Updated noon CST, Jan. 9

Joey Grisham, president of the Hutto Economic Development Corp.,will resign his post Jan. 12. and move to a similar job at the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce, he said.

Grisham said he is proud of the economic gains made by the EDC since he took his position in April 2013, and he appreciates the EDC board giving him the opportunity to work in Hutto.

But Grisham also expressed concerns about any consideration the city may have about restructuring the EDC by bringing it under more city control in the future.

"Unfortunately, I think the city has in their plans to take over the EDC, which I think would be a big mistake," Grisham said. "[The EDC] is working very well right now. So for the city to even consider that, it would not be a good direction for the EDC to go in."

City Manager Karen Daly said there have not been public talks about restructuring the EDC.

"[City Council members] are discussing how to make the EDC successful in the future, but they have not really had any public discussion in what direction they want to go," Daly said. "I don't know who he is talking to about that, but it has not been with me."

Daly said she has been happy with the EDCs performance, and the target industry study being performed by the EDC should help focus business recruiting efforts.

Grisham said the city already exercises control over the EDC through its approval of the corporations budget and board members. Increasing city control would be redundant; it could also lessen the amount of confidentiality during development negotiationsthat prospective businesses want, he said.

Posted Jan. 6

Joey Grisham, president of the Hutto Economic Development Corp., announced he will resign his post Jan. 12 and move to a similar job in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.

It is not clear when a new president will fill the vacant position.

Hutto EDC Vice President Erin Klingemann said the EDC does not have anyone lined up to fill the position. The EDC board will meet in executive session Jan. 12 to discuss the next steps to take, she said.

In a prepared statement, Grisham said he is proud of the EDC's work in the past year and a half that has included securing options to buy about 1,200 acres of land between Hutto and Taylor and nearly landing a $5 billion battery manufacturing plant in neighboring cities in 2014.

We are also close to landing a $200 million economic development project, Grisham said in the statement.

Grisham has served as president of the EDC since April 2013.

Board Chairman Mario Perez said in a statement that Grisham would be missed.

"Hutto is well positioned for future companies that want to locate their business in one of the fastest growing cities in Texas," he said.