CANMORE – Two high-profile positions in Canmore will need filling.
The managing director of Canmore Community Housing and executive director for the Downtown BIA will have new faces in the future,
The two positions, both important roles in working with the housing and business communities, respectively, had the changes made in February.
CCH’s longtime managing director Dougal Forteath was fired without cause Tuesday (Feb. 21), while Stefan Bullock gave his notice from the downtown Canmore BIA in the middle of the month.
“We want to acknowledge Dougal’s seven years of leadership,” CCH chair Rob Murray said. “He contributed to a lot of the success that is benefitting the community. MacArthur Place, Hawks Bend, Ravens Ridge and the former Mountain Haven cooperative becoming Wolf Willow… He’s leaving CCH in a very strong financial position moving forward.”
Murray said they’re in the process of looking for an interim managing director and will begin the search for a full-time person.
“The board is going to be very deliberate in both choices of an interim and full-time managing director. We have very knowledgeable staff who are continuing to do the day-to-day work such as managing the owner and rental portfolio and the board is there to help with anything,” he said.
The decision for replacing Forteath comes shortly after the CCH board of directors completed a review of Forteath’s role at its Feb. 2 meeting. The closed door meeting had all nine board members and Town CAO Sally Caudill in attendance.
The in camera session went for an hour and 20 minutes, according to the minutes, which was followed by a Feb. 6 in camera session with the nine-member board that lasted for an hour and 25 minutes. A final Feb. 17 in camera meeting with eight of the nine board members resulted in a 40-minute decision that led to the board deciding to end its relationship with Forteath with the "termination of the employment agreement... effective February 21, 2023 and to provide severance in accordance with his employment agreement," according to the Feb. 17 minutes.
A March 7 virtual meeting of the board corrected the language of the Feb. 17 minutes to state "the board to terminate without cause the employment of Dougal Forteath."
The move comes a few months following a shakeup of the board that saw the composition go from having two council members to four on the nine-person board. The move was made to better align with council’s, the Town’s and CCH’s goals in addressing affordable housing at the time.
Shortly after the change in board composition, meetings were once again reopened to members of the public after they were restricted to only board members at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Forteath joined CCH as the managing director in 2016. Prior to the role, he was the affordable housing coordinator for the City of Richmond, the manager of general housing services for the University of British Columbia and the CAO of the Banff Housing Corporation for more than a decade.
When Town council passed its strategic plan last June, priority was emphasized on affordability and livability in the community, specifically working on improving housing in the community.
Town council passed three motions at the time in asking the federal and provincial governments to help with land, policy changes and funding to aid in creating housing in the municipality.
“We’re in the process of considering the strategic direction of the organization and doing some work. We did a workshop to define the strategy going forward and in the coming months we’ll be sharing the vision with the community,” Murray said.
“We recognize affordability is the top issue in this community and the main challenge we’re all facing. CCH is one of the best tools to address housing on the affordability spectrum. We really believe in a strong vision going forward, to take leadership on this portfolio and address this issue urgently.”
Bullock became executive director of the Downtown Canmore BIA last April when he took over for longtime director Beth Vandervoort following her retirement.
Bullock, who had his last day Tuesday (Feb. 28) referred questions to BIA board chair Tory Kendal.
“I think he’s learned a lot in the role and he’s worked very hard,” Kendal said of Bullock’s time in the role.
Kendal said Vandervoort will return to an interim role as the board launches a process to find a new executive director.
“Stefan has worked with her quite a bit in the past to bring himself up to speed, so she’s in a position she has a good understanding of where we are today. … We’re fortunate she’s available and is willing to come back.”
Kendal said the coming year will see the BIA continue to work with businesses on paid parking, the Main Street pedestrian zone and the downtown area redevelopment plan being undertaken by the Town that has been pushed back for several years.
“The ARP process is very important because it will represent the future of the downtown,” he said. “We really want to have a good vision of where downtown is not just tomorrow, but next year, five years and 10 years.”
In the last year, members of the downtown BIA have been vocal in both the continued Main Street pedestrian zone and the implementation of downtown paid parking.
The Town and the downtown BIA have been working to have a percentage of the net revenue from downtown paid parking go to the downtown organization. The intent is it would be used to assist with beautification, signage and marketing for the downtown.
The exact dollar amount is not yet known, with paid parking only having started last June.
“Some of business owners were not happy with it and some of them are still not. … It’s an issue for some people who don’t want to pay for parking and it’s a balancing act,” Kendal said.
CORRECTION: The original article had the Town letting Forteath go, but it was a CCH board decision and took place on Feb. 21 rather than Feb. 22. The Outlook apologizes for the error.
