Bob Nicolay to retire

By COLLIN GALLANT on January 22, 2022.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

City manager Bob Nicolay will retire from the position at the end of January, the City of Medicine Hat has announced.

That comes months after large turnover on city council in the October election swept in several candidates critical of administration and previous council, as well as several weeks of pointed conversations at council meetings.

Nicolay, however, told the News on Friday, his long-standing plan was to retire in the fall of 2021 at the conclusion of his three-year contract.

Now that a new council has passed a 2022 budget and is set for new planning sessions, he will act on that plan.

He said it was not a signal of greater conflict within the organization.

“No it’s not,” he told the News. “There’s no doubt that there needs to be a reset, but this was always the plan.”

A statement reads in part, “I have thoroughly enjoyed a fascinating career over 40 years… But now it’s time to transition into retirement and I am keen and eager to do so.

“I will genuinely miss the people with whom I have worked, the Boards and City Councils I have felt privileged to serve and especially, the opportunity to directly serve the community in our precious Medicine Hat.”

Nicolay, who served as top administrator in the city in the 1990s, was rehired in October 2018 to replace retiring chief administrative officer Merete Heggelund.

He originally left to become a top administrator with City of Calgary energy interest Enmax, and was hired back to the Hat from a position as city manager in Grande Prairie.

Having electricity, oilfield and municipal sector experience, he was billed as a good fit for Medicine Hat’s unique position in those businesses.

He was specifically charged with three priority areas, he said: to stabilize the city’s natural gas company that continued to bleed money in a low-price environment, “create a financial solution” to gas well abandonment, and make gains on filling a multi-million budget gap left by a lack of gas dividends.

Former council members contacted on Friday pointed to success on those three fronts.

Some current councillors have been critical, however, and rumblings of employee dissatisfaction were heard during the election, along with public criticism of how the Invest Medicine Hat office was operated.

Mayor Linnsie Clark, who created a new committee last month in part to evaluate the top administrator’s performance issued a statement of thanks and well wishes. She stated the decision on timing was Nicolay’s, following an agreed-to contract extension to allow the newly sworn in council to get up to speed.

“I think this demonstrates not only his interest in the success of this council, but also his confidence in our entire senior leadership team,” she said.

Committee chair Coun. Shila Sharps said “Bob served under the direction of the previous Council and did so very effectively.”

“With a new council and new direction in place, Bob’s desire to align his retirement date with the development of a new strategic plan made sense,” she said.

The city’s release states Nicolay’s last day on the job will be at the end of January, after which an acting city manager could be named. His position officially ends in the summer. A hiring committee of council is typically struck to make such hires.

In Nicolay’s case, the hiring committee was composed of Heggelund, Mayor Ted Clugston, and two of the three committee chairs at the time (Couns. Robert Dumanowski and Julie Friesen).

Former city councillor Phil Turnbull said he fears Nicolay was ousted for political reasons, paying the price of decisions of council last term. He said gains made on the budget and well abandonment shouldn’t be forgotten, and other initiatives from last term continued.

“I’ve always judged people by the work they do not whether I liked them or disliked them,” he said. “We solved some big problems (last term), but there’s still a lot to do.”

Kris Samraj, another former councillor from last term told the News that Nicolay “advanced the city’s long term fiscal goals while maintaining stability at city hall during two difficult pandemic years.”

“His public service to our community should not be underestimated.”

Nicolay said he’s always loved Medicine Hat and now plans to read more books for pleasure and begin travelling again with his long-term life partner.

“The last two years have easily been the most challenging of my 40-year career in public service,” he said of the pandemic. “COVID, it’s really been a bear. But I’m really proud of how disciplined our organization has been. There have been two years without a case of (workplace) transmission, and there’s been a continuity of business.”

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