The man widely credited with getting the Adventure Centre off the ground tendered his resignation this week, according to a surprise announcement by Mayor Ian Sutherland during the District of Squamish council meeting Tuesday (Sept. 16). District deputy administrator Brent Leigh submitted his letter of resignation this week in a parting of ways Sutherland described as "amicable.""It's going to be a real loss to the district," he said. "Brent wants to move on and explore other avenues."Calls to Leigh were not returned by press time.This is the second time Leigh has left the District's employ. He was hired as the District's Economic Development Office in 1999 but was relived of those duties in May 2000 to concentrate on bringing what is now Quest University Canada to Squamish as well as downtown development. He left the District in August of that year.Leigh rejoined the district as deputy administrator in 2004 at a time when the Squamish Adventure Centre was still a highly contentious proposal.The project came to fruition over-budget, causing more controversy, and has yet to turn the profits anticipated by those who supported it. The Squamish Sustainability Corporation (SSC) was established to leverage the Adventure Centre's capabilities and lure tourism and business to town. Leigh was named managing director. Leigh took on a third hat with another contentious file in 2006, when he became the district liaison on another district board, the Squamish Oceanfront Development Corporation (SODC), tasked with exploring development of the municipally-owned Oceanfront or Nexen Beach lands.The board's attempt to partner with a private developer met narrow approval from council, but was ultimately defeated when the developer pulled out citing the wider community's disapproval.SSC business development lead says Leigh's departure is a blow."Pretty much, he's the founding father of the SSC brought in to co-ordinate the building of the SAC [Squamish Adventure Centre] not only in fiscal form but in corporate form as well," said Thomson.Thomson called the announcement at council "anti-climatic," adding it came a surprise to many, since Leigh was starting to let "the inner circle" know. "It was a very much a gavel hit to start the meeting and the mayor asked Brent to stand up and thanked him for his four years of service and people applauded and Brent sat down. It's like 'Doesn't this gentleman deserve a little more than that?'"Thomson said there will be an opportunity for the community to show their appreciation in the coming weeks.In the meantime, Leigh is working toward ensuring the stability of the SSC once he leaves the building, which is anticipated to occur by the end of October.Thomson said he'll miss the guidance of his visionary mentor, but is optimistic about the future. Thomson said he and the SSC staff also realize the SSC remains a political hot potato."I would say there is a little bit of nervousness as we enter into a political time with the elections and we are all very aware that the SSC is a political entity in the community. Whether it'll become a political platform or not for the candidates I'm not too sure. I'm actually quite interested to see what happens with that."Thomson said the SSC board meets Thursday (Sept. 25) to discuss options. Leigh's salary was drawn from the district budget, so the board must now consider adding a salary to their budget for another managing director.
