New West Perth public works director a familiar face

Article content

Feeling he needed to make a change in his professional life, Adam Ryan chose to come home. 

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

New West Perth public works director a familiar face Back to video

Ryan, 39, began as West Perth’s director of public works on March 18, moving from a similar position with the City of Stratford. Born and raised in Dublin, Ryan said coming home to work in West Perth made the decision as easy as he could have imagined, but it was still a difficult to move after working for 19 years in the city where he now lives. 

“It definitely wasn’t easy to leave. It was tough, especially telling all the crew. That’s my second home. When I got the job offer from West Perth, I sat on it for about a week,” he said in his new office at the municipal public works shed on Arthur Street in Mitchell. “Is this going to be a good change? I feel like it is. I have ties to the community. It’s obviously got a rich history in agriculture and a sense of community, and that’s what it came down to.

“I felt like with my ties, I wanted to see and be a part of the growth and development of this community. It was an ideal spot.” 

Ryan said he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life after graduating high school and, after initially working as a plumber, started as a labourer in the City of Stratford. He drove a truck and was a machine operator after that, before moving up the ranks to supervisor, taking business, industry specific and management courses along the way. He spent his last five years with the city as manager of public works. 

“The umbrella of what I was looking after is pretty similar to what I’ll be doing here,” he said.

In addition to looking after roads, traffic, waste, stormwater and fleet, which were his core responsibilities in Stratford, his new duties covers will also include water and wastewater. 

“So, I really saw every step of the process, which I think is a pretty big benefit to be able to say that you’ve been on the road, and you’ve plowed snow and you’ve dug ditches, so you know what the guys are going through,” he said. “On the operations side, it’s not going to be new, just different.” 

With approximately 20 employees under his leadership, Ryan said the West Perth crew has been good to work with already. 

“They’ve been super inviting and excited to have me here. It’s been great,” he said. “But I told everyone, I hate the word ‘boss.’ We are here to work together. I’m huge on ‘team’ . . . and I’m excited about the opportunity.” 

Ryan and his wife Amanda have two girls, Marley, 11, and Harlow, 9. He said he feels like he’s hit the ground running since he started his new job since it’s a busy time of year preparing tenders now that budgets are finalized. 

“The first week is absolute chaos, but I desperately want to get out and hit the roads . . . check out the boundary roads and find out what this is all about. But that will come in time. 

“The goal is to have a positive impact on the community,” he said. “I don’t want to overhaul anything or make people feel like things are going to change.”