The City of Grande Prairie has named a new interim City Manager. Infrastructure and Protective Services Director Horacio Galanti will take over the role from Current City Manager Bob Nicolay on September 29. Mayor Bill Given says Galanti should have no problem fitting into the role.
“Director Galanti has had an opportunity to serve as an acting city manager in the past and so the role should be very easy for him to slide into and keep the momentum that this council has.”
Galanti has been with the city for about five years and has held a number of different roles including filling in as acting city manager on a number of occasions. He says he’s excited and up to the task.
“It’s a nice challenge and I’m looking forward to it. I am very excited about the opportunity that council has given me.”
Given says council chose to give the interim role to Galanti because it was important to have someone who knows how things work within the city system.
“We felt it was very important that we looked internal for this interim phase because we have a number of significant projects underway…I think council’s sense was that to have somebody come in from the outside that didn’t know where we were in all those processes would be really challenging.
The city will now be looking for a permanent replacement with the help of a search firm which Galanti says could take a few months.