EXTRA: Town Manager Resigning in September

HEATHER ARCOS

HEATHER ARCOS

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

July 17, 2014

(Updated to include statement by Mayor Proto)

Cape Charles Town Manager Heather Arcos has revealed that she is resigning from her position effective in September. Arcos reportedly plans to work with her father, Steve McCready, one of the owners of Northampton Growers in Cheriton. She is a single mother, and has told friends that she wants to spend more time with her 12-year-old son.

Arcos was a protégé of former Mayor Dora Sullivan, who stepped down June 30 after eight years in office. Both Sullivan and Arcos earlier worked as office clerks at Town Hall, with Sullivan becoming a member of Town Council and then mayor, while Arcos worked her way up to become town manager.

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According to Town Clerk Libby Hume, Arcos began her career at Town Hall as administrative assistant to the town manager. In 2007 she was promoted to assistant town manager and in 2009 she became town manager following the departure of Joe Vaccaro.

Cape Charles Mayor George Proto today issued the following statement:

Town Manager Heather Arcos has submitted her resignation, to be effective September 12, 2014. Ms. Arcos has served the town faithfully for 10 years, first as [administrative assistant to the town manager] and for the past five years as town manager. Under her leadership many important infrastructure improvements have been made and the town has grown and prospered. The town wishes her success in her future endeavors. The Town Council will be discussing the process for finding a replacement. 

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9 Responses to “EXTRA: Town Manager Resigning in September”

  1. Don Glowinski on July 17th, 2014 7:36 am

    Hopefully good change is on the horizon.

  2. Julie Mcknight on July 17th, 2014 8:46 am

    Wishing Heather the best of luck in her future endeavors!

  3. Ginny Dorsch Nipper on July 17th, 2014 10:08 am

    Best of luck to Heather in all that she does!!

  4. Kathy Bonadeo on July 17th, 2014 10:11 am

    Best wishes Heather.

  5. Wayne Creed on July 17th, 2014 11:02 am

    Can’t help but think this is a tragedy for Cape Charles. I remember when Heather first became town manager (after several debacles, including the embarrassing Vaccaro affair); we were so excited to finally have a home town girl working for our small town. Much has changed since then though, as we’ve watched Cape Charles sell its small town soul in order to become just another filthy money grubbing tourist trap. Being stuck in the middle of so much fraud and scandal over the last couple of years, can’t blame her for wanting to just get shut of the whole mess and move onto more pure environs. Good luck girl, the town will miss you.

    Now, what new horror awaits the hapless citizens of Cape Charles? Somebody call JJ Abrams, maybe he can lend us a script….

  6. Anthony Sacco on July 19th, 2014 3:30 pm

    Maybe, just maybe Cape Charles is starting to wake up.

  7. Deborah Bender on July 21st, 2014 8:19 am

    Now is the time for the town of Cape Charles to change the rule and demand that their town manager actually live in the town.

    Good-bye Heather.

  8. David Gammino on July 21st, 2014 1:10 pm

    I cannot comprehend the perspective that somehow, Cape Charles has “sold its soul to become another filthy money grubbing tourist trap.” Based upon a rather voluminous amount of feedback from Hotel guests, Cape Charles in fact retains its quintessential small-town character. On a personal level, our family hosts friends throughout the summer, and the recurring theme is the love of this Town’s “screened-porch door” feel.

    I see nothing transpiring in our business community or residents to suggest Cape Charles is a “tourist trap”. It is genuine, relaxing, serene, and welcoming-rather than fake, loud, and exploitative.

    No doubt divisive municipal decisions have been made; but I fail to see a correlation between these disputes and the notion that Cape Charles has “sold its soul”

    In my opinion, Heather did an outstanding job of balancing growth with the need to retain Cape Charles authenticity. In my experiences, she participated daily in many “neighborly” outreach and bridge-building efforts to reconcile these divergent paths.

    No community is utopia, and ideas produce differences. When these differences yield to resentments, the result is unfounded and negative assertions which belie the progress happening today in Cape Charles.

  9. Donna Bozza on July 25th, 2014 1:29 pm

    I had the pleasure to work with Heather and found that she was not only a talented professional but a lovely person. Her heart was in her job and she worked diligently for the people of Cape Charles. In a thankless position she gave it her all. I wish her PEACE.