THUNDER BAY — A long-term city administrator will be taking up retirement come the fall.
Karen Lewis, the city's general manager of corporate services, plans to retire on Oct. 11.
Lewis has been with the city since 1994, starting in the city's communications department and moving up the corporation's ladder over the last 30 years.
Most recently, in April 2021, Lewis was named the city's general manager of the development and emergency services department.
During city manager Norm Gale's statement to city council, he said Lewis had promised to continue working hard until the end of her tenure.
Lewis said she's proud of what she's accomplished during her time with the city, including five strategic plans.
"I first worked on a strategic plan, it was with Mayor Lynn Peterson and we had not been able to successfully accomplish a strategic plan at that point.
"That was a real highlight. [And] the streamline development approval fund initiatives, those were more recent, we really fully maximized that including moving forward with digitizing residential building permits."
When asked what kind of changes she's seen over the course of her career, Lewis said the level of sophistication of the projects and the development of the city over time have grown considerably, calling it "remarkable."
Lewis said she's heeding the advice of her friends and coworkers when it comes to how she'll spend her free time.
"Don't overbook yourself at the beginning. I'm going take a little bit of time to kind of reflect on life, and I'll do the usual things - travel, spend some time with my dog and just figure out what's next."
She even revealed she's a writer.
"So I'll probably spend more time doing that. I'll probably join a board somewhere in there, and I'll enjoy life."
Lewis was emotional during the standing ovation that she received, accepting a fist bump from the city manager.
