It is going to be a bit of a homecoming for Nicole Chychota when she assumes her new position of chief administrative officer for the City of Portage la Prairie later this spring.
The Rural Municipality of Dauphin announced last week that Chychota would be leaving its municipal administration team to take the city manager role in Portage.
“Portage is my home originally, from a long time ago and I found out that Nathan Peto, the city manager at the time, was moving on. I thought this was a really great opportunity and just one that I had to take a shot at,” Chychota said.
“Honestly it was an incredibly difficult decision to leave this community. It has been home for a really long time. We love it dearly here and it’s really sad to be moving on.”
But at the same time Chychota is looking forward to the new challenges and experience that will come from heading up the administration team in Manitoba’s eighth largest city.
“Portage is a really great city and they’ve really led the way in a lot of avenues. They’re very innovative, collaborative and they’re doing work that is well respected at the federal level,” she said.
“Dauphin is a really special place and, like I said, it was not an easy decision to leave. We are truly going to miss everything about this community.
“It’s just one of those once in a-lifetime opportunities for me.”
Reeve Ernie Sirski said council is sorry to see Chychota go.
“She’s done a great job for the municipality in the last over seven years and we’re going to miss her. She’s a very efficient and knowledgeable individual and she’s done a lot for this municipality as far as I’m concerned,” Sirski said.
“She’s made sure that we’ve had enough money to keep operating in an efficient manner. We haven’t had any surprises on the budget side like Winnipeg and Brandon had this last couple of years. Through it all we’ve had the equipment, the personnel and the money to keep operating so, in my opinion, she’s done a great job and we’re going to miss her.”
Sirski added the search is already underway for Chychota’s replacement with the position being advertised locally, provincially and nationally.
“It’s pretty hard to limit this to just Manitoba. These people that come into these kind of positions are pretty mobile and we’re hoping that we have some good candidates come forward, from not just Manitoba, but throughout Canada,” he said.
“So the process is started and now it’s a question of who comes forward.”
Chychota’s last day with the RM of Dauphin is Mar. 25 and she begins her duties in Portage, Mar. 31.
Although he is hopeful the search for a new CAO is a quick one, Sirski is doubtful Chychota’s replacement will be in place prior to her departure.
For her part, Chychota is hoping to leave the RM in good hands.
“I’m hoping we’ll find an amazing person to come in and lead this municipality. It truly has been a really great place to work,” Chychota said.
“We have amazing staff, a great council and anyone would be lucky to work here.”
