It's not that they need a PR person, but they do need a community manager. Someone who can be the go between them and the community. This way they can keep on track and worry about the things they need to, and still be involved without feeling like they're neglecting the community… and the community will still feel like there's life behind the scenes.

The community manager can also help escalate issues that are deemed significant so that during busy times the devs don't have to deal with trivial issues…

This is all just a suggestion regarding organizational processes and how to better streamline workflow.