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BLACKSBURG - The town of Blacksburg has lost its third high-level staff member since a contentious May election changed the makeup of town council and killed a controversial sewer project.

Town Manager Gary Huff announced his resignation Wednesday. Huff, 50, said he will announce his plans in the coming weeks. His last day with the town will be March 6.

His leaving was preceded by the departure of Town Attorney Kathleen Dooley and engineering chief Meredith Tremel, both of whom were involved in the Toms Creek sewer controversy.

Dooley, who left in July to become attorney for Fredericksburg, advised the previous council that it could use a state law requiring a four-vote majority to pass bonds to finance the sewer, rather than the town charter's five-vote majority requirement. Council is still searching for her replacement.

Tremel, who helped design the central sewer as well as an alternative sewer system for the Toms Creek Basin, left in November to take a job as project manager for a local development company.

Bill Aden, co-owner of the Blacksburg-based Draper Aden Associates engineering firm, said Wednesday that Huff has been a friend to the town's business community and worked to strengthen the town's economic development and its relationship with Virginia Tech.

"The thing that's so important is having a town manager who likes to get involved in the community and not just sit behind a desk. Gary's a perfect example of that," Aden said.

On Wednesday, he said the town has made progress in his six years as manager in streamlining its processes for reviewing development plans and has done much to promote itself to national retailers. But he also admitted that Blacksburg is still a tough place for developers to do business.

"The standards are high, and that's the desire of the community and town council," he said.

Huff, along with Aden, was instrumental in creating the Blacksburg Partnership, a nonprofit development corporation made up of town and university officials and business leaders. He also served as the first chairman of the Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport Authority, created in 2002 to manage and help fund the growth of the airport.

He is leaving just as some of the projects he's nurtured for the past six years may come to fruition. The partnership is about to close a deal with the Virginia Department of Transportation that will transfer ownership of 35 acres at the U.S. 460 Bypass/South Main Street interchange to the town for commercial development and a public park. Federal, state and local funds for improvements to the airport have started to flow, and projects to upgrade the aging airfield have begun.

Huff has encouraged public-private partnerships to bring development to the town, including the $2 million town investment in the Kent Square parking garage and the town's work with Branwick Associates, the Eastern Shore firm that proposed a large-scale mall at the old Blacksburg Middle School property.

But the town has come under fire on several fronts during Huff's tenure. Business owners have criticized the town's notification processes on large construction projects, and residents accused the staff of bias during the Toms Creek sewer controversy.

Many of the town's harshest critics declined to comment on Huff's departure Wednesday.

In recent weeks, Huff has tried to protect his staff from more criticism by insisting that town council use a consultant on its next attempt to fix persistent sewer capacity problems. Many staff members said Wednesday that they were sad to see Huff leave.

"He's the best manager I ever had," technology director Steve Jones said.