Port McNeill’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Sue Harvey will be retiring near the end of December.
At the town’s last council meeting on Nov. 19, Port McNeill Mayor Gaby Wickstrom made the big announcement, stating it was time to let everybody in attendance know that Harvey has put in her notice.
Wickstrom also stated that Deputy Administrator Pete Nelson-Smith has now been promoted to acting administrator until Dec. 17, after which a decision will be made regarding a full-time appointment to the position.
Back in December of 2017, Harvey verbally relayed her intention to mayor and council that she would be retiring at the end of 2018. Later on at council’s Oct. 1 meeting in 2018, Harvey submitted her written letter of retirement in an in-camera (private) session.
According to Nelson-Smith, he was chosen by the town for the role of deputy administrator as a “method of succession planning.”
Nelson-Smith was previously the harbour manager for the Town of Port McNeill. He was tasked by mayor and council back in May of 2016 to revamp the town’s harbour rates to make sure they appropriate for all residents, which ended up being his most noteworthy act during his tenure as manager of the harbour.
Harvey was unavailable for comment when contacted by The Gazette, but Wickstrom noted that “Sue has worked for the Town of Port McNeill since 2006. In that time she has worked as receptionist, deputy administrator and most recently, CAO. We have appreciated Sue’s dedication to the town and the councils she has worked with. We wish her the very best as she begins her retirement and has the opportunity to spend more time in her roll as grandmother.”