DuChene Retires from Central Frontenac

Jeff Green | Aug 11, 2011

Photo: John DuChene, looking away from the camera, in a pose likely suggested by Jeff Green.

Central Frontenac Township’s Chief Administrative Officer, John Duchene, attended his final council meeting on Tuesday night, August 9, in advance of retiring on Friday.

Duchene has spent a total of four years as the township’s Clerk/Chief Administrator. He came on at the beginning of the previous term of council in early 2007 on an interim basis, to replace then CAO Heather Fox during a medical leave, and stayed on for almost 18 months.

When a permanent job came open he did not apply, but after the newly-hired CAO, Mark Hall, left shortly after being hired, John Duchene decided to apply and was hired again, this time on a permanent, full-time basis.

However, last summer, with the term of council ending, Duchene shared his plans to retire this year with some senior staff members.

“Judy Gray made it clear she was planning to retire early this year from the treasurer’s post, so I thought I should take that into account. Then when Ian Trickett [the township’s long-serving Chief Building Official] died suddenly last fall, it made me think of putting my retirement off until replacements were in place for both positions.”

So, once the 2011 township budget was completed in early May, and a new treasurer, Michael McGovern, was in place, John Duchene was ready to give his three months notice, which he did on May 12, setting his retirement date for August 12.

“The timing is pretty good for me, giving me August and September to enjoy some summer months,” Duchene said from his office on Monday, a few days before retiring, “and it will give the new person a chance to be a part of the strategic planning in September and a reasonable amount of time to get acclimatized before starting in on the 2012 budget.”

John Duchene, who is now 62, has served in a number of administrative posts over the past 30 years, since he sort of fell into the role of administrator by taking the general manager’s job with the Napanee Region Conservation Authority.

He has a degree in Geography from Guelph and one in Landscape Architecture from the University of Toronto. His first brush with government work came through contracts with Ontario Parks and the Ministry of Natural Resources, where he worked designing and planning provincial parks.

Since the early 1980s John Duchene has punctuated his work as an administrator with stints in the private sector, and he has owned and operated several art gallery/picture-framing businesses.

In addition to Central Frontenac and the Napanee Region Conservation Authority, he has served as clerk/treasurer in Sheffield Township (now a part of Stone Mills township in Lennox and Addington) and was clerk administrator of Lanark Highlands just after amalgamation in 1998. He was also the general manager of the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority in Peterborough in the early 2000s.

At one point in the 1990s, the Duchenes moved to the Sarnia region, but returned to Eastern Ontario when John's wife Charlotte took on a senior production role at Harrowsmith magazine in Camden East.

She ended up working remotely when Harrowsmith magazine was sold to Telemedia in Toronto, but the Duchenes moved to Kennebec Lake at that time, where they remain to this day.

So, while John is leaving his role with the township, he will continue to be a resident and a ratepayer in Central Frontenac. Although he is considering doing some consulting work for other townships or agencies, John expects he will still take an interest in local politics.

When he came in as the chief administrator in Central Frontenac, it was under a new mayor and council, and there was also a vacancy at the public works manager post, so it was a steadying hand that was required at the beginning of his tenure with the township. Over the four years, he helped council through some difficult budgeting exercises, an Official Plan review, and a change in the way council meetings are conducted. He has brought a calm demeanour to all of those changes, and has kept his sense of humour throughout.

“He's been a good guy, and a pleasure to work with. We have been really fortunate to have a member of the community in his role because he brought a lot of local insight into the role,” said Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski. “We were lucky he was available when he first stepped in, particularly, because he came in when were facing some rough waters, and he stabilized a very challenging situation.”

In addition to the possibility of doing some consulting work, John will be spending a lot more time drawing and painting, which are pastimes he has pursued off and on, throughout his life.

“It's funny, but my wife Charlotte pointed out that as soon as I decided I was going to retire, I suddenly found myself doing more and more artwork, even though I haven't had any more time available just yet,” he said.

As he leaves an active role on the municipal scene, John Duchene has taken time to reflect a little bit on the future of the municipality, and he wonders whether some change in the relationship between the Frontenac townships and Frontenac County might be a good thing.

“There is a certain minimum size that is required to do all of the things a township must do and maintain proper staffing levels. We are still ok, but I don't know about the future,” he said

He also thinks that people in Central Frontenac don't distinguish between township and county roles.

“It's all local taxes and local government to them,” he said, “so maybe some changes are in order. You might get a letter to the editor in a few months - or maybe not.”

Generally, though, as a resident of the township, John Duchene says, “We have a pretty good life in this township. That's why we moved here and that's why we stay. As long as we have a bit of incremental growth, I think we can keep the lifestyle we enjoy.”