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Update: Precourt Declines Position as Executive Director of Expressway Authority  January 24, 2014 | Orlando, WMFE - Former State Representative Steve Precourt declined an offer to lead the expressway authority on a month-to-month basis.
Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority Chairman Walter Ketcham says he doesn’t agree with Precourt’s reasons for declining the offer, but says that he will recommend the board looks back to the shortlisted candidates moving forward. "Sometimes things work out for the best. I did not vote for Precourt but I was in acceptance of the will of the board in hiring him," Ketcham says. He says the decision was most likely influenced by an investigation into the authority's conduct surrounding the ouster of OOCEA’s former director, Max Crumit. Orange-Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton asked the authority to stall the initial offer of a renewable yearly contract of up to five years to Precourt while he investigates the conduct of expressway authority board. In a January 17 letter to the authority, Ashton says he has “reasonable suspicion that Florida Statutes may have been violated.” He is investigating allegations that some board members privately discussed the vote to remove Crumit before the actual meeting, which would violate state sunshine laws that require such talks to be made in public settings. "I think that Precourt looked at Ashton's letter and decided he didn't want to be in the middle of this. So he decided to back out with the best way he could," Ketcham says. The next steps for hiring a new expressway executive director will be discussed during a board meeting Feb. 26. “We're doing our best to make sure that the toll payers get the best bang for their buck and that they're the most protected they can be," says Ketcham. |
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