BOWDEN - Now that he's no longer the chief administrative officer (CAO) of Bowden, James Mason is taking that opportunity to relax for the summer and make a decision on his future in the fall.
When that time comes, Mason, 54, is leaning toward going back to school or looking for another job as an administrative officer in another small town somewhere.
Even if he goes back to university, Mason says the idea would be to get a land use planning certificate, which he says would make him even more employable as an administrator in a small community.
"I'm thinking about it. Actually, I'm enrolled in the program already but I never took any of the courses because I just didn't have time. So that's something I'm looking into, just as an option," Mason says.
"Any municipality the size of under 2,000 people, the CAO is often the land use planner as well, and I think it would be beneficial for me -- and my next employer -- if I've got my land use planner certificate."
Mason and the town parted ways in early July. He had served as CAO since March 1, 2016, although for the past six months or so, he had been on medical leave.
Mason said he's not bitter at town council for its decision not to continue employing him. He notes his contract with the town (which went until the end of February 2019), included a clause that enabled either side to "shorten" it. He says that's what both sides did.
"Basically, we met and we agreed to modify the terms," he says.
In Mason's absence, chief financial officer Jacqui Molylneux had been serving as interim CAO. Mayor Robb Stuart says she'll continue in that position until a decision on a new CAO is made, possibly some time this fall.
Mason wants to continue his career as a CAO because he enjoys the job.
"It's exciting," he says. "Lots of adrenalin."
"I mean, you never know what happens. Some of the calls that come in -- somebody's got a skunk under their house or there's a leak in their basement," he says. "It's hard to believe the stuff people call about. It just never gets boring."
Mason says he's proud to have helped solve several problems in Bowden during his time as CAO.
"There were lots of things happening," he says.
"We got a new lift station in and at the last minute, we ended up with a new force main. That wasn't planned; it was more of an emergent thing. But it went very well.
"We got the annexation done and a bit of an expansion to the business across the tracks (W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions).
"We got the drinking water safety policy and standard operating procedures done. That was a six- or seven-year-old project that finally managed to get done.
"We flushed and cameraed a bunch of lines which was good, because one of the lines was just about blocked, so we cleaned that out.
"That would have been a really bad thing if that thing had backed up, because we would have had sewer pumping in the basements. But we managed to get that cleaned up," he adds.
Mason is looking back fondly on his experience in Bowden.
"It was a good experience," he says. "It was a great opportunity. I thought the staff were great to work with.
"Really, in the years I've been working, I would say it's among the best crews I've worked with. It's probably some of the best people I've worked with in my entire career."
