Sarah Williams
Beaver Staff
With the new year underway, The Napanee Beaver took some time to chat with the municipality’s newly minted Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), John Pinsent, about the direction the town will be taking in the coming year, and some of the community needs he has recognized in his new role. Pinsent assumed the role of CAO for Greater Napanee last October.
Discussing this transition with The Beaver, Pinsent noted he has made a point of reaching out to residents as much as possible during this era of COVID-19.
“I think the transition has been very good. Obviously, different CAO’s have different styles and philosophies. I’ve made a point of reaching out and talking to as many people as I can, understanding council’s philosophies and priorities,” stated Pinsent. “It’s been a good transition. Staff and residents have been very helpful in terms of making sure that I’m aware of things I need to know…it’s hard during the pandemic, because you can’t walk around and bump into people, but I am trying as much as possible to get out and meet people and they’re very receptive to my arrival here in Greater Napanee.”
When speaking about the needs of the community, Pinsent pointed to the need for a strategic plan overhaul. This is work that, he added, the community had begun before the pandemic hit.
“I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed is, and it’s something the community tried to do back in 2017-18 but was hindered by COVID-19, is to have a really good strategic plan and good vision of where this municipality goes into the future,” he said. “I am the type of leader who likes to have a plan and a vision but because of COVID, council hasn’t really had the opportunity to do a good deep dive and consult with the townspeople to ask what they envision for the next five, 10, 15 years. I see that as the biggest need. I think it’s something we will do this year.”
Apart from gaining a deeper understanding of the future growth for the community, Pinsent posited 2022 would be a “foundational year.”
“There’s an Official Plan review that’s being done by our Growth and Expansion Department. We are going to kickstart a strategic plan review in the next couple weeks, which will require some visioning exercises,” explained Pinsent.
Also top of mind is consolidation of staff into one building, creating a vision for the Recreation Master Plan.
“Staff is preparing a plan to consolidate all our staff into one administration building, so we’re bringing something to council next week around the initial thoughts about that,” said Pinsent. “We’re also going to work on a Recreation Master Plan to try and determine how we manage recreation. We’ve got the Strathcona Paper Centre and all kinds of trails, but we really don’t have a vision in terms of what recreation looks like for the municipality.”
Last but not least, Pinsent pointed to a need for a review of staffing compensation to ensure that framework reflects the work being done.
“Something I would like to do is get to a good review of our staffing and compensation review to find out if we’re structured properly from a staffing perspective and really to find out if we have the right people in the right places to do the important work and make sure our compensation framework reflects that work,” he stated.
“There’s a lot of moving balls in the air,” reflected Pinsent.