weaver have not been returned.
While Grant was somewhat diplomatic in his evaluation of Weaver and his part in ATI’s current struggles, Lott pulled no punches.
“Hiring Kenneth Weaver was the biggest thing that hurt that organization,” Lott, who is in Savannah at the Georgia Municipal Association’s annual convention, said Monday. “His ineffectiveness set them up to be in the position they’re in today.”
Lott said if the city commission decides to halt its funding of ATI and the agency chooses to disband, the city would take over management of current projects being overseen by the development group. Those projects include renovations and additions to the Thronateeska Heritage Center, the Albany Civil Rights Institute, the Bridge House welcome center and punch-list items at the Ray Charles Plaza and the North Trail river walk.