There is a special council meeting this morning after Public Works committee at 10:00am. At the meeting council will formally and publicly receive the resignation of City Manager Dave Gourlay
His retirement won't kick off until March 14th but that seems like such a short time! In my opinion Dave really has been the heart of the city. His leadership really sets the tone for an open and flexible attitude and it trickles down though the whole organization.
I'm sure Dave would argue and say that it's really the day to day staff in all the service areas that are the heart of the organization. Of course he'd be right in saying that too but it does come back to what kind of leadership you have. There are places where people are scared of making a decision for fear that they'll be "crushed from above" - as far as I've seen this is not the city of GP. I truly feel that our staff feel empowered to make decisions and that that empowerment comes from the senior management, with Dave on top.
Over the past two terms I've really found Dave to be a unique individual who is confident enough to "speak truth to power" when needed and also has the tact to maintain a solid working relationship with people on the opposite side of any issue. Just as importantly he's always ready to share a genuine conversations city staff - from the temporary summer students to the Corporate Leadership Team. It's a pretty unique skill set that has earned him a lot of respect, not just here but with the administration of other municipalities and at the highest levels of the provincial government.
Dave is going to enjoy having more time to spend with his family. I know is "position" of Grandpa is very important to him and I'm happy for him that it can now become a full time gig.
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