Dave Dubauskas, new chief administrative officer (CAO) of the Town of Sundre, is excited to settle in Sundre this time around.
Coming from a company that provides CAO services based out of Fort Saskatchewan, he has served as interim CAO in Sundre twice before. But this time he plans to stay.
ìIt's a big move for me because I was 20 years in Calgary, 27 years in Fort Saskatchewan, Edmonton area, Sherwood Park, and now I plan on retiring here,î said Dubauskas.
He is currently renting a place in town, but plans on purchasing an acreage just outside of town.
He served as interim CAO in Sundre from December 2011 to April 2012 and again from July to September 2012, and was contacted several other times to accept the position permanently, he said.
ìSo that kind of said to me ëlook, for some reason in my life, I probably need to come down here',î he said.
He said he also loves the location close to the Rocky Mountains, as it reminds him of when he was a Boy Scout in Calgary.
His common-law partner Rebecca Trotter and her daughters Alexandria, 14, and Ashley, 21, are also looking forward to starting a life in Sundre, along with their three cats and three dogs.
He has two children of his own as well, Chase and Jessica, who live with their mother.
At age 47, he has 10 years of experience in CAO services and enjoys serving the public. He started in Sundre on Dec. 9.
ìThe first month has been wonderful. I'm trying to spend a lot of time examining, soaking up the existing before I make changes,î he said.
He has worked in a summer village, Fort Saskatchewan, Gibbons and Strathcona County.
Another reason he chose to come to Sundre permanently is because he believes the current council is eager to get things done.
ìIt's the council that wants to get some really good things done. It's the location, and the job itself, in terms of really helping the public,î he said. ìFor some reason I want to help the public, that's really important to me.î
However, he admitted that the job involves pressure.
ìUnlike staff that can talk to co-workers, I don't have a co-worker. I've got staff under me and I've got council over me. There is always pressure,î he said.
ìIt's really about making things work for council. This council is awesome because I can talk to them. I think they trust me. I don't BS them because that's my credibility. Like if I start trying to hide things and stuff. So I will also take ownership if things go wrong.î
When he was 16, he debated whether he wanted to become a politician or a civil servant. His mother was a civil servant for the Calgary Board of Education.
ìSo I started working for municipalities doing geographic information systems, so technology and planning,î he explained.
He later worked for Strathcona County in the corporate planning department. After that he accepted the CAO position for the Town of Bruderheim.
When asked what his goals are coming into the position, he said whatever council wants to do.
ìIt seems really simple. But it's tough,î he said.
ìI would like to maybe look at relations with the county and other businesses in terms of water and gas and providing those things.î
Outside of work he has a passion for music.
ìI love home theatre and audio file music. I love listening to music and then taking that a step further to rock concerts, usually live performance music,î he said.
A significant memory of his is when he saw Paul McCartney live, sitting in the front row, and a guitarist on the stage placed McCartney's guitar pick in his hand.
ìI love taking my kids to Nickelback and that sort of thing,î he said.
He is looking forward to discovering the town.
ìWhat I'm really looking forward to here is quadding, snowmobiling and I want to learn that. So that's my new focus.î
"It's a big move for me because I was 20 years in Calgary, 27 years in Fort Saskatchewan, Edmonton area, Sherwood Park, and now I plan on retiring here."Dave Dubauskaschief administrative officer
