NEWS: Regional Recreation Facilities Authority Seeks Executive Director
New role likely to report to Williamsburg City Manager
At a meeting earlier this month, the Board of Directors for the Historic Triangle Regional Facilities Authority (HTRFA) discussed the ongoing search for a part-time executive director. HTRFA Board Chair and Williamsburg City Manager Andrew Trivette updated the Board that the response to the job posting had been positive. The job description states that the new HTRFA Executive Director will “manage its day-to-day operations and carry out its vision for enhancing the Greater Williamsburg area’s appeal as a premier recreational destination.” The application period for the position is scheduled to end May 2, 2025.
The process to hire a new executive director will take several rounds of interviews according to Trivette. "What I like to do is sort of a lengthy process of trying to evaluate a lot of skills at the same time. And so I'll probably put together a standard interview component of about 10 questions … I'll probably do a mock presentation to the board to see what that looks like,” he said at the HTRFA Board meeting earlier in April. “And then the last thing that I like to do with hiring is have a social panel and that's a much lower stress environment with just people that you're going to commonly have to come in contact with where you just sort of have a conversation,” Trivette added.
Who the boss of the new executive director will be may still be undecided. Trivette has stated his goal is to have the position report directly to him in his role as Williamsburg City Manager, noting that having staff of joint regional efforts like the HTRFA be employed by one of the partners is common practice meant to save costs. “So the opportunity is there for us to create this special project administrator … in the city manager's office whose primary function will be to serve as the HTRFA Executive Director,” Trivette said during a Williamsburg City Council meeting in December 2024. Trivette also described a situation in which the part-time executive director would consult on other City projects under the direction of the City Manager’s office.
The proposed arrangement would have Trivette serve as both the HTRFA Board Chair while also directly overseeing the organization’s day-to-day management. No updates on the decision to have the new executive director report to the City Manager have been provided. In January 2025, the HTRFA Board voted unanimously to keep Trivette as Board Chair. The organization's bylaws state that there are no term limits for the Chair, Vice Chair or Secretary.
According to HTRFA documents, the Authority was created by the State in 2021 and states that its purpose “is to acquire, construct and operate one or more public recreational facilities to not only serve the citizens of the Localities, but also to promote and enhance recreation, sports and tourism activities in the geographic area of the Localities.” In addition to Trivette, the HTRFA Board includes James City County Administrator Scott Stevens and York County Administrator Mark Bellamy, as well as other representatives from the three jurisdictions who jointly run the organization.
The organization almost immediately set out to build a large indoor sports facility with an initial estimated price tag of $80M. Much of the funding for the venue will come from bonds backed by a portion of the 1% Historic Triangle Regional Sales Tax mandated by the State to fund tourism-related projects and promotion. Operating costs for the facility will also be split amongst the three jurisdictions, with Williamsburg paying the bulk at an estimated $2.5M annually. Annual funding for operations from James City County and York County is expected to range from $300K to $800K. Another project being promoted by HTRFA is a live performance venue near the sports facility, though funding has yet to be secured for the venture. The land set aside for both projects is owned by and leased from Colonial Williamsburg.
George Arbogust is Founder and Editor of the Williamsburg Independent. He gets up early, so please consider buying him a cup of coffee.
Editor’s Note: A Google AI tool called NotebookLM was used to help transcribe and compile information presented in this article.