The District of Squamish has parted ways with its former manager of engineering.
As of Monday (July 23), Brian Barnett, the district's former general manager of engineering and parks, was not employed by the municipality, district spokesperson Christie Smith confirmed.
We don't discuss personnel matters, she told The Chief, when asked about the circumstances surrounding Barnett's departure.
The district hired Barnett as acting manager of engineering in January 2010. Previous to his time in Squamish, Barnett worked with the Resort Municipality of Whistler for 13 years, where he held the position of the environment services' general manager.
In 2009, the resort municipality posted Barnett's position as a job advertisement on its website. At the time, resort officials wouldn't comment about the specifics of Barnett's departure.
Barnett is the third senior manager to leave the district in the past four months. His exit follows the departure of Cameron Chalmers, who had been general manager of community services and worked for the municipality for 10 years. The district thanked him for his services and wished him well on future endeavours, Smith told The Chief on May 1.
Former Squamish chief administrator Kevin Ramsay left the district this past spring to take on the job of city manager in Port Moody.
The municipality is committed to enhancing community engagement and improving customer service, Smith said this week.
We have really talented staff members who will continue to be employees and define engineering needs and monitor existing plans in place for engineering projects, she said.
A decision on who will step into Barnett's shoes will be made in the weeks ahead, Smith said, noting there is no shortage of candidates.
The safety and security of our infrastructure is a primary concern and the healthy well-being of our community remains a priority, she said. So to this end, services in this area will continue at a high level.
Barnett did not return a phone call from The Chief seeking comment.
