Fremantle quits top job at City of Iqaluit

JOHN THOMPSON

Iqaluit’s chief administrative officer, Ian Fremantle, worked his last day at the City of Iqaluit this Monday, after negotiations for his new employment contract broke down.

“It happens. I’m confident we’re going to move forward,” said Mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik. “I’m sure it won’t be the last time,” she added.

“It’s not a disaster,” said Councillor Nancy Gillis. “A catastrophe hasn’t occurred. People shouldn’t be afraid because we don’t have a CAO.”

Maybe not, but it’s another big year for the city, with work continuing this summer on the new Plateau subdivision, a proposed deepwater port, and a municipal election this fall. Gillis said council is prepared for all these projects, so they shouldn’t be caught off-guard.

Fremantle’s three-year contract with the city expired on March 11. Reportedly, he has been in negotiations with the city since last summer. After a dispute that city officials won’t describe in detail, but does not involve money, he chose not to renew.

“Mr. Fremantle’s contract ended. He decided to go somewhere else. It was his choice. Council accepts it,” Gillis said.

During an in-camera council meeting this past Monday evening, Michele Bertol, the city’s director of lands and planning, was appointed as acting CAO until the end of the month.

By April 1, council will decide who will serve as an interim CAO until a permanent replacement is found, Gillis said.

Ads for the position will be placed once the city’s human resources committee has agreed on the job’s terms of reference.

Fremantle had a bumpy three-year tenure with the city, beginning in 2003, when he first came to Iqaluit from a similar post in Powell River, B.C. That year saw two pedestrians struck and killed by city vehicles, prompting an inquest in 2004 by the territory’s chief coroner.

City councillors made several unpopular political decisions in the years that followed, such as property tax increases and cuts to public transit and recycling, but the public sometimes blamed the CAO for those decisions.

As a former special forces commando from Scotland whose moustache often bent his face into a frown, Fremantle’s gruff, direct manner probably appealed less to residents than the man he replaced, the more affable Rick Butler.

But after three years, Fremantle did achieve most of the goals he set when he took on the CAO’s job.

The city developed a plan for Iqaluit’s downtown core, which won an award, although pedestrian posts and back-in parking also provoked grumbling from some residents.

The city built a new cemetery, although it hasn’t yet been consecrated and some councillors believe it needs deeper ditches to prevent flooding.

The city began cataloging its assets, and trying to sell off its unused property.

Last summer, the city built a new treated water storage tank, and sewer and water lines were installed in Lower Base.

This month the new sewage treatment plant finally went online, and this summer the city plans to raise the Lake Geraldine dam by two metres.

The only item that remains unticked on Fremantle’s priority list is identifying a new site for the city’s landfill — a study was carried out several years ago, but came back with no solutions.

With this focus on essential infrastructure, recreation facilities have continued to deteriorate. Today, the city’s AWG arena continues to sink, and the badly aging pool will likely be closed before a replacement is built.

Fremantle is just one of many city administrators who departed over the past year. The city’s professional engineer, recreation director and fire chief have all left recently.

Fremantle would not comment on his decision. He plans to visit his son in British Columbia, then find new work.