Cobb County's head of transportation has resigned at a time when metro Atlanta is looking to Cobb regarding its stance on transit.
Jim Wilgus resigned Friday morning, said Cobb spokesman Ross Cavitt. The county released his resignation letter Monday in response to an open records request by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I now feel that I can no longer effectively run the DOT as it should be run to meet the transportation challenges ahead. The stress of the job has put too much pressure on my family and me,” part of the letter reads.
Wilgus took the transportation role in 2016 after serving seven months as interim director following Faye DiMassimo's departure for the city of Atlanta. Before that he was a city engineer for the city of Marietta.
From January 2017 | Braves president peppered by Cobb officials over transit to stadium
Credit: Cobb County
Credit: Cobb County
County manager Rob Hosack, who has been in his role almost a year, said the search has begun for a new transportation director to oversee the state's third most populated county with three quarters of a million residents.
When Wilgus took the baton from DiMassimo, it was his job to oversee the implementation of the traffic plan around the Braves' SunTrust Park, which was paved with tough conversations at all levels of government and business.
When Wilgus — whose yearly salary was $144,707 — presented the Cobb plan to push gameday baseball traffic off highways and onto local streets, Sandy Springs mayor Rusty Paul called it "our nightmare."
Wilgus also dealt with Mother Nature — from snowstorms to tropical storms, and the damage and cleanup from both.
Until a replacement is found, deputy transportation director Erica Parish will fill the roll in the interim.
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