Former City of Calgary parks superintendent Terry Welsh is enthralled with the chance to return to grassroots municipal development in his new management roll with the town.
The new director of community and protective services is no stranger to civic duty, having served in his previous post for three years, worked 18 years in Brooks in recreational and park services, along with stints at the City of Medicine Hat and the City of Grande Prairie.
“The one thing I've learned in my travels is that there's nothing quite like working in a small community – in terms of the excitement and being able to connect with the community,” said Welsh. “You lose that in a big centre.”
Recent weeks have brought a number of staffing changes to the Town of Innisfail, including the departure of both a planning staffer and the director of corporate services.
Welsh is just getting his feet wet in Innisfail but he's already jumped headlong into his management position. He must cover a lot of ground, providing leadership to emergency responders and bylaw compliance personnel while also developing leisure and recreation avenues for citizens.
“In a small community you get to do and experience everything,” said Welsh. “You can't beat that.”
He credits the Envision Innisfail process as helping provide a “strong” platform from which to start and says he looks forward to reaching out to local volunteers and helping to improve the quality of life for citizens.
“I certainly think I'll be able to implement a lot of things that are in there,” he said. “We're really about community development.”
Mayor Jim Romane said Welsh's qualifications and passion for development set him apart.
“He's very, very keen,” Romane said, adding Welsh excels in the physical aspect of development. “He's enthusiastic to make the town look better.”
Darryl Joyce departed his position as director of corporate services Aug. 24 to take a job with the provincial government.
“I have been presented with a great opportunity with Alberta Municipal Affairs I couldn't pass up,” he said. “The Town of Innisfail's been great to me over the past four years.”
Corporate services may not be a centre stage position, yet it is important, said Romane.
“It's a pretty non-obvious role in the community,” he said. “You're almost invisible to the public.”
It will take time to hire and recruit new staff, said Town Manager Helen Dietz, adding she was aware of Joyce's interest in municipal work since he previously was the president of the local government administrators association.
“It wasn't too much of a surprise to me,” she said of when he resigned. “He has an opportunity he's quite excited about.”
In other staff changes, Elwin Wiens, the town development officer quit a couple weeks ago. The town has set out to find a replacement with experience, said Romane.
“We're looking for someone with proper background and training,” he said.
