Say it ain’t so, Joe!

Joe Frost, executive director of the Oxford Downtown Development Authority (DDA), submitted his resignation Jan. 19 and is headed for greener pastures.

Frost, who’s been on the job since July 2015, is going to work as an associate planner for Main Street Oakland County (MSOC), an economic development program that provides technical assistance to downtowns.

“I think this is a wonderful opportunity to develop and enhance my career, and I’m looking forward to the possibilities,” he told the DDA board at a special meeting held Jan. 23.

The DDA board voted 9-0 to accept Frost’s resignation “with regret.”

“It’s a huge loss for us,” said DDA board member Sam Barna.

“You’re a smart man, Joe, and when we hired you, I kind of (saw) the writing on the wall,” said DDA board member Geno Mallia, Jr. “You’re a sharp cookie, but (there’s) no way this board’s going to hold you back from your dreams and your future. I wish you the best and all the success in the world.”

His last day will be Friday, Feb. 3.

“It’s bittersweet because this is the job that got my family and I back home to Michigan,” said Frost, who grew up in Davison and left the state for a job in Indiana in 2008, during an interview with this reporter.

“There’s certainly an emotional attachment to this role and to this community.”

For the most part, DDA directors haven’t lasted long in Oxford. There have been six, including Frost, since 2003. Four resigned for other positions, one quit to start a family and one was eliminated due to budget cutbacks.

Looking back, Frost believes “great progress” has been made in downtown Oxford during his tenure here.

He cited Oxford’s regaining of its national accreditation as a Main Street community last year, following a two-year lapse, and its recent reaccreditation as examples.

Under Frost’s leadership, the DDA also secured state funding to pursue getting downtown Oxford’s four quadrants listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Frost is proud of the “relationship building” he’s done between the DDA and downtown stakeholders and how the latter’s perception of the former has “greatly improved.”

“This organization and this downtown (are) certainly moving in the right direction,” he told the board.

DDA board member Rod Charles agreed. “I hear universal compliments (from downtown business owners) about what you’ve done,” he said. “That’s around town, not just here.”

“I like to think the organization’s in a much better place now than we were during the last (director) transition,” Frost told this reporter. “And I think that’s an opportunity for the (DDA) to get another person in here who’s going to carry the torch even further than I did.”

DDA Chairperson Sue Bossardet, who also serves as village president, is sorry to see Frost go.

“I’m sad for Oxford because I think he’s been very good for us,” she told this reporter. “He’s taken us to a new level . . . He’s gotten all of the programs back on track. I think he’s respected in the community. I think he’s respected by the business people he deals with downtown. The events that the DDA puts on have been very successful.”

That being said, Bossardet is “very happy” for Frost and “very proud” that MSOC “thought enough of him” to add him to its team.

“He’s done such a good job here that they noticed him and scooped him away from us,” she said.

Because MSOC works directly with communities, Frost anticipates he will still have a close working relationship with downtown Oxford.

Oxford has been an MSOC community since 2004.

Although he’s changing jobs, Frost plans to “remain an active part of the community” as he and his family live in the village on Pleasant St.

“I’m not completely leaving Oxford as previous directors have done,” he said.

Following their acceptance of Frost’s resignation, the DDA board voted to form an executive director search committee comprised of Bossardet, Barna and Vice Chair Dorothy Johnston.

They also approved a job description – posted at www.downtownoxford.org – that includes a salary range of $45,000 to $55,000 “depending on qualifications.”

Cover letters, resumes and references are due by Thursday, Feb. 9.

They can be emailed to Bossardet at bossardet@thevillageofoxford.org.

The DDA hopes to have a new director starting on March 13.