New Peachland chief administrative officer has community roots

The old saying is, you can’t go home again.

But new District of Peachland chief administrative officer (CAO) Cory Labrecque likely wouldn’t agree.

Labreque, who moved into the top job at the district last month, first came to Peachland at age 14 when his family moved here from Saskatoon. He went to high school at Mount Boucherie in West Kelowna.

“Here’s a tidbit for you. In high school I was part of the Peachland Ambassadors the same year as West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund,” he chuckled, referring to the long-established Peachland program for young leaders.

The road from and back to Peachland was a long and winding one for Labreque. Armed with a degree in planning and business from UBCO and qualified as a registered professional planner but with few jobs in the Okanagan, he headed to the city of Leduc, Alberta. He began as an intern in 2009 and spent ten years working up to manager of long-range planning. “That was a very interesting job in a city that had high growth pressure,” said Labreque.

But the Okanagan was calling, and Labrecque and his wife wanted their daughter to spend more time with his parents, so they moved back home to Peachland in 2019. He spent two years as a planner with the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen in Penticton before joining the District of Peachland as special projects coordinator in 2021. A year later he became director of community services and then deputy CAO before taking over from retiring CAO Joe Creron on April 15.

“We love it here. I feel honored to be taking on the leadership role and I look forward to working with council, staff and the community for many years to come,” said Labrecque.

Short-term priorities for Labrecque include building relationships with management, staff and the community.

“I love that we received the Canada’s kindest community award. It’s a good marker for self reflection on how we treat each other and how we treat the community,” he said.

A potentially busy fire season and managing water restrictions are also priorities. Labreque said the current drought is top of mind, and district staff have been preparing and training at the Emergency Operations Centre for the region, now run by the Regional District of Central Okanagan and located near the Kelowna airport.

“Staff have been spending time there, getting familiar with how things are set up, doing drills and training. We’re also preparing at the ground level so that we have all protocols in place,” Labrecque said.

Peachland Lake is the town’s water source and staff are keeping an eye on the lake’s level, said Labreque, while making sure that the community is aware of and understands why restrictions are needed. “Sometimes these decisions are tough and there’s trade-offs so we have to communicate to the community as to why we have the restrictions,” he said.

Getting the new child care centre is a priority for the next six to eight months, Labreque said. “We want it delivered for the community on time and on budget and I think we’re doing a very good job of that. There are still lots of microdecisions to be made, as well as transitioning its operation over to the Boys and Girls Club,” he said.

Labreque said delivering a new fire hall to the community is high on his list, and results of a request for proposals (RFP) for construction will be learned next week. The district is also seeking a federal grant for the firehall.

“If the RFP comes in on or under budget, that would be good but if not, we’ll be looking for that grant to come in in July. The best-case scenario is that the firehall comes in at budget, and then the grant is used for proper equipment from day one and possibly a fire truck because that’s something we need, and there would be less impact to taxpayers,” he said.

A longer-term priority is asset management, and like many B.C. communities, Peachland’s assets are aging. That’s part of the ongoing challenge of producing balanced budgets while upgrading infrastructure and still keeping taxes low. “We want to do very detailed asset management and planning for replacement for the future,” said Labreque. “I think the core challenge that Peachland and other smaller municipalities have comes down to having a balanced budget. It’s not as easy as it sounds because we’re dealing with the needs and wants of the community and the costs of attaining those things. A big part of our job is efficiently delivering those things for the community that have long lasting value, without heavily burdening the taxpayer,” he said.

With many Peachland homes still on septic sewer systems, the much-publicized sewer upgrade is an example of infrastructure the town needs but can’t afford to pay for, at least not without provincial help in the form of grants. “We have a council that has strong relationships with politicians down in Victoria, so it’s about seeking opportunities to leverage those grants. Without them, we might not be able to do it,” said Labrecque.

Partnerships with the Peachland Wellness Centre, the 50+ Activity Centre, Peachland Arts Council, Our SPACE, and others are all critical to delivering services in town, he said.

Regarding workplace culture, Labrecque likened his role to managing a successful baseball team. “I’m a big baseball fan, and I look at the Blue Jays, a successful team, and I see it like being the manager of the Blue Jays, helping staff bring their best to the game. I feel fortunate that I have a team that is solutions-based. I’m extremely grateful and happy we have them,” he said.

Labrecque recognizes that some residents feel municipal taxes and staff salaries are too high, but he said taxpayers are getting their money’s worth and salaries reflect the employment market.

“I’m a taxpayer too, I’ve got some skin in the game. I’m lucky that I’ve been around at different levels and I can tell you that taxpayers are getting good value from staff. We have a team that give it their all and the passion for service is tremendous,” he said. “In terms of salary, we have to be competitive with the region. We have talented staff here and we want to keep them, because the cost of attracting new talent is more than retaining current staff. Professionals don’t come cheaply.”

Years of delays with developments like Romspen’s golf course and New Monaco’s planned community are frustrating but the district is doing everything within its power to move projects along, said Labrecque.

“I sense the frustration from the public and I understand it but there is only so much power the government has over private property. It comes down to private dollars and private decisions,” he said.