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ADICA finalist named

• A finalist for the city's downtown manager position surfaces at an Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority meeting.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — One name emerged as a finalist for the city’s downtown manager position during the Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority’s monthly meeting Wednesday, and it’s a name familiar to local residents.

ADICA Chair Jane Willson confirmed that Albany Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Governmental Affairs Cliff Porter is one of three candidates who will interview for the downtown manager position today. The manager will also serve as president/CEO of the authority.

“All three (of the finalists) are excellent candidates,” Willson said. “Greg (McCormack, ADICA’s interim president/CEO), Mr. (ADICA board member Andy) Reid and I served on one of the panels that conducted phone interviews with the candidates, and I think the list was narrowed down to the best choices.”

The ADICA board took care of business as usual at the meeting, getting financial and Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax V project reports from Albany Tomorrow Inc.’s Shonnie King and Marie Pierce, who filled in for McCormack.

ATI Project Manager Ken Cribb gave a slide presentation of before-and-after photos of downtown businesses that have utilized ADICA’s facade grants. The most recent business taking advantage of the grants is the recently opened River Front Barbecue restaurant.

ADICA board members Phil Cannon and Jimmy Hall asked Cribb about the status of the bathrooms being constructed at Riverfront Park and the absence of lights on the arch at the Oglethorpe Bridge. Cribb noted that the bathrooms were a county-managed project, but told the board the lights on the arch were not working because the power that runs to it had been cut off while work on the Ray Charles Plaza was ongoing.

While Cribb was discussing the lights, Cannon received a text message from Assistant County Administrator Thomas Thomas with an update on the bathrooms, which Cribb said were originally scheduled to be finished in April.

“Thomas said in his text that the contractor (Dukes, Edwards & Dukes) is working on a final punch list and hopes to be finished by the end of the month,” Cannon told the board.

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