After a six-month search, St. Albert council has chosen the city’s next top manager.
Starting April 23, Patrick Draper will become St. Albert’s next city manager. The city announced the hiring this morning at a news conference, which Draper joined by telephone.
“I have been advised by the mayor and council that there is a fabulous staff. They’ve been very complimentary about the staff,” Draper said in describing why he decided to take the position. “It seems to be a very close match with my interests, skills and experience.”
Draper will come to St. Albert after serving as president and CEO of the Toronto Region Research Alliance, an economic development organization promoting increased investment in research and innovation. In that role, Draper worked within the Greater Toronto Area’s 29 municipalities as well as post-secondary institutions and “large, foreign-owned multinational corporations.”
“There’s been a lot of progress made in terms of economic development in terms of identifying lands that need to be brought on stream for deployment purposes,” Draper said of St. Albert.
Draper has also served as director of economic strategy and tourism for the Regional Municipality of York, the senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nielsen Cadbury Neilson Cadbury and the deputy minister for economic development, trade and tourism for the Ontario government. His private resume also includes time in marketing with PepsiCo USA.
“I think I’ve been very fortunate to experience the government environment and the business environment,” Draper said. “Some would suggest there are some similarities in terms of operating and providing services.”
Mayor Nolan Crouse confirmed the city finalized its deal with Draper the week before last. He will receive the standard benefits package and draw a salary of $250,000 annually.
“We put together criteria on what we were looking for and he met every one of them. We wanted someone with municipal experience — he had municipal work. The deputy minister skills were a bonus,” said Crouse. “We wanted a good blend of private sector. He understood the governance, the economic development.”
Council fired long-time city manager Bill Holtby last October and then employed headhunting agency Davies Park to find candidates for the vacant position. General manager of community and protective services Chris Jardine has been serving as acting city manager since and had applied for the position. In total, Davies Park received 49 applications, which they short-listed and forwarded to city council.
“It’s been six months. We are happy this is behind us,” Crouse said. “We’re most happy that, I believe, we’ve got the right candidate.”
Draper said his family spent approximately eight days in St. Albert during the recruitment process and instantly fell in love with the city.
“We were so impressed. I met all kinds of different people — at hockey rinks, at restaurants, at different venues — and they were so positive about St. Albert. They were so friendly.”
Draper is married to Kristine, who he said is hoping to attend a program at NAIT. He also has a son, who is 13.
