District hall will soon see several new staff members, as the District of Hope looks to fill positions in operations, records and administration.
Operations manager John Gislason is no longer with the organization and the district is now advertising for a new operations manager, to supervise the district’s work on “roads, utilities, buildings, parks and other assets.” Chief administrative officer John Fortoloczky said “we have separated” when asked to confirm the reasons behind Gislason’s departure.
The district is also looking for a records coordinator, a full-time position at a rate of $32.48 per hour. The position will be open after the retirement of Scott Secord.
A temporary confidential executive assistant is also being sought by the district, with a rate of pay currently under review.
The district has also hired a new bylaw officer, Quima Padgett, after the retirement of Al Goodman.
The new bylaw officer hasn’t been without work, including letting a traveling band know they could not play in Memorial Park Sept. 18. The band, Los Borrachos, were refused to play in the park due to COVID-19 safety concerns Fortoloczky said.
“Because they didn’t go through the event process, we weren’t able to validate for example COVID safety measures, liability, like insurance, which must be provided to safeguard the district and its taxpayers,” he said, adding that any event within the district is subject to this process. “Quite frankly, they disregarded our decision and showed up anyways.”
Dagny Guy is the district’s new manager of human resources and safety. The position is a brand new one for the district as of 2020. “That’s an important position that we brought on, clearly with council approval, to fulfill the ever-increasing mandate in particular with safety. But also, there always is a significant amount of HR work,” Fortoloczky said.
The district’s tourism and economic development organization AdvantageHOPE, which is funded by the district but functions at arms length from it, is short an economic development officer after Lyle Downey’s 6-month stint.
Downey started with the organization in mid-March, just as the COVID-19 pandemic forced business closures and many companies including AdvantageHOPE had their staff work from home.
AdvantageHOPE declined to comment for this story.
