After serving six years as CEO of the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA), Jean Derenzy announced Friday she will step down when her employment contract expires at the end of February.

Derenzy sent a resignation letter to DDA board members late Thursday, providing a 60-day notice in writing. DDA board members also briefly discussed Derenzy’s departure at the end of their board meeting Friday. In her letter, Derenzy wrote that it was with “thoughtful consideration and a heavy heart” that she would not be renewing her contract, saying that “after careful reflection, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to embark on a new chapter, prioritizing my own journey and dedicating more time to my family.”

Derenzy – who said she “cherished” the opportunity to serve as a “trailblazer in our community” as the first female leader of the DDA – cited highlights from the six years of her tenure. Those included “successfully navigating the organization through the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the purchase of Rotary Square, the completion of the Lower Boardman/Ottaway Unified Plan, the conversion of State Street to two-way traffic, “fostering new apartment living downtown,” and overseeing the planning process for Moving Downtown Forward, the name for the proposed extended TIF 97 plan.

Moving Downtown Forward, which would extend TIF 97 for another 30 years past its 2027 expiration, is at a crucial stage. A draft version of the plan was discussed again by the DDA board Friday and is soon set to go to a Development Area Citizen Council, a group consisting of nine residents who reside within the TIF district – a requirement under state law – who must review the new plan. City commissioners are set to appoint the members of that council at their January 16 meeting (applications are available here).

Moving Downtown Forward will then come back to the DDA board for formal approval in March, go to the city commission for a first look in April, and then be scheduled for a public hearing and city commission vote in May, according to a project timeline. Derenzy – who has worked on Moving Downtown Forward the past two years and has stressed its importance to the future of downtown investment and the DDA’s ability to operate and maintain infrastructure – acknowledged the challenges of leaving in the final stretch of the approval process.

“Understanding that my departure comes at a critical time, I am committed to ensuring a smooth and effective transition...I am willing to continue on a month-to-month basis until a new CEO is selected,” she wrote. “This will support the 2024/25 budgetary process, the Capital Improvement Plan, and the Moving Downtown Forward TIF Plan.”

Derenzy, who took the reins at the DDA in March 2018 after helping oversee planning, development and brownfield activities for Grand Traverse County for two decades, concluded her letter by writing: “I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished together and am thankful for the support, guidance, and opportunities provided to me during my tenure. As I step down, I carry with me the hope that my time in this role has paved the way for more individuals to seek and achieve positions that were once uncharted territory.”

Multiple DDA board members expressed appreciation for Derenzy’s time at the DDA helm Friday. “Jean is a tireless advocate for downtown Traverse City,” DDA Board Chair Gabe Schneider said. “She walks the talk. She’s worked through challenging times, like COVID, and continues to make a meaningful mark on our downtown. I think she’s accomplished really significant things in her time as CEO.” At Friday’s meeting, board member Pete Kirkwood said “the city is in a better spot than it would have been” without Derenzy’s contributions, while board member Michael Brodsky called Derenzy’s work “exceptional” and “unmatched,” adding: “They are big shoes to fill, but we’ll do our best.”

A new CEO search will now likely overlap with the approval process for Moving Downtown Forward, though Schneider anticipates a vote on the new TIF plan will take place before a CEO is hired. If for any reason Moving Downtown Forward isn’t approved, it will have significant ramifications for the DDA, leading to a “greatly reduced budget,” Schneider acknowledges. But he emphasizes the organization itself will still exist – the DDA is a component unit of government of the city, like Traverse City Light & Power, and would still have the Old Town TIF district. Any incoming CEO “would have to be aware of the process we’re going through,” Schneider says, but the DDA will need a new leader either way.

Noting that Traverse City is “a very desirable place to be” and the position of DDA CEO previously attracted a broad pool of national candidates, Schneider anticipates the DDA board will once again engage a firm to assist in a national CEO search. Determining the process for hiring that firm – likely through a request-for-proposals (RFP) – and updating the job description will be among the board’s next tasks, he says.

“When you have a transition of any sorts, you want to make sure you’re bringing in the right candidate,” Schneider says. “I imagine the first step would be to collect information from stakeholders and downtown business owners on what they’d like to see in that role. It’s an opportunity for information gathering to help guide us through that selection process.”

According to City Clerk Benjamin Marentette, the DDA CEO “is solely hired by the DDA board.” However, the city commission will have to confirm the appointment as well as the compensation level for the position, Marentette says.