Rod March moving on to new role; appreciates his time in Estevan

ESTEVAN — Rod March is grateful for the years he has spent in Estevan.

March has stepped down from his role as the manager of leisure services, parks and facilities for the City of Estevan, to take on the job as the parks manager for the City of Okotoks in Alberta. March's final day in Estevan will be May 5.

He said he is resigning for personal reasons.

"I've taken on a position over there [in Okotoks] where I'm more concentrated on looking after the parks and greenspaces," said March.

When March started with the city in the summer of 2014, he was the parks manager, and slowly added to his responsibilities.

A number of projects have been completed during his tenure in Estevan. There's the new paddling pool at the Churchill Playpark that opened last summer, new play structures at local parks, buildings that were constructed at local parks, the addition of amenities at the Dennis Moore Centennial Park and the upgrades to the Royal Heights Veterans' Memorial Park.

He has worked with different groups and businesses to help make the city a better place through improvements to recreation.

"I think the number 1 thing that I take away is the relationships built and maintained over the years, because it's a great place," said March. "There's a lot of great things happening."

The integrated pathway project, in which 13 kilometres of new walking paths and sidewalks were constructed, occurred during his time. Medians were improved when he started. Beautification has also taken a big step forward with self-watering planters.

"We put all of our irrigation on timers, so all of those complaints about irrigation being on during the day, that doesn't happen," said March.

Renovations have occurred at the Power Dodge Curling Centre and the Power Dodge Arena, the city's urban forest increased by 15 per cent and a new columbarium was constructed at the Estevan City Cemetery.

He's pleased that he was able to get things done without drastic spending increases, thanks to government grants and external funding.

After nearly nine years on the job in Estevan, March said he believes a new set of eyes will be good for the community.

March thanked those who took the time to phone him and inquire about why things are done the way they are. He has learned a lot, and he hopes people have learned as well from talking to him, rather than just complaining online.

Mayor Roy Ludwig said the city enjoyed having March here, and the mayor praised March for his work.

"With his expertise, he was able to do multiple tasks and help us. Anything to do with a new building, he was very well versed with that. Anything to do with the parks, anything to do with Affinity [Place], he came to us with a wealth of knowledge and was willing to use that to our advantage. So we absolutely appreciated Rod's time here, and he was able to help us out a lot," said Ludwig.

The mayor said March was multi-faceted in his contributions, and experience in a lot of areas.

When it came to the city's pathways project, Ludwig said March not only helped with the implementation of the project, but with the design and their location.

Before leaving, March said he wanted to make sure the city had its full complement of summer students in place, which they were as of May 1. And he needs to be in Okotoks in time for their summer students to start on May 9.

"I'll never leave this city in a jam. It's treated me well, and I'm always available, even after I leave, so they can get a hold of me if they need anything," said March.