‘My heart has never left Medicine Hat’: New CAO returns to a changing city

By Collin Gallant on August 22, 2018.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com @CollinGallant

Bob Nicolay says he’s looking for a new challenge and has found it in his old stomping grounds.

The 62-year-old former chief commissioner of the City of Medicine Hat was announced as the incoming chief administrative officer on Monday.

The position is comparable to the one he left in 1999 after a long career at the local city hall, but Nicolay tells the News on Tuesday, the organization has changed over nearly 20 years.

That said, he has a great deal of respect for current CAO Merete Heggelund, and when she announced her retirement last spring, he decided to apply.

“My heart has never left Medicine Hat, as corny as that sounds — it’s a beautiful community, and once it’s in your blood it stays with you,” he said.

“I look at the city and think there’s still some things I can contribute … it’s closer to family, and those factors sort of came together.”

Nicolay, currently the city manager for the City of Grande Prairie, is expected to start in Medicine Hat on Oct. 1.

Council members said Nicolay was one of three shortlisted candidates in a “strong field of applicants,” according to Mayor Ted Clugston, who said his experience in private sector, energy development and local government, makes him a good fit.

Nicolay, himself, said city hall has evolved since he left the top position nearly two decades ago.

“The content of the job is not the same as what I would have left,” he said.

“The fundamental pieces though, the configuration of what makes Medicine Hat unique, are still the same. I’ve been good at being able to optimize oil and gas, and power, and municipal services, and land development.

“Coming back into it I’m approaching it as though I have a very steep learning curve. I need to get in tune with the current organization and the current community.”

Nicolay began with the city in 1982 in the finance department of the utilities department, handling purchasing and treasury transactions for the gas production company. He was promoted to be commissioner of public services in the early 1990s, then top administrator, then known as chief commissioner, in 1995.

In 1999, he left to join City of Calgary power company, Enmax, then worked in oil and gas fields and renewable energy companies until joining Grande Prairie in early 2017.

In Medicine Hat, he’ll lead administration’s response to a budget shortfall, low prospects for petroleum and a host of major policy documents, as well as a new era of inter-governmental relations outlined in provincial changes to local government regulations.

The city’s petroleum interests have weathered 10 years of depressed prices for its main commodity, natural gas, and more recently launched a growth plan focused on oil production.

The power production unit is in a major upswing, having recently commissioned a new stand-alone plant, and signing two massive supply contracts with Aurora Cannabis and Hut 8 Cryptocurrency.

However, the Alberta power export market is expected to change over the next two years, and the municipal budget has been stressed to make up a major revenue shortfall.

“The decisions of (City Hall) need to reflect the community, and I’m not going to presume (anything),” he said. “I’m going to do a lot of listening.”

The Financially Fit budget strategy is still in place to erase a $16-million difference over the next eight years.

The city’s next four-year budget is due in early January, though council approved goals and assumptions earlier this summer.

Nicolay currently sits on the utilities and energy committee of the Alberta Urban Municipalities and also holds an advisory role with the Alberta Electric Systems Operator.

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