NEWS FILE PHOTO Merete Heggelund is seen during a public services committee meeting in 2013. The News has learned Heggelund, who became the city's chief administrative officer in 2014, will retire in September.
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Merete Heggelund, the top administrator at Medicine Hat City Hall, will retire in September, the News has learned.
In a note to staff last week, Heggelund, 57, laid out her plans and on Tuesday confirmed to the News that she plans to fully retire this fall after a new chief administrative officer is selected.
“It’s nothing dramatic and we’ll have lots of time to plan succession and recruitment,” she said. “I’ll be retired-retired. It’s time.”
Heggelund joined the city as corporate services commissioner in late 2012, and was selected to replace departing CAO Ray Barnard in early 2014.
Having previously worked in the private sector with Statoil and several other energy firms, she was considered a good fit.
Since then, the city combined the municipal and energy division operations in 2015, making energy exploration directly under the CAO’s purview, but reporting to the utility committee.
Beyond that, the city responded to a major flood in 2013, installed a new budget process to make up for low energy profits, and built a number of major projects, including the Canalta Centre and two firehalls.
“It’s been a busy six years,” she said. “I came to the city with a time frame of five years, maybe. That’s what I promised Ray (Barnard) at the time and it’ll be six years in September.
“I wanted to get through (the fall) election, get council in place, orientation and strategic planning,” she said. “That’s well established, and it’s time for me to think about the next stage of life.”
Last week council approved further changes in an emergent item that delineated responsibilities for the energy division to the utilities commissioner
Heggelund moved to the city from Calgary when she was originally hired, though she and her husband have long owned property in the Cypress Hills.
She plans to keep Medicine Hat has home, but spend additional time in the countryside as well as travel to visit her grandchildren who live in her native Norway.
