Deputy Vancouver manager in charge of Olympic Village resigns
Last Updated: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 9:51 PM PT
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
Jody Andrews was the Vancouver deputy city manager in charge of the Olympic Village before he resigned Thursday. (CBC) The deputy city manager overseeing construction of the Olympic Village for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games has resigned.
Jody Andrews' resignation is effective immediately, and no decision has been made on who will replace him, city manager Penny Ballem said Friday.
Ballem sent a note Thursday night to city councillors informing them of the news, media reports said.
Ballem said Friday there was "absolutely" no pressure on Andrews to resign.
She would not elaborate on the reasons Andrews gave, other than to say he felt "unable to carry on his duties."
Voluntary resignation
"I think it's very fair to say that Jody voluntarily resigned. He laid out a number of reasons, but I am not free to discuss those," Ballem said.
Despite the resignations, Ballem said, there is no reason for the public to lose confidence in city hall or the Olympic Village project.
Andrews' resignation came as the village project faces major financial woes. Cost overruns have pushed its price to $875 million.
Fortress Investment Group, which was to lend the $750 million budgeted for the development, stopped advancing cash to builder Millennium Development Corp. in September, and the city has since been covering construction costs with a $100-million bailout loan approved during an in-camera council meeting on Oct. 14.
Negotiations with Fortress to reopen the loan are ongoing, but the city will have to find the money to complete the village by this fall if the negotiations fall through.
3rd top official to go
Andrews is the third senior city official to depart city hall since Gregor Robertson became the new mayor in November's civic elections.
In December, Robertson hired Ballem, a former deputy minister of health for B.C.'s Liberal government, as city manager, replacing Judy Rogers, who had held the job since 1999.
Estelle Lo resigned as the city's chief financial officer days after the municipal elections. She reportedly left because of concerns about the controversial $100-million bailout.
The B.C. legislature will reconvene for a special sitting at noon Saturday to deal with the issue of financing the completion of the athletes village.
Robertson has asked the provincial government to amend the city's charter, giving it authority to borrow the $458 million required to finish the project after Fortress stopped funding it.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Teen's death sparks call for social services information
- The Alberta government wants to see changes on how provinces share information about children under the protection of social services. more »
- Christy Clark thanks Liberal MLAs in Vancouver
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark thanked her newly elected and re-elected MLAs in Vancouver on Thursday, who gathered for the first time following the Liberals' surprise victory in last week's provincial election. more »
- Pickup truck backs up over mother, 2 children in tent
- A 20-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly backing her pickup truck over a mother and two children who were sleeping in a tent at a campsite in northeastern B.C. more »
- Fever medicine for infants, children under recall
- Quality concerns with a Chinese producer of acetaminophen have prompted a recall of four fever medications meant for infants and children. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Toronto mayor fired chief of staff for telling him to 'go away and get help'
- CBC News has learned the details of what precipitated the firing of Mark Towhey as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's chief of staff — and it was advice from Towhey that Ford needs to 'get help.' more »
- Federal Court won't remove MPs over robocall allegations
- The Federal Court says it won't throw six MPs out of their seats over allegations of widespread vote suppression through automated robocalls in the 2011 federal election. But Judge Richard Mosley did find that fraud occurred in the election. more »
- Alleged Ford crack video seller not responding to calls
- The journalist who broke the story alleging Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was recorded on video smoking crack cocaine says he may never be able to get his hands on the evidence. more »
- Officials 'optimistic' no deaths in Washington state bridge collapse
- An aging bridge on Washington State's Interstate 5 collapsed Thursday evening, dumping a handful of vehicles and people into a river. more »
- Bridge collapse on Washington interstate drops cars into water
- Pickup truck backs up over mother, 2 children in tent
- Vancouver man abandons Porsche on B.C. ferry
- Teen's death sparks call for social services information
- B.C. teen saves pet dog in 'terrifying' cougar attack
- Men found dead in B.C. lake wore oversized life-jackets
- Christy Clark thanks Liberal MLAs in Vancouver
- 750 homes sliding away in Quesnel, B.C.
- Johnsons Landing homes must be abandoned, says report

