St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse will turn in the keys to his office at the end of this council term. Crouse announced his intention not to run again via a video posted to social media Thursday morning.
St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse will turn in the keys to his office at the end of this council term.
Crouse announced his intention not to run again via a video posted to social media Thursday morning. He outlined some of his accomplishments while in office and alluded to his next steps.
In an interview Crouse, 63, told the Gazette he wanted to have one more career. He did not say what that would be, but raised the possibility of sitting on not-for-profit or corporate boards, or of engaging in public service at provincial or federal levels.
“I have anything and everything on my brain right now,” Crouse said. “I think in the next few days I'm going to narrow it down.”
He acknowledged the rumours circulating that he would seek the leadership of the Alberta Liberal party, and confirmed that's a possibility. He said it could be weeks before he made any decision, one way or the other.
“It is one of many things I'm spending time on right now,” he said. “I want to make sure I explore all my options.”
Crouse was first elected in St. Albert as a councillor in 2004, then elected as Mayor in 2007, 2010 and 2013.
His 10 years in the mayor's chair put him among the longest-serving council members the city has ever had. Michael Hogan set the record of 24 years from 1919 to 1943, William Veness served 14 years from 1951 to 1965, and Richard Fowler served roughly 11 and a half years from 1966 to 1968 and from 1980 to 1989.
“That is remarkable company I'm humbled by,” he said.
Crouse noted dozens of accomplishments so far in his time on council, but said infrastructure development has been among the most significant accomplishments he has helped to achieve.
He said when he was first elected to council, Ray Gibbon Drive didn't exist, neither did Servus Place, and the Riel Recreation Park was not as good as it is today. He emphasized his role was as part of a team to make these projects a reality.
“Those aren't about Nolan Crouse,” he said. “Those are the product of decades of work.”
Crouse noted some less tangible accomplishments, as well. He said he was proud to be part of a community that's consistently ranked among the safest, best places to live and best places to invest in the entire country.
“The fact is, this community is so strong in every category,” he said.
Thirteen years ago Crouse campaigned on a strong economic development focus and he said he now is very happy with where the city is fiscally and financially.
He also says he is proud that the customer service in city hall is second to none.
“The corporation is very responsive to community needs wherever we turn,” Crouse said. “It doesn't matter if it's an email or a request for information for a developer to fixing a pothole to picking up a garbage bag. This corporation is in a very good spot and I feel very good about that.”
Crouse also emphasized the significance of moving the tax assessment split to increase the proportion of non-residential development, which now makes up roughly 15 per cent of total assessment, up from less than 10 per cent a decade ago.
Despite the accomplishments, Crouse has been faced with some controversy during this past term.
In fall 2014, Coun. Sheena Hughes announced her discovery that Crouse had been double-dipping on his expenses by charging mileage and other costs to both the city and the Capital Region Board (CRB), which he chairs. City staff conducted a review of council expenses and found many inconsistencies. When all the errors were corrected Crouse said he was ultimately owed roughly $2,000, not the other way around.
Hughes and Coun. Cam MacKay have called for an independent audit, but council has not approved a motion to conduct one.
More recently, Crouse has been accused of voting on several matters in which he had a pecuniary interest in contravention of the Municipal Government Act, including one related to his expenses. He is currently facing an application in Alberta Court of Queen's Bench to have him removed from office. He has said in council he sought legal advice, and that no pecuniary interest existed.
The city is also currently in the process of undergoing a municipal inspection, after council voted July 4 to ask the minister of Municipal Affairs to look into the city's affairs and business. Preliminary interviews were completed earlier this fall, but there's no word yet on whether a full inspection will take place.
Crouse emphasized none of this factored into his decision not to run again.
“I'm not being driven out,” he said. “This is about me choosing on my terms what I would like to try in another segment of my career.”
In his remaining months as mayor, Crouse still has a few things he wants to accomplish. He said he wants to get the land deal done for the park and ride that has been several years in the making. He also mentioned he wants to get the land strategy in place for all of the city's future public needs, such as the next arena, library and fire hall.
Crouse also wants to see a plan before the next election to add a new aquatics and arena facility. He would also like to see the continuation of the conversation about a boundary adjustment with Sturgeon County before he leaves office.
Crouse said he had been contemplating for months whether to run again. He said he had not made a decision until finishing up the 2017 budget.
“I was thinking about this seriously during the budget process. When that was done, I thought to myself, this is the last budget,” he said.
Crouse said he wanted to make the announcement that he wouldn't seek re-election so he wasn't hiding his job search. He said that he announced his intentions to not seek re-election early because he wants the community to be able to weigh in on their future mayor.
“The sooner people know who might be interested the better,” Crouse said.
So far he said he has had three, or possibly four, people who have told the mayor they might possibly be interested in his job once he leaves office.
Despite the fact that he will no longer be the Botanical Arts City mayor, Crouse said he will still be a proud member of the St. Albert community.
“Oh I'm not leaving,” Crouse said. “We will not be leaving. There is no movement out of this community. Period.”
