Terry Melcer will leave the District of Sparwood knowing she has helped lay the foundation for a successful future for the community.
She is only the third Chief Administrative Officer in the District’s history – all of whom have been women – and will retire on September 17 after 18 years in local government.
Melcer has lived in the Elk Valley since 1976, working in a lawyer’s office before joining the City of Fernie in 2000.
In January 2007, she stepped into the newly created position of Director of Corporate Services at the District of Sparwood, working under CAO Sandy Hansen, who Melcer replaced in September 2010 following her retirement.
“It’s an awesome job,” said Melcer.
“I think a lot of people overlook working in local government and I’m not really sure why.
“It’s a wonderful way to impact your community. You get to see your work evolve, the projects, the development of community, those types of things, it’s very rewarding work.
“It can have its challenges but overall, I’m so thankful and grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity.”
For the past eight years, Melcer has worked as a conduit between the council, senior staff and the community, helping to implement initiatives such as the Middletown Crossing Project.
Phase two of the intersection project is currently underway after the District successfully applied for a joint federal and provincial grant worth more than $5 million.
“That I think will be a game changer for the community in terms of having lights that will stop the traffic, will help the development of the parcels on Middletown side near Tim Hortons,” said Melcer.
“We’re hopeful to see further development occurring there and there’s actually interest already because our location is very prime. I think the time has come for some significant investment in that area.”
Another major project Melcer has overseen is future community engagement on the Baldy Ridge Extension project at Teck’s Elkview Operations.
The District is in the process of putting together a committee, which will help to ensure the impacts from the mine on the Sparwood community are mitigated and managed, as per condition 21 of Teck’s environmental assessment certificate.
“This permit will bring the mine much closer to the community,” said Melcer.
“We know we’re already feeling some impacts just through the mining moving to the face of the site from where it had been historically in the past.
“This condition is the first of its kind for a community in the province and I think laying that framework, I’ll be able watch how that transpires from afar now.
“It’s so important because it’s guiding the future of the community for the next 35 years of that project.”
Melcer said it was hard to walk away from these projects prior to their completion but she felt it was the right time to retire with a new council to be elected in October.
She acknowledged every District project is a team effort and the result of collaboration between the council and staff.
Melcer plans to continue living in Sparwood, spending winters at her recreational home in Mexico, and will look back on her time at the District fondly.
“I just really want to thank all the people that I’ve worked with,” she said.
“We’ve had a really good team and I’ve had good mentors.”