THUNDER BAY – Mark Smith, one of the most senior and longest-serving members of City of Thunder Bay administration, will retire later this year.
The general manager of development and emergency services has been with the corporation for nearly 30 years, said city manager Norm Gale as he announced Smith’s upcoming departure at a city council meeting Monday.
His official retirement date is Feb. 28, 2021.
Smith started out as a city planner before steadily moving up the ranks. He served as general manager of various iterations of his current department for the past 19 years, putting him among a handful of top city bureaucrats.
On Monday, Gale offered high praise for Smith's service to 10 successive city councils.
“He has done so much for the corporation and our community over decades,” said Gale. “I’m truly sorry to see him go. All along, I’ve appreciated Mark’s experience, his tutelage, confidence, unique insight, and witty aphorisms."
Several councillors also expressed their thanks for Smith’s service Monday. A more fulsome farewell would be given at his final meeting in February, Gale said.
