In a week’s time, George Krefting will never again be late for a tee time, and he’ll definitely never miss one either. Or at least that’ll be the case this spring when the golf course opens.

Until then, he’ll have to find another way to spend his days, since now, after 37 years of service to the municipality of Jasper, he’s retiring.

Krefting said he’s going to miss seeing his colleagues every day, but not enough to pop into the office to check up on things or give his two cents.

“If they call and want some information, no problem, but I’m not going to be there second guessing anything,” he said. 

Instead, Krefting plans to spend his retirement playing golf, cross-country skiing, gardening, volunteering and, of course, soaking up some rays at his home in Sun City, Ariz.

“I’m looking forward to the additional time,” he said on Monday, two days before his replacement, Peter Waterworth, was set to begin training.

Krefting moved to Jasper from Rocky Mountain House in 1975 to become the secretary-treasurer of the Jasper School District. He kept that role for 20 years until the school district was absorbed into the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division. During those 20 years, the Jasper School Division carried some municipal power, like the collection of taxes, the operation of recreation facilities and ambulance services, and developing housing.

So in 1995, although Krefting no longer had school district responsibilities, there were still municipal duties that needed to be fulfilled, which he continued to do in his new position as the manager of the Jasper Improvement District. He did that job until Jasper was incorporated in 2002 and then continued on as the municipal manager of the Town of Jasper.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “I’ve been able to be part of this whole evolution of local governance from what it was to what it is today. 

“It was almost like I had three different careers, but all in the same spot.”

Krefting said although he’s been a part of many projects and developments during his career in Jasper, the most fulfilling part of his job was being a part of that evolution. 

“Seeing the growth of and the transfer of municipal responsibility from Parks Canada over to local residents,” he said, “that change has been both challenging and very rewarding.”

A lot has changed from his early days in Jasper, he said. One change in particular that he said he finds striking is the way major community documents and plans are drawn up today, compared to years ago. He cited an early Parks Canada community plan from the 1970s and the 2010 Jasper Community Sustainability Plan as examples.

In the early days, he said, there was no public consultation or reference to the people of Jasper.

“The focus was on the environment and that was Parks Canada’s mandate.”

In the case of the 2010 sustainability plan, Krefting said there were plenty of opportunities for the community to take part in the process, and many people did.

“So I think this whole evolution, it not only recognizes, but deals with, the needs of the people that live here, as opposed to it being so much broader. So I think the future is very bright from that perspective.”

Krefting said the part he won’t miss about his job is the time it takes for things like the sustainability plan to be approved. (It was adopted by council in July 2010, but wasn’t approved by Parks until December 2011.)

“The time it sometimes takes to make decisions,” he said, “that’s one thing I won’t miss.

“I think all administrators sometimes find that frustrating.”

But now, as he moves on to retirement, he will no longer be the one anxiously awaiting those decisions. 

Instead, he’ll be an educated citizen, reading the council agendas from home or, if it’s spring or summer,  from the fairway between strokes.