THE HERALD Wednesday March Page Community Delmar French to step aside It BEN the Herald There are probably few Halton Hills residents who have not had some contact with Delmar French at one time or another As the Town s Deputy Clerk for the past 17 years Mr French 64 has been the liaison between the public Town Council and Town staff If you wanted to know about a council policy or how to apply for a building permit or wanted to appear before council as a delegation Mr French was pro bably the first Town official with whom you came in contact Undoubtedly there are some residents who have not met Mr French but if they ve attended a Town Council meeting at any time during the last 17 years they have at least seen him He the officious looking who sits to the left of Town Mayor Russ Miller during council every Monday night But this familar council sight will soon come to an end as Mr French plans to retire July 31 Town Administrative Clerk Dan Costea who has worked very closely with Mr French said day the thing he 11 miss most about Mr French is his tion to the job He s a real pro fessional said Mr Costea This professionalism shows up in his extremely high ethical standards said Mr Com ing from the old school of strict discipline Mr French adheres to regulations and has incredible respect for Council and the hierarchy of Hills in its capacity as a corporation ex plained Mr It s no wonder then Mr French would shed no light on how the current council compares to those of previous years or if he could remember some of the more bizarre or controversial episodes involving councillors and the public Mr French along with his wife Marguerite have lived in Georgetown since For the next 13 years he held positions first with a Guelph machinery dealership and then Canada Post His first municipal position was as Assistant Clerk Treasurer and Tax Collector for the former Town of Esquesing which lasted from 1965 to 1968 He then held positions of Depu ty Clerk and Clerk Treasurer til the formation of the Town of Halton Hills and the formation of Regional government in Mr French said tenure town council has grown from five people to the current number of 13 Mr French describes his role as a guide for council in what it can and cannot do according to the province Municipal Act Over the years one of the big changes Mr French has noticed involves the public s perception of both Town staff and politicians During the last five years said Mr French the general public has become less and less appreciative of politi DENTURES FULL DENTURE SERVICES DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC ReHnej Cleaning New Dentures Repairs Dental Insurance accepted Wheelchair Accessibility I TRENTON Denture Therapy Clinic 8 Church St Georgetown Ont 8772359 Asked if he would ever run for council he quickly said no I don envy their jobs said Mr French A councillor s job I much more difficult than people think it is because more of the public is participating in the system Councillors are required to consider more opinions than ever he said Regarding people attitude towards Town staff Mr French said the public unfairly attributes political decisions to staff Staff role is only to interpret council s policies he explained Among other things running municipal elections has been one of the job s highlights No two elections are the same During every election there are new pro blems to tackle he explained Mr French said he looking forward to his retirement and hopes to spend some of his in creased free time doing volunteer work The Town has yet to name Mr French successor 100 GRADE A CANADIAN WITH NO ADDITIVES Effect Hatch 1C tfcfMffc