Several recent controversies, including plans for a downtown historic district, played a role in his decision to quit, Murphrey said. But he said his main reason for leaving is to go back to school and earn a doctorate in public or environmental policy.

"That's the number one reason," Murphrey said. "There are other factors that make that decision sooner. The last couple months here have been kind of tough."

Many property owners have opposed the plan to create a downtown historic district, which would require building upgrades to get approval from a commission. Murphrey helped develop the proposal. Also, he said he disagreed with town commissioners' decision in November to rezone a commercial building on Parrish Drive to house a church. Murphey said a church in a commercial district would hinder retail development downtown.

"I think that's really going to hamper revitalization efforts," he said. "Those two things didn't make the decision [to leave] but pushed it up a couple months."

Commissioner Fred Nelson defended the rezoning for the church. He said he was impressed by the church's plan to open a public coffee shop with entertainment for teens.

Commissioners will take up the historic-district proposal during their Dec. 8 meeting. Murphrey said that since he'll be around until the end of the month, he'll still have time to get the district up and running if it's approved.

Though he'd only worked for the town for about 18 months, Murphrey made great strides in improving Benson's downtown, officials said.

"He's been an asset to the town," Town Manager Keith Langdon said. "He was very instrumental in us being a finalist for the All-America City Award."

Langdon said the town would likely look for a new development coordinator, but he wasn't sure when. Nelson said the town might wait until a new town manager is in place - Langdon retires on June 30.

"We may want to get the town manager on board first and get that person's view," Nelson said.

Officials credited Murphrey with bringing more businesses downtown and with founding events to attract visitors. During Murphrey's tenure, Benson began its Saturday Stroll and Movies at the Grove. He's also been involved with façade grants, energy audits and a market analysis to give the town information needed to recruit development.

"We had a net business gain and a net job gain while I was here," Murphrey said. "There've been a lot of good things that have happened."

Murphrey added that downtown Benson still has much to do and that he's putting together a plan to help his successor. He wants to see the next development coordinator tackle signs to direct visitors downtown.

"I think we can really capitalize on our location some more," he said.