Town of Claresholm welcomes municipal intern

By Rob Vogt
Over the next 18 months, Patrick Gaede plans to learn everything he can about municipal government.
The recent graduate of the University of Calgary joined the Town of Claresholm staff as a municipal intern on May 19, a position he will hold for the next year and a half.
Born and raised in Calgary, Gaede earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science, and has worked in municipal government before.
However, that experience, in Airdrie, was much more front line. Gaede started as a parks maintenance worker, then began working at the local arena driving the zamboni.
Now he is looking at how the administration of a municipality works.
So far, he has been getting to know every department in the town.
“It’s really a little bit of everything,” Gaede said
That has included work with privacy and freedom of information legislation, as well as drafting a request for decision on a matter that will be brought to town council.
Gaede said the interesting thing as they talked about this in school, but now he gets to actually do it.
Gaede’s immediate supervisor is Abe Tinney, the town’s chief administrative officer, who was a municipal intern himself.
Tinney said this is a provincial program that has been running more than 30 years.
Municipalities apply for a grant and, if successful, have access to funding, resources and support.
A total of 12 different municipalities are hosting interns this round.
Tinney said that years ago the province recognized the need to recruit and nurture staff in municipal government.
He noted a lot of resources are available and Alberta Municipal Affairs has designed a work plan for Gaede.
They provide training seminars Gaede must attend, and he has various projects he must complete.
One is the request for decision he is currently preparing.
“I’m very excited to see it go to council and be part of that process,” Gaede said.
The program has three streams as well – finance; planning; and administration.
Gaede is in the administration stream, but will still be exposed to finance and planning.
“Right now it’s all about learning and taking it all in,” he said.
Tinney said the goal really is to help interns find their passion.
That’s why municipalities are encouraged to show interns a bit of everything from public works to water treatment, and everything else.
“We’re encouraged to give them space and time to explore,” Tinney said.
Interns also bring a new perspective, and fresh eyes to the organization.
“We definitely appreciate that,” Tinney said.
So, far Gaede has enjoyed his time in town.
“Every day is something knew,” he said. “I’m excited to be here. I love the town, I’m glad to be here.”