Henrico Recreation and Parks director out after just 3 months on the job

The new director of Henrico County’s Recreation and Parks division is out after just three months on the job.

Patrick Nalley, who was appointed to the role April 27, resigned July 28, Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas confirmed to the Citizen. Nalley was escorted from his office that day, according to multiple sources who witnessed his exit.

Vithoulkas declined to comment about the reason for Nalley’s short tenure.

“I can’t get into it because it’s personnel-related,” he said.

Nalley previously had served a similar role in Amherst County, Virginia, following two other recreation posts in Oregon localities. He had replaced formed director Neil Luther, who left the county earlier this year after a long tenure for the same role in Chesterfield County, where he lives.

When the county announced Nalley’s arrival in late April, it also announced a reconfiguration of the division, naming three associate directors to assist with overseeing operations: Torrance Archie Sr., John Zannino and Marielle McFarland, who had been serving as the acting director prior to Nalley’s arrival.

A number of projects involving the department are underway or forthcoming, including the county’s new indoor arena and convocation center at Virginia Center, an expansion project at Tuckahoe Little League site, the construction of a boardwalk along the Tuckahoe Creek, and the addition of 12 new pickleball courts at Short Pump Middle School, among others. Given that, Vithoulkas said the county won’t advertise for a new director just yet.

“I want things to settle down before we think about that,” he said.

So for the next several months, Vithoulkas’s chief of staff, Cari Tretina, will spend about half her time helping to manage the department with the three associate directors, he said.

“I want one of the county’s top guns there,” Vithoulkas said.