City manager Patrick Draper’s letter in the Saturday, June 6 Gazette enters into uncharted territory. It is political in nature and in it, he admits to having a personal agenda.
I refer to this paragraph specifically: “Yes, I do have a personal wish list of projects but they involve the internal administration of the city. I am building leadership capacity to plan for the future, I am upgrading staff skills to better serve residents and provide professional advice to council, I am expanding the use of analytics to better inform decision making and I am championing new technologies to make city operations more efficient. Council has delegated to the city manager the effective and efficient management of administrative services and I follow through on these council directions.”
Mr. Draper’s recent actions directly contravene the facts he claims in that statement.
I submit that council did not in any way delegate him to hire former councillor Prefontaine, a man totally unqualified for the role in which he was hired. Prefontaine has no experience in either planning or engineering, yet he is to direct all future activities for the city in those fields. Tell us again Mr. Draper please, just how does this fit your claim, “I am upgrading staff skills to better serve residents and provide professional advice to council.”
The proof will come when the professional staff rebel, and the rats begin to abandon the sinking ship. I predict that will happen real soon, as those 'real' professionals are forced to work for an unqualified boss, Mr. Draper.
Politics are sadly best left to politicians and in St. Albert, that too is a mess, but I digress.
A simple personal response to Mr. Harley is what should have taken place, not a public expression of an inflated ego.
Don Sinclair, St. Albert
