After stormwater work rollout, Beaufort projects chief suddenly resigns
In the middle of major downtown stormwater upgrade, Beaufort’s capital improvements program director has resigned after just over a year on the job.
Raul Dominguez’s recent resignation after 15 months in the position comes less than a month after the city launched a $9.7 million project to install new 72-inch stormwater pipe underneath Charles and Craven streets. The Nov. 13 launch angered downtown business owners because it disrupted traffic in the city’s main retail corridor on Bay Street right before the holiday shopping season.
Its unclear whether the criticism over the work played a role in Dominguez’s decision to leave the job.
Despite Dominguez’s resignation, work will continue on schedule, city manager Scott Marshall said.
Dominguez cited personal reasons when he gave his two-week notice, Marshall said. He referred additional questions to Dominguez, who could not be reached for comment.
Mayor Phil Cromer said Wednesday he said he had “no idea” why Dominguez resigned, noting the city manager oversees the city’s personnel.
“It’s pretty tough being in that position and having to field all the public outcry,” Cromer added.
Dominguez led the team that plans and carries out millions of dollars worth of high-profile capital improvements to parks, sidewalks, trails, streets and drainage. He was hired in September 2024.
Domingez’s departure comes about a month after Deputy City Manager J.J. Sauve left the city. Sauve had announced he was leaving in September after about a year on the job. Part of Sauve’s role was overseeing capital projects led by Dominguez.
Having the city’s head of capital projects leave during the active stormwater project, and on the heels of Sauve’s departure, was “kind of a one-two,” Marshall said. The city will miss Dominguez’s experience, Marshall said.
“But we’re OK,” Marshall added. “We’re recovering.”
Brian Ranger, a member of the Public Works staff, has been named interim capital projects director. With several active projects in the city, leaving the capital projects job vacant while searching for a permanent replacement was not an option, Marshall said.
David Gregory was recently hired as the capital projects support coordinator. He will assist Ranger, who could become the permanent director depending on how things go.
The city is also close to making an announcement on the hiring of a new assistant city manager to replace Sauve, Marshall said.
Despite the shakeup in on the capital projects team, Marshall said, the Craven and Charles street work is proceeding well. The city has since begun a second stormwater project on King Street as the city continues its efforts to reduce chronic flooding.
On Wednesday, the city was planning its fourth and final sale of “downtown dollars.” Through that program, the city subsidized holiday shopping to help business owners affected by the construction. Shoppers purchased the dollars at a 40% discount. Businesses accepted the certificates and turned them into the city for reimbursement. Marshall said the city spent $20,000 on the program.
“We’re seeing some good crowds down there,” Marshall said of downtown.
Last-minute changes to the construction schedule for the work on Charles and Craven streets, including the closure of the Bay-Charles street intersection, caught downtown businesses off guard. Some criticized the city for poor communication. Initially, that important intersection, one of the direct gateways to downtown Bay Street businesses, was not scheduled to be closed until after the holidays.
The city said the alternative construction schedule was necessary after a large mass of concrete fill was discovered in Waterfront Park.
More controversy erupted when a large live oak tree was removed to make way for the stormwater work. The removal prompted criticism from residents and the city’s tree advisory group. Dominguez said at the time that the removal was necessary because the tree was in the path of the pipe.
The removal, he added, had been previously disclosed to the advisory group.
