BREAKING NEWS: Vancouver Parks & Recreation GM announces retirement

This morning, Susan Mundick, the General Manager of Vancouver Parks and Recreation, officially announced that she would be retiring, most likely within four to six months.

Mundick bids the City of Vancouver adieu, but not before assisting in the handover of the reins to her replacement

Here is the text of the release:

Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
News Release

For Immediate Release

September 15, 2009

Vancouver Park Board Chair Announces Retirement of General Manager Susan Mundick

Raj Hundal, Chair of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation announced today he has accepted a letter of retirement from General Manager Susan Mundick.

“Susan has been an incredible resource to both the Commissioners on the Board and to our staff,” said Hundal. “While we had all hoped that she would continue her executive leadership of the organization, Susan feels that now is the right time to retire, and, as always, I respect her judgement in this decision.”

Mundick joined the organization in 1998 and over the years has provided support and worked collaboratively with several successive Park Boards, Vancouver City Councils and Mayors. Offering strategic counsel to Board Commissioners, developing and directing strategic plans to revitalize aging infrastructure, identifying revenue opportunities through public/private partnerships, expanding parks and recreation programs and significantly increasing the City’s green spaces, count among Mundick’s many and varied achievements.

“Leaving a dream job is always a difficult decision,” said Mundick. “But after 11 years and with a long checklist of accomplishments of which I am very proud, I feel that leaving now is the right decision and the right time. I’m looking forward to a new adventure – but not before I support the Board through an efficient and effective transition to new leadership.”

Mundick has agreed to work with the Board to implement a smooth transition of executive leadership.

“Susan’s commitment to accountability and transparency, dynamic leadership and her ability to get the best out of our amazing staff will be sorely missed, to say nothing of her 35 years of parks and recreation experience,” said Hundal. “I’m sure I’m speaking for all our extended staff when I say we wish her the very best of luck in whatever retirement holds.”

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35 years of public service is impressive, and Mundick should be commended for her contributions towards making Vancouver a better place.

But in consideration of some of Mundick’s tendencies in the job over the past nine months, this departure is far from a surprise.

First and foremost, Mundick was supremely loyal to former City Manager Judy Rogers, making her relationship with current City Manager Penny Ballem less than ideal at times.  She was the Master of Ceremonies for Rogers’ farewell dinner back in April, where her tongue in cheek jokes about Rogers and the nature of her departure alluded to the potential of her own future taking a similar turn.

Within the Parks and Recreation offices, it is also well known how close Mundick is to current NPA park board commissioner Ian Robertson, who many joked was her first or second speed dial option.  Robertson revealed as much in a conversation he had with the Georgia Straight’s Charlie Smith last December when he stated how “absolutely tragic” it would be to lose Mundick, and added:

“I would fight that every step of the way.  We need the solid guidance of someone like Sue.”

That kind of a relationship makes one question whether the advice given to all commissioners was equal.

Finally, there appeared to be some policy cleavages between Mundick and the current Board.  As Mundick writes in her release, identifying revenue opportunities through public/private partnerships was one of her pet causes.  As an example, the previous Board turned over the Celebration Pavilion wedding chapel at Queen Elizabeth Park to a private operator in their final Board meeting, exercising a move that Mundick had been personally pushing for.

Current Board members have tended to be weary of these types of relationships, particularly in consideration of the fear that private operators would charge more for City-offered services and in the process, box certain segments of the population out of access.

Regardless, it looks as though Mundick’s final stretch run at the job will be amicable and cooperative towards ensuring that a suitable replacement is found.  It will be interesting to see which direction this search will take and whether that creates any tension between Parks and Recreation and City Hall.